A flaw in project Cameron

Broadly speaking, I’m impressed by the Cameroon project: Dave is right to face down his critics and stick with his strategy to “decontaminate the brand”. Yes, we in the Westminster village are already chewing our arms off in boredom, but it is at precisely such moments that you know a message might – just might – be getting through to people who do not spend all their time talking about politics. It is only two years since the Tories were hammered in a third successive general election. The local elections showed that Cameron is making impressive progress, but he and his colleagues are well-advised to persist with their reassurance, reassurance, reassurance strategy. That said, there are times when such a strategy can lead you to make terrible blunders – “hug a hoodie” was one (we’re cuddly on crime) and today’s speech on education by David Willetts is another (we won’t bring back grammar schools). To James’s earlier points, I would add this: life is a struggle for most people, and aspiration is what keeps them going. Grammar schools embody hope and the possibility of a better future for those who cannot afford to buy such things in the private sector. I sincerely hope that the privileged background of many in the Shadow Cabinet will not be a major issue at the next election. But the Cameroons invite precisely such an attack by seeming so lamentably out of touch. I say good luck to those who went to Eton and can afford to send their children there: there is no better way of spending one’s money than on the future of your kids. But what about everyone else?