Sunday, February 14, 2010
Wheels Coming off Wagon Just a Tad Dave?
With a tired and deeply unpopular government led by a wholly uncharismatic Scot squarely in his sights and a Labour Party likely to suffer the bigger backlash over the expenses scandal, David Cameron ought to be floating euphorically on the imminence of victory. But the past week or so has seen him and his party make a series of damaging gaffes which makes one begin to wonder just a little.
1. Economy: Cameron was initially solid for deep cuts to reassure the bond markets and keep interest rates on our debt low. Osborne led the talking on this, despite his initial £1.5bn cots package not really surviving close scrutiny. Then evidence began to drift in that voterrs were alarmed at the idea of such painful cuts so Cameron obligingly softened his proposals to exclude really deep initial cuts.
2. Tax Relief for the Married: this idea was meant to buttress the institution of marriage but Cameron wavered on this too, withdrew it and then, after further thought reinstated it. Polly Toynbee asserts marriage tax relief 'costs a fortune and gives 13 times more to the rich than the poor.' It would also stigmatise the increasing number of families who live stable lives but have not tied the knot.
3. Education: Polly also points out regarding Michael Gove's plan to import Swedish 'free schools', that the head of Swseden's education inspectorate recently told Newsnight that:
... Swedish education standards have slid backwards with the new free schools the Tories use as their model. It has made schools socially segregated, leading to overall worse results as in our grammar school counties. This may be popular – but only with Cameron's core vote.
4. Lord Ashcroft's Status The Chief donor to the Tories was given a peerage in 2000 on the understanding that he would return to Britain by the end of that year and pay income tax in the UK. Since then he as refused to answer direct questions about his status and has consequently embarrassed a series of senior Conservatives when questioned in the media, including William Hague, Sir George Young, Eric Pickles, Michael Gove, Caroline Spelman, not to mention Big Dave himself.
5. 'Death Tax' Poster: The Observer today tells the tale of the Tory poster rolled out on Tuesday 9th February:
It showed a gravestone designed to scare voters alongside the message "Now Gordon wants £20,000 when you die." It referred to supposed Labour "plans" to impose a "death tax" on every estate to pay for social care for the elderly.
Criticism came flooding in from all sides as it was widely realised that the suggestion was merely one of a number which nthe government had put up for discussion. The Spectator criticised it as 'dispititing' and Joan Bakewell, spokesperson for the elderly condemend it as 'lies'.
6. Joanne Cash Affair: this involves the good looking A List candidate, married to a Cameron Old Etonian friend(she calls him 'Dave'), was 'parachuted' into the Westminster North constituency to the distinct displeasure of local party activists. Ann Widdicombe has lambasted this practice, pointing out that 'A listers no longer even have to show a recdord of work for the party'. Conservtive reformer John Strafford has laid into this and other signs that 'the party has become an oligarchy, controlled by a handful of people'.
7. Northern Ireland: but it is in Ulster that Cameron is posibly committing his most flagrant mistake. He is trying to forge an alliance with Unionists ihn the province so that the ten seats available in Westminster can be included in the Conservative corral, as they always used to be. However, it seems more than clear that the price will be the exclusion of the hated Martin McGuiness from any senior position in the Executive, even if he ends up the leader of the biggest party. Such a policy is grossly irresponsible and could plunge Northeern Ireland back into pre Good Friday Agreement anarchy.
I know I'm a reader of the Guardian and the Observer and tend not to dip too much into the rightwing press but the article by Andrew Rawnsley today makes too many points about Cameron's fading political touch for it to be ignored even by the most hard core Tory.
Comments:
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Hardly a crisis, more wishful thinking on your part Skipper. Dave would do more if he said less. Indeed, I thought saying nothing on policy was his whole philosophy. In general, leave the detailed policy to Labour and Brown...they are sure to cock it up and make us look good. Any more detail will just confuse the issue and the voters. We are four months from Government now, and he should just shut his mouth and smile.
On the issues themselves...
1. There will be cuts anyway. They will be severe indeed. The money markets know this(regardless of who wins). Why get dragged into saying what and how much? It'll just scare people. Taking medicine usually does. Something vague like "well we don't know what the numbers are, and we will have to assess things at the relevant juncture" should do.
2. Good idea. Most of the people who oppose this are far too feckless to vote anyway. It will help a lot of decent people and piss off Polly Toynbee. It's a double winner.
3. Good issue to rally the core vote. Grammar schools(or any form like them) are obviously a winner.
4. No problem on this issue anyway. Take his money and let him live where he likes. Maybe some right-wing papers could be prompted to ask questions about finally ending the Trade Union political fund for the Labour Party? Always a popular one that.
5. Nothing wrong with the odd lie if it gets the troops out on Polling Day. Election posters aren't issued under oath.
6. Stop parachuting these people in. They are irritating and often stupid. I know Dave finds them a bit too real, but surely we could find some decent local candidates?
7. The UUP is clearly finished. Why bother? Win the election fair and square and help the Unionists(and I mean the cause and the people, not necessarily the parties) as much as possible after victory.
On the issues themselves...
1. There will be cuts anyway. They will be severe indeed. The money markets know this(regardless of who wins). Why get dragged into saying what and how much? It'll just scare people. Taking medicine usually does. Something vague like "well we don't know what the numbers are, and we will have to assess things at the relevant juncture" should do.
2. Good idea. Most of the people who oppose this are far too feckless to vote anyway. It will help a lot of decent people and piss off Polly Toynbee. It's a double winner.
3. Good issue to rally the core vote. Grammar schools(or any form like them) are obviously a winner.
4. No problem on this issue anyway. Take his money and let him live where he likes. Maybe some right-wing papers could be prompted to ask questions about finally ending the Trade Union political fund for the Labour Party? Always a popular one that.
5. Nothing wrong with the odd lie if it gets the troops out on Polling Day. Election posters aren't issued under oath.
6. Stop parachuting these people in. They are irritating and often stupid. I know Dave finds them a bit too real, but surely we could find some decent local candidates?
7. The UUP is clearly finished. Why bother? Win the election fair and square and help the Unionists(and I mean the cause and the people, not necessarily the parties) as much as possible after victory.
# posted by 
: 7:47 pm
: 7:47 pm
Dream on!
Brown and company are definitely going down, no ifs, no buts. This horrible crew have managed to bring the Country to its knees and you discuss 'the wheels are coming off Cameron's wagon'. Please, get real! No matter what Cameron and the Tories say or are alleged to have said will not mask the fact that they collectively can only improve the current situation that our nation faces.
Frankly, the detail of this or that matters not a jot. We are being led by a bunch of muppets that have wasted billions of tax payer money for only miniscule improvement in the well being of the citizens.
Get with the game, no-one can be absolutely sure what will happen over the next few years. Certain is that under the Tories the debt will be paid down, taxes will be reduced, schools will improve, social cohesion will get better,society will be much fairer, defense will be more focussed and best of all, the Labour party will be in the wilderness for many, many years(hopefully forever).
Every labour administration has run out of money and has ended in tears, this one is no different. Let us all hope and pray that they never ever get another chance to repeat the experience.
After 13 some years this bunch of miscasts have run out things to ruin. The sooner Brown calls for an election the better. Time to put the country out of its misery and let others fix the mess that Labour has made.
Brown and company are definitely going down, no ifs, no buts. This horrible crew have managed to bring the Country to its knees and you discuss 'the wheels are coming off Cameron's wagon'. Please, get real! No matter what Cameron and the Tories say or are alleged to have said will not mask the fact that they collectively can only improve the current situation that our nation faces.
Frankly, the detail of this or that matters not a jot. We are being led by a bunch of muppets that have wasted billions of tax payer money for only miniscule improvement in the well being of the citizens.
Get with the game, no-one can be absolutely sure what will happen over the next few years. Certain is that under the Tories the debt will be paid down, taxes will be reduced, schools will improve, social cohesion will get better,society will be much fairer, defense will be more focussed and best of all, the Labour party will be in the wilderness for many, many years(hopefully forever).
Every labour administration has run out of money and has ended in tears, this one is no different. Let us all hope and pray that they never ever get another chance to repeat the experience.
After 13 some years this bunch of miscasts have run out things to ruin. The sooner Brown calls for an election the better. Time to put the country out of its misery and let others fix the mess that Labour has made.
# posted by : 12:07 am
: 12:07 am
Hi Skipper,
Re 6 Pot, kettle, black?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/labour/7165655/Ricky-Tomlinson-to-stand-for-parliament-against-Labour-candidate.html
Re 6 Pot, kettle, black?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/labour/7165655/Ricky-Tomlinson-to-stand-for-parliament-against-Labour-candidate.html
# posted by : 8:35 am
: 8:35 am
Politics will have to change, people who run this country tend to be failures anyway, what we should be doing is asking Adam Crozier to take over, or some other great person, Joking of course.
But the fact is over the past few years the type of person who has run this country has been a night mare, if brown had not joined Labour he'd be working in some bank delivering mortgages to people lying his teeth out, Blair would be a solicitor in some big large company trying to stiff car insurance accident.
The people who are involved in politics are mostly like Purnell, Miliband Burnham, failures , yet make it in politics they moan about £65,000 a year but in real life these twits would be earning far less.
we have brown for god sake, and whats next Cameron, what a F*cking mess.
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But the fact is over the past few years the type of person who has run this country has been a night mare, if brown had not joined Labour he'd be working in some bank delivering mortgages to people lying his teeth out, Blair would be a solicitor in some big large company trying to stiff car insurance accident.
The people who are involved in politics are mostly like Purnell, Miliband Burnham, failures , yet make it in politics they moan about £65,000 a year but in real life these twits would be earning far less.
we have brown for god sake, and whats next Cameron, what a F*cking mess.
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