It is an important question to ask, “What sort of Prime Minister would David Cameron be?”, and Anthony Seldon addresses the issue head on. Moreover, he argues that Cameron has yet to ‘seal the deal’ with the electorate:
The Cameron agenda may be clear in the minds of his team, but it needs to be communicated much better to the country at large.
Cameron's speech at the party conference in early October must be the most important speech of his life. The country is hurt, and cries out for trust to be rebuilt in politics….They like what they see of him personally: he exudes more drive and energy than the incumbent in Number 10.
Cameron will need to articulate his message with a clarity that has so far eluded him, and to come across as a leader who inspires trust.
Seldon is right. There is too much muddled thinking and mixed messages coming from the Tories. The electorate like Cameron personally because he can communicate and does the empathy bit better than his opponents. Vital points in the 24/7 media age.
However, this leads us directly back to the critical decision that the Labour party must take. The game changer will not be Brown’s autumn relaunch, already derailed, but having a leader who can communicate, do the empathy thingy and can set out a clear new Labour vision for the country.
If Labour MPs, the Cabinet, the PLP or whatever took the decision to replace Brown, then Cameron may well be seen in a different light.
At present there is simply no contest.
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The problem is that Cameron is another wishy-washy centrist in the mould of T. Bliar. He hasn't articulated his message because he hasn't really got one other than "I'm not Gordon Brown."
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, at the moment, that is all he needs to be.
Precisely. That is why the 'game changer' is for Labour to have a new leader.
ReplyDeleteConservative Home carries the story of the latest council election results. They are quite amazing.
ReplyDeleteMalvern Hills Conservative vote down 16%, lost to the Lib Dems! Ham Plymouth, Conservative vote down 15.7% Southwick, Wiltshire. Conservative vote down 34.3%!
It does not look at all promising for Cameron and his toffs. It appears that the general election just might prove difficult for both Tories and Labour.
I hope so, because I just cannot accept that Cameron has any conservative values at all. He labelled himself the Heir to Blair and he will prove as bad for the Country as Blair and Brown.