Dave shows his true colours
James Valentine Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 10:27:38 AM GMT 
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David Cameron’s lecture to the fat and poor in Glasgow yesterday to “take responsibility” was the classic statement of conservatism. If the people are poor, it’s their own fault. Or as Dave puts it, “social problems are often the consequence of the choices that people make”. The Glasgow citizens aren’t merely people suffering unemployment, ill health and poor housing. They have “twisted values” that have “eaten away at our social fabric". And as it’s the 21st century we have an update to this Victorian morality – they’re not just poor but they’re fat. So we can attack them for that too.
On the face of it, this speech, aimed at the core Tory vote, was a politically astute move. The deprivation of the constituency allowed Cameron to highlight the issue. At the same time the fact that the contest is effectively between Labour and the SNP with the Tories certain to lose means that they is no need for a more nuanced position in order to support the Tory candidate.
Mike Smithson at pb.com has pointed out that Cameron could be getting over-confident. And in my opinion, he’s running ahead of himself. He’s forgetting that this stuff is only supposed to come out after winning a general election. For now, he should continue the pretence of appealing to the reasonable centre ground that has accepted Labour’s expanded public services and humane approach to the poor and less well-off.
Dave up to now has been so good at maintaining the reasonable-chap façade that we forget that he was heavily involved with drafting one of the most unpleasant Tory manifestos. Remember, “Are you thinking what we’re thinking?” Yes, the insidious xenophobia and barely-concealed racism of Michael Howard’s campaign – that was nice Dave. But they’ve learnt their lesson now – keep that stuff well hidden away.
And he has succeeded in leading the Tories in keeping up appearances pretty well, on a range of policies. Recently, for example they’ve been getting quite sentimental and earnest about the NHS 60<sup>th</sup> anniversary. On the face of it, Labour has won the health argument. No more “patient’s passports”, no more opting out. Apparently, the Tories now accept that the NHS should be free at the point of use and paid for out of general taxation.
But do they really? If you listen to their statements about tax-cutting (and all the nonsense about “shrinking the state”, some of it sadly, from our own side) then it doesn’t really make sense. There is no way in which the NHS is going to cost less in the future, for the main reason that people are living longer. Scratch a Tory, and they don’t really believe in the NHS. Just read the Tory blogs, or letters in your local newspapers, and all the same prejudices come out about “waste”, how BUPA can somehow insure for your cancer care or transplant surgery and how charity can take care of the great unwashed.
It’s much the same with the environment. Dave continues to do well on the blue-green stuff and he’s doing a damn good job of soaking up Lib Dem support because of it. But look at the difference between the Tory front bench on one hand, and their parliamentary party and activists, on the other. In a recent parliamentary vote on Labour’s climate Change Bill, the Tories only imposed a one-line whip – the weakest discipline available to them. Why did they do this? Because they knew that otherwise they would risk a clash with the dozens of climate-change deniers on their own backbenches. They were able to stay away and not participate in the vote. Therefore the façade is maintained – for now - of a nice green Tory party.
That façade – on the environment, the NHS, education and social inequality – is essential for the Tories to maintain their political appeal. Having temporarily broken it, I suspect that Cameron will realise that he’s made a mistake and draw back, merely to uttering more platitudes about society going to the dogs. But it’s instructive that he has so blatantly shown himself in his true colours.
Mike Smithson at pb.com has pointed out that Cameron could be getting over-confident. And in my opinion, he’s running ahead of himself. He’s forgetting that this stuff is only supposed to come out after winning a general election. For now, he should continue the pretence of appealing to the reasonable centre ground that has accepted Labour’s expanded public services and humane approach to the poor and less well-off.
Dave up to now has been so good at maintaining the reasonable-chap façade that we forget that he was heavily involved with drafting one of the most unpleasant Tory manifestos. Remember, “Are you thinking what we’re thinking?” Yes, the insidious xenophobia and barely-concealed racism of Michael Howard’s campaign – that was nice Dave. But they’ve learnt their lesson now – keep that stuff well hidden away.
And he has succeeded in leading the Tories in keeping up appearances pretty well, on a range of policies. Recently, for example they’ve been getting quite sentimental and earnest about the NHS 60<sup>th</sup> anniversary. On the face of it, Labour has won the health argument. No more “patient’s passports”, no more opting out. Apparently, the Tories now accept that the NHS should be free at the point of use and paid for out of general taxation.
But do they really? If you listen to their statements about tax-cutting (and all the nonsense about “shrinking the state”, some of it sadly, from our own side) then it doesn’t really make sense. There is no way in which the NHS is going to cost less in the future, for the main reason that people are living longer. Scratch a Tory, and they don’t really believe in the NHS. Just read the Tory blogs, or letters in your local newspapers, and all the same prejudices come out about “waste”, how BUPA can somehow insure for your cancer care or transplant surgery and how charity can take care of the great unwashed.
It’s much the same with the environment. Dave continues to do well on the blue-green stuff and he’s doing a damn good job of soaking up Lib Dem support because of it. But look at the difference between the Tory front bench on one hand, and their parliamentary party and activists, on the other. In a recent parliamentary vote on Labour’s climate Change Bill, the Tories only imposed a one-line whip – the weakest discipline available to them. Why did they do this? Because they knew that otherwise they would risk a clash with the dozens of climate-change deniers on their own backbenches. They were able to stay away and not participate in the vote. Therefore the façade is maintained – for now - of a nice green Tory party.
That façade – on the environment, the NHS, education and social inequality – is essential for the Tories to maintain their political appeal. Having temporarily broken it, I suspect that Cameron will realise that he’s made a mistake and draw back, merely to uttering more platitudes about society going to the dogs. But it’s instructive that he has so blatantly shown himself in his true colours.
Dave shows his true colours | 26 comments (26 topical)
Dave shows his true colours | 26 comments (26 topical)
