He explains why he believes Gyimah, his former PPS, and others are making a mistake in switching to the Liberal Democrats.
It would be easy, but mistaken, to take the path of least resistance and simply re-enact the dated Cameron ‘modernising’ agenda.
Graham Brady has recorded some frank advice to the party for Radio 4’s The World This Weekend (to be broadcast at 1pm today). He started by describing the need to make in-roads outside of liberal metropolitan areas: "The changes David Cameron has made in the Conservative Party have been very successful in some places, and […]
In an article for The Observer the shadow housing minister Michael Gove argues that David Cameron is setting the political agenda. Mr Gove, expected to join the shadow cabinet in the imminent reshuffle, points to (1) leadership on the environment and the family, (2) opposition to top-down control of the public services and (3) preference […]
Earlier today I highlighted Oliver Letwin’s socio-centric article in The Times and worried about his opaque choice of phrases. In the speech he made at Policy Exchange he admitted that it was all part of a grand plan: "There is a reason why I have been using this ridiculous, high-falutin language. I want to make […]
Oliver Letwin is undoubtedly a massive influence on David Cameron. He was the first senior Tory to back Mr Cameron’s leadership bid and his cautious approach to tax, his enthusiasm for Kyoto environmentalism and his emphasis on redistribution have all become hallmarks of the Project for which he is policy director. In that role Oliver […]
Social decay is Britain’s most serious weakness says Danny Kruger in a pamphlet entitled ‘On Fraternity’ to be published tomorrow by the Civitas think tank: "Hundreds of local institutions, non-commercial and quasi-commercial, were swept away in the flood of reform. Small high-street grocers and bakers disappeared. Family-run pubs were subsumed into giant chains. Whitehall desolated […]
I posted a report on David Cameron’s child wellbeing speech on Friday morning and still hope to write an analysis of it in the next few days. It appears to be a very significant speech with many positive ingredients (excepting the too heavy implication of a contradiction between capitalism and community strength) and if he […]
David Cameron today used this famous Horatio Nelson quote (albeit substituting England for Britain and adding "and woman") in a speech to launch the Young Adult Trust today. He advocated lowering certain age restrictions for young people who have demonstrated that they are responsible citizens by participating in a voluntary civilian version of National Service. […]
See here. Hat-tip to ToryRadio.
Richard Reeves – in the Labour conference edition of the New Statesman (not yet online) – thinks Brown et al should be worried. Reeves draws on George Lakoff‘s theory that voters are much less interested in a politician’s specific policy recommedndations and are much more interested in whether politicians "get" the issues that they are […]
Since I last surveyed the political landscape in 2013 and 2014, some ruling tribes have been cast down, and some formerly lost tribes have risen to rule.