Tony Blair returns from his hols with his personal popularity ratings submerging like the nuclear submarines his party won't let him re-arm, his government ministries in a self-evident shambles, especially the two in the front line of the War on Terror, the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence. Taxes going up, up and away, even unemployment, hitherto hidden by massive government employment programmes that keep the bone-idle and stupid in useless un-civil service perks-for-life, is going up, as well. It is even dawning on the more purblind comrades that mass immigration and multi-culturalism are twin disasters in the making.
At this vulnerable moment in the prime minister's administration, up steps 'Dim Dave' Cameron, leader of what is laughingly known as Her Majesty's loyal opposition - well, New Labour laughs at it and why shouldn't they? - and delivers a 'shock 'n' awe' strategic attack on - wait for it - Mrs. Thatcher!
In days gone by, Tory leaders had a few elder statesmen around to whisper in their ears just before they went mad but now there are no statesmen and you're an elder if you pass forty! But they might have said something like this: "Er, David, sorry, sorry, I mean 'Dave,' my dear old thing, word to the wise and all that, thought you should know that Mrs. T. walked the plank over 15 years ago, she's history, old boy, all blood under the bridge, what! And our 'skools' being what they are, you know, a total dead loss and therefor our younger voters being thick as pig shit, you might as well slag off Stanley Baldwin because most of them have no idea who she was. And also, hope you don't mind me mentioning it, you know, bit of advice from an older chap to a younger chap,but some of our, er, supporters, you remember, they used to call themselves Tories and they used to vote for us, well, actually, they rather liked her, in fact, come to think of it, they liked her a lot and what with you being leader of the Tory party (you are, aren't you?) they think you should be beating up that oily rotter Blair and his frightful Scotch side-kick. What do you think, manage that could you? Cheer up the troops immensely, if you could."
Manage it? 'Dim Dave' couldn't manage a piss up in a brewery!
...To which dear David "Call me Dave" Cameron presumably replied, "Don't be silly, oh and by the way Mrs Thatcher used to call the African National Congress a terrorist organisation, shocking, isn't it? Another grave historical error of judgement which I must now point out to enlightened readers of the Observer".
What a plonker.
Posted by: Tom Tyler | Wednesday, 30 August 2006 at 01:51
Its because in order to win elections, a political party has to capture what is called the "centre ground". Thus just as Bliar moved a left-wing party to the right in order to win elections, Cameron has to move a right-wing party to the left. His attacks on his own history are nothing more than part of this strategy.
The dislike you and other conservatives have towards this process is exactly what people on the left went through 12 years ago with blair (and still go through today). Its largely caused by britain's dysfunctional electoral system, and if you want to have a genuine conservative party back you should probably support changes to the electoral system.
Posted by: Planeshift | Wednesday, 30 August 2006 at 16:02