Plenty of noteworthy snippets in this Telegraph article by James Kirkup today, among them a claim by a Labour strategist that “Voters would be disgusted if we called an election at a time when they are worried about their homes and their jobs”. Of course, that could be a deflection rather than a true indication that we won’t be seeing a snap election, but other parts of the article – that Labour are going to introduce more housing “security” measures and that they’re going to re-heat the “Tory cuts” attack – do sound believeable.
Perhaps the most important passage, though, is this:
“Labour’s research suggests voters like Mr Cameron but remain less than convinced, with many suspecting he is a “phoney.”
The Prime Minister and his allies will therefore launch sustained attacks on Mr Cameron, trying to suggest his charm is a front for an uncaring and incompetentTory party.
‘The lesson of 1992 is that John Major won by destroying his opponent’s credibility – he made the election about Neil Kinnock not John Major,’ said the strategist.”If this is true, then it’s a key change in Labour strategy. A few months ago, the rumblings were about how Number Ten had decided that attacking Cameron was largely a waste of time – he was too popular a figure with the public, they thought – and that the spin effort should be exerted on revealing the so-called “nasty party” behind the Tory leader. We’ve already seen the start of this Dave-centric approach – with Brown’s jibes in PMQs about having to “teach” economics to his opposite number – but it’s still doubtful whether it will stick. Any thoughts, CoffeeHousers?
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