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Beneath the radar, the Tory party is working on a strategy to win by a landslide

Fraser Nelson

Wednesday, 21st May 2008

Fraser Nelson reviews the week in politics

The main concern is that the Tories’ campaign successes were based on a negative theme — ‘send a message to Brown’. There was no new Tory message being lapped up by the voters, just an opportunity to mine the Prime Minister’s ever-deepening unpopularity. ‘I won over waverers by telling them they can vote Labour at the general election,’ says one Tory campaign director. ‘Families on low incomes ask how we’ll make them better off, and we have no answer.’

It will simply not do for the Conservatives to come back in June 2010 without an answer to this most basic of questions. If the problem was only hazily perceived by Cameron HQ before, it has become clearer now. One shadow Cabinet member says that the Tories have grasped the ‘Thursday night mealtime’ scenario — the problem facing cash-strapped families who must skimp on dinner before payday if the money has been particularly tight that week. The only meaningful pledge to make to such families — the only thing that they want to hear from the Tories — is that they will be less hard up under a different government.

The opposition to upfront tax cut pledges from Cameron HQ is total. Steve Hilton, his chief adviser, slaps down talk of tax cuts at every opportunity — keen to deny this potentially fractious debate the chance to gather momentum. ‘The Cameron policy is “steady as she goes and let Brown keep sinking’’,’ says one shadow minister. The counter argument to this is that a landslide — if achieved — also carries with it the rare opportunity to enact radical change: in this instance, to reverse the tax-raising strategy for which Mr Brown has been responsible.

It is undeniably true that Mr Cameron’s gambit has annoyed the Brownites. ‘Their strategy has been to hug us, not fight us,’ moans one Cabinet member. ‘That does mean we do have difficulty drawing dividing lines.’ But as the economy sours, and inflation is magnified by the mysteriously unremarked-upon collapse of the pound, the case for breaking with Mr Brown’s economic policy gathers.

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giles.bovill

May 22nd, 2008 11:52am

Frank Field's office emailed today saying
10p tax band
Thank you for contacting me. You will by now have heard the news about the Government’s compensation package. For the 20 per cent of 10p losers who do not gain adequate compensation, I will be lobbying to see that the November Pre-Budget Statement tackles the issue. You may remember that the Government originally planned to wait for November before making any announcement.

Do any of us beleive this - when will Frank cross the floor of the house and join the caring conservatives who are placing at the centre of their policy a review of the social/welfare state.
come on frank cross the floor. Dave - invite Frank Field to do so.

I am sorry I have not been able to do personal replies to each of you but a huge number of people are writing in by letter and email and I thought it best to get a reply out as soon as possible.

FRANK FIELD

David

May 22nd, 2008 2:42pm

Cameron, who spent the time patiently detoxifying the Conservative image, giving it the right to be heard fairly once again, in the face of the brickbats hurled by those typified by Heffer, Hitchens and Montgomorie, doesn't deserve it?

Rubbish.

Ian C

May 22nd, 2008 5:58pm

He has earned his chance - and his timing was good as the tide was always going to turn in this parliament anyway. But he has done a job. It can be criticised but from where the Tories were after May 05 elections that would be carping.

If he is to maintain the momentum he must not assume that the next 2 years will be as easy as the past 6 months. An overt landslide strategy would be a mistake, but it must be considered a possibility.

Daniel Carins

May 24th, 2008 1:19pm

Cameron is a fraud. He has simply aped Blair like an adoring younger brother, and cynically exploited our fixation with change, novelty and youth.

He may be charismatic, he may be a talented leader and he may be a skilled politician, but the rank and file Tory party remains the same bunch of policy and ideology-free morons that they have always been - it's just that no-one's been paying attention since 1995.

Madasafish

May 28th, 2008 7:03pm

"One might argue that Mr Cameron does not deserve this opportunity, has not earned it."
Well he has done more than Hague, Duncan Smith and Howard to make the Conservatives electable.

Do you want blood as well as a pound of flesh?
:-)

Dave A

June 9th, 2008 4:06am

The Tories will probably win the next election. However, it will be too late to stop the Lisbon Treaty/Constitution from being ratified, therefore, the rights of the people for self determination will have passed away. The next government will be paper shufflers acting on behalf of the thugs in Brussels.

Henry

July 17th, 2008 8:35pm

Looks like Nick Clegg has cooked Osborne's goose on tax cuts, leaving him looking foolish. Ho, ho.

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