It is fun to follow the coverage of Cameron’s speech when you remind yourself of what happened before Blair won in ’97. The right-wing pundits lost it; it became obvious he was going to win, and they didn’t really know how to cope. This reached a pinnacle of absurdity with the Tory MPs proposing to Blair that he cross the house and join the Conservatives.No-one had any idea how to attack Blair.
Woy Hattersley’s animated performance on the BBC’s coverage of the speech yesterday showed the same sense of panic. In contrast to IDS, who, as ever, came across as a thoroughly decent and fair-minded man, Hattersley was manic in his denunciation of Cameron as all style and no substance. Heard it before, Woy, heard it before. I remember the same being said of Blair when he was racking up huge majorities and 50% approval for the Labour Party. Alice Miles has totally lost it in the Times today, again trying to claim that Cameron is all style. The thing is, just like Blair’s detractors, they can’t see the substance because they don’t agree with it. For them it has no significance. When Cameron promises to fire officials who give marks in exams to students who write ‘fuck off’, that is real substance for the right. When he promises to end political correctness in schools, that is substance. When he promises to stop the demands that parents get CRB checks before taking part in exchange programmes, that is substance. Corporation tax is only for the rich? Look at Ireland.
It’s over for Brown and the Labour Party. Their supporters no longer sound like they’re responding to Cameron. They don’t get his appeal, and the appeal of the Tories right now, which is why they have no idea how they would need to change to get elected again. The problem is that people have become sick of socialist policies, and all they have to offer is more of the same. I almost feel relief! We’re almost rid of these idiots.
EU007 