The Observer has a cracking scoop: a brief document detailing a new Labour plan to attack Cameron. The memo has been written
by Shaun Woodward, the former Tory MP and Labour cabinet minister who now heads Labour’s anti-Tory unit. He will report to the shadow cabinet in the next few weeks. He says:
‘At the last election we faced a Conservative party (and a Conservative leader in David Cameron) whose strategic goal was to decontaminate their brand, intending to present themselves as
reformed, modern, centrist and pragmatic. Cameron was effective in promoting a perception [that] his party had changed.
But here is the paradox: whilst the Tories made changes before the election – intended to convince the public they were compassionate – since the election (and especially in the last
few months) the Tories have taken major strides back towards their ideological roots. Buffeted by events, there is a growing incoherence between ‘liberal conservatism’ and the increasingly shrill
language the Tories are using as they vacate the centre ground.’
Woodward adds that the “market” elements of the government’s health, education and universities reforms are at odds with the public’s expectations for public
services, before concluding that the government does “not appear to be seeking long-term solutions to Britain’s real challenges and problems and Cameron himself now appears to be a
recognisably rightwing prime minister.”
I spoke to a source at CCHQ this morning who was unconcerned by Woodward’s view, saying that it smacked of a determination to sustain the unsustainable status quo in the public sector. Parties with nothing new to offer always end up fighting the last war, he said.
This implies that the last election was about how the Tories were perceived; the next will be about what they’ve done, not how they looked when they were doing it. You would expect a Tory to say that, but what’s interesting is the number of prominent progressives who agree. In fact, they go further. Martin Bright tweeted earlier this morning: “Great scoop from The Observer on Labour strategy. Shame about the strategy. Should be attacking Coalition competence not Tory rightwingery.” Paul Richards, a former New Labour advisor tweeted that “I spent the 80s yelling ‘rightwing’ at Tories RT @anthonypainter: @chuzzlit @alexsmith1982 he’s refighting the 1992 general election.”
That’s just a taste of the negative sentiment on Twitter, a strong indication that the Labour movement is still searching for leadership and direction. So this is a test of Ed Miliband and it will be interesting to see if he resists the temptation to disappear into the party’s ancient refuges.
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