Last night I was watching my recording of The Worst Job In British Politics: The Leader of the Opposition from Monday night and I could not believe one utterance I heard from Michael Portillo. He said about David Cameron that he did not have any policies but that did not matter so much these days.
Well excuse me Mr, I didn't quite become leader of my party, Portillo but is making policy decisions not what being in Parliament and especially if you are seeking to lead it. Portillo also later went on to say that he didn't think Cameron would become Prime Minister at the next time of asking but would do well enough to be retained to win the election after that.
Can we face almost a decade of no policy from the Tory party? I know I'd quite enjoy that especially as there is nothing better than asking Tory contacts (yes I have a few even here in Scotland) what they plan to do about X, Y or Z. Well if the huskie/hoodie hugging leader of the opposition wants to test Portillo's theory he should carry on.
To counter the argument Alistair Campbell at least had the sence to say Cameron is not the new Tony Blair, if anything he is the new Alistair Campbell, ie all spin and no substance. Campbell said that it looked unlikely that Cameron would survive the hurly burly of a general election and would possible suffer the same fate as William Hague.
Portillo might be right, like it or not, as Cameron is gaining support though keeping quiet about real policies. It seems to me that many, if not most people nowadays choose their party on the grounds of impressions and gestures, not real policies. Maybe they are too lazy to find out what the parties really stand for, and these people are the ones who Cameron is appealing to.
ReplyDeleteIt occurs to me, that Portillo might not like the situation either, but can't criticise his own party directly. Before last GE he wrote a long article which I thought flattered the Lib Dems, and he has several times praised some LD politicians.