Security is the watchword of this Tory election campaign. But today the Tories put just as much of an emphasis on national security as economic security. The message was, to put it crudely: it is a dangerous world out there with threats at home and abroad, so who do you want on that wall—Cameron or Miliband?
This new emphasis began with Theresa May introducing David Cameron. She talked about the threat from Islamist extremism and how the Tories would combat it. Cameron continued this theme in his speech, declaring in some of the punchiest language of the campaign from him that:
‘We also need to assert the British values of democracy, freedom and the rule of law – and assert them proudly. Other parties might be wary of causing offence, or of being criticised by those who see every single measure as an affront to their civil liberties. Well, I have met the parents and loved ones of those killed by terrorists. I read the intelligence reports. I know the threats. I have to make the judgement calls needed to tackle them. And I know this above all: our generation must fight the threat of Islamist extremism with the same resolve and tenacity as any threat Britain has faced before. Because this is the Conservative party – and we will never take risks with our nation’s security.’
The manifesto itself commits the Tories to developing a strategy ‘to tackle the infiltration of extremists into our schools and public services.’ Now, this is the kind of language that 2010 Cameron would have dismissed as a bit neocon. But, after five years in office, he now seems to view the threat in a different way. This pledge also suggests that the Tories regard the so-called ‘Trojan Horse’ plot in Birmingham as the tip of the iceberg.
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