Cameron/Blair Merger
Having listened to Cameron's party conference speech it was obvious that the Conservative strategy in the run up to the next election is to present themselves as offering the potential for electors to vote for a smooth transition from Blair to Cameron. The Conservative Party has clearly decided to offer itself as a sort of New Labour plus.
The Prime Minister seems to take this as a compliment as though Cameron has been incorporated into New Labour. The reality is that New Labour has been shifted so far to the right that it is easy to see a sizeable proportion of Conservatives now accomodated into New Labour.
Cameron's strategy though even in the crudest electoral calculations seems to have missed the point of recent elections. The most significant feature of the recent period has been the electorate's increasingly angry disillusionment with New Labour, both its policies and its style of politics. People increasingly do not like the society that is being created by the policies pursued by New Labour and now advocated by the New Conservatives.
The disllusionment therefore isn't just with Tony Blair the individual but with the concrete results of his New Labour's policies and the consequent breakdown of trust in both him and politics more generally.
Although there was no policy content to Cameron's speech he was offering virtually the same political mood music as New Labour but with a fresher face.
There is a real world test for this coterie of political consensus of the right.
In a society which is visibly fraying at the edges as a result of the most prolonged period of widening inequality in the last century what will their policies do to redistribute wealth and power in Britain?
There is no point any politician wittering on in even the most flowery conference eloquence until they demonstrate that they are willing and are capable of tackling this issue.
How can we put up with a society in which the gross inequality of distribution of wealth determines so crudely and on such a scale not just the quality of the life of our children but even their very life expectancy?
Tony Blair has had his oppportunity to tackle this issue and simply avoided the question. David Cameron hasn't even acknowledged its existence.
The Prime Minister seems to take this as a compliment as though Cameron has been incorporated into New Labour. The reality is that New Labour has been shifted so far to the right that it is easy to see a sizeable proportion of Conservatives now accomodated into New Labour.
Cameron's strategy though even in the crudest electoral calculations seems to have missed the point of recent elections. The most significant feature of the recent period has been the electorate's increasingly angry disillusionment with New Labour, both its policies and its style of politics. People increasingly do not like the society that is being created by the policies pursued by New Labour and now advocated by the New Conservatives.
The disllusionment therefore isn't just with Tony Blair the individual but with the concrete results of his New Labour's policies and the consequent breakdown of trust in both him and politics more generally.
Although there was no policy content to Cameron's speech he was offering virtually the same political mood music as New Labour but with a fresher face.
There is a real world test for this coterie of political consensus of the right.
In a society which is visibly fraying at the edges as a result of the most prolonged period of widening inequality in the last century what will their policies do to redistribute wealth and power in Britain?
There is no point any politician wittering on in even the most flowery conference eloquence until they demonstrate that they are willing and are capable of tackling this issue.
How can we put up with a society in which the gross inequality of distribution of wealth determines so crudely and on such a scale not just the quality of the life of our children but even their very life expectancy?
Tony Blair has had his oppportunity to tackle this issue and simply avoided the question. David Cameron hasn't even acknowledged its existence.
posted by John at 2:00 AM
5 Comments:
I so agree John,
I feel the time has come for a new analysis of Britain. Just who are our voters? Is it the vocal population who inhabit the internet or those who can afford to get to conference (and then get heard..). Perhaps Downing street is only listening to focus groups? Having sat on a media focus group - in my experience I cannot conceive of a more manipulative method of gaining opinion.
We hear talk of the party reaching out to the full membership - but so far that is only for those who are computer literate, although I am happy to report that there is growing evidence of many active discussions on the internet about the lack of social responsibility and the direction to which the party is heading. Notwithstanding, the traditional labour voter sat on his hands at the last local elections - will it take further damaging losses for the party leadership to see sense?
Will Joe Public finally give up on politics altogether, no longer exercise his hard won right to vote because he no longer has choice? What then? If our only choices at the ballot box are a false diversity, are we back to the position of only landowners having a meaningful vote.
It cannot (will not) be power at all costs, I can only see an eventual convergence of LaboraTory and a vacancy for a new truly socially responsible party.
Labour supporters - it's up to us to make sure this doesn't have to happen!
Blair adopted Thatcherism ten years after its expiry date and now Cameron is strangely drawn to another ten year old con trick.
Do we really get the politicians we deserve? What have we done so wrong?
I was watching the News a while back and at one point I did seriously mistake "Dave" Cameron for Tony Blair
People need a fresh agenda that values people before the market.
I did not join the Labour party so that it could morph into the SDP!
Good luck John!
Blair's agenda would have been best for Labour in 1983. It was old even by 1997. Now is the time for a change and I'm glad someone in Labour is finaly standing up to offer that. At the next election Cameron will stand for a continuation of the failed policies of the past two decades. Let's make sure Labour stands for something different.
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