These are not the circumstances that David Cameron would have wanted or expected to deliver his conference speech in. But today does provide him with an opportunity to show the electorate that he is ready to lead in these economically challenging times.
Up to now, talking about the economy has not been Cameron’s strong point. For a PPE graduate and former Treasury special advisor he sounds oddly hesitant on the subject. (Perhaps this is why he turned down the shadow chancellorship when Michael Howard offered it to him after the 2005 election defeat). But Cameron must now show that he can do it, as the economy is going to be the dominant political issue for the foreseeable future.
Cameron made a fine start yesterday with his statement to conference on the crisis. But he needs to establish himself in the public mind as someone whose judgement can be trusted on these matters.
The conventional wisdom has it that Brown is benefitting politically from this current crisis as the electorate turns to the experienced hand. But Brown has not actually shown voters why he is best placed to handle this crisis – he has merely told them that. If Cameron can show that he understands the problem and knows what needs to be done, he could burst the Brown bubble.
P.S. The Coffee House team will be live-blogging Cameron’s speech from 14:00. Do stay tuned.
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