‘Preying on young children before they have wised up to what is being sold to them isn’t right.’ So says David Cameron on the issue of ‘sexualising’ of children through marketing and advertising. Hear hear.
But delete ‘young chldren’ in the opening sentence above, insert ‘the electorate’, and we have DC’s Tories in a nutshell. I have started a new game, asking people I meet to name a Tory policy. Some of the answers are below …
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"Your country needs you. Your world needs you. Your time is now."
Our politics is a mess. We have leaders who can't or shouldn't be allowed to lead. We endure governments that lie, and seek to undermine our democratic values. And we are confronted with policies that serve the interests of the privileged few. It's no surprise that so many of us feel frustrated, let down and drawn to ask, 'But what can I do?' That question is the inspiration behind this book. It's a question regularly posed to Alastair Campbell, not least in reaction to The Rest is Politics, the chart-topping podcast he presents with former Tory Cabinet minister Rory Stewart. His answer, typically, is forthright and impassioned. We cannot afford to stand on the sidelines. If we think things need to change, then we need to change them, and that means getting involved. But What Can I Do? provides each of us with the motivation and the tools to make a difference. Opening with an acute analysis of our polarised world and the populists and extremists who have shaped it, it goes on to show how we help transform it. It explains how we can develop our skills of advocacy and persuasion. It draws on Alastair’s long experience, as well as on role models and lessons from history, to offer practical tips on starting and leading a campaign. It offers advice on developing confidence and coping with criticism and setbacks. And it sets out the practical steps by which we can become political players ourselves. Part call to arms, part practical handbook, But What Can I Do? will prove required reading for anyone who wants to help change things for the better.
There’s the cuts policy which is rightly coming under attack by 60 leading economists today. Then there’s the marriage tax policy he can’t explain. And the inheritance tax cuts for his rich friends. So don’t be too harsh. They do have some policies
I rarely watch Question Time these days but watched last night because I had read somewhere – I think in The Guardian – that Rory Stewart was the nearest thing the Tories had to an exciting new face for the future. Oh My God! If this is the future, please let us go back to the past. These people are dreadful dreadful dreadful and have to be stopped…
Swedish schools. Kind of…
Twinning Manchester with Baltimore.
Oh No! George gets it wrong again. 60 economists rebuke his claims that they back his monetary policies in a letter to the FT today.
So let’s add this to the marriage tax proposals, the child tax proposals and the pension plans that have all been altered.
No wonder some of the tory backers in the City are worried about this clown.
The Tories have some policies. I have even printed them from their website. The problem with them is that almost all of their policies which they have not borrowed from Labour are simply wrong.
I have already dealt with their decentralisation plans and the need for people suddenly to become good in order to their independence policy to work in practice.
David Cameron has promised radical change in welfare and education. Their welfare plans seem to be pure fantasy. And why borrow school systems from Sweden, as our (Finland) is the best in the world.
It has been yet another bad week for the Conservatives. With few more errors and they will lose their last ounce of credibility. The Economist has also shown that their Broken Britain claim is unfounded.
Doubts are growing over David Cameron´s abilities. The Conservatives are divided. There is Cameron/Hilton camp. And Osborne/Coulson camp. And the Thatcherite Right is ready to use the economic situation as pretext to fulfil their wildest dreams.
In order to win, the Tories need the votes of people in the North. But why would anyone, for example, in Burnley vote for the Conservatives? What – apart from political satire – would be better under the Tories? Economy? No, the Tories have only called wrong shots since 2008. Public services? (I do not even have to answer this one.)
There are absolutely no positive reasons to vote for the Tories. And there is hardly reason in risking your living standard and going for change for change´s sake.
I have recently been reading Robert Harris´s brilliant novel on Rome. As Cicero would put it, Labour must win the general election, not for itself, but for Britain. And Labour must believe that it can win!
Pah! Only 60 Economists critiscising Osborn. Pathetic!
Maggie had 364 critiscise her and look how wrong they all were….
Question Time-Rory Stewart! Does that man even live in this country? What a perfect example of a toffee nosed,condescending Tory! He made me feel like a serf to his lord of the manor,the public are too ignorant to make important decisions,we must leave it to important,clever people like himself,he actually looked down his nose at people!Its been a long time since anyone made me feel so,so..little! I thought the actor,Tom Conti was far more open,warm and erudite. Why do the Tories insist on believing that the public want to go back to the old class system,where only the rich and powerful rule and the rest of us do as we’re told because they know whats best for us? Anyone thinking of changing their vote to Tory should be forced to watch a clip of this man on last nights show,even his body language speaks volumes!
“we have DC’s Tories in a nutshell”
No one expects you to be impartial, but for someone who did the job you did to go after the Tories for not being clear about policy is pretty feeble. It’s really not going to convince anyone who wasn’t going to vote Labour already.
“DC’s Tories” have based their approach to political presentation on lessons learnt from opposing the Labour party while you were in charge of communications. I was in the audience for several speeches by Tony Blair when he was Leader of the Opposition. I have also seen Cameron speak live. I’m no fan of either man, but at least Cameron can string a sentence together that actually means something. Blair just used to spew out meaningless collections of buzz words that only seemed to vary according to what had been in the papers that morning. He never attempted to set out any detailed policies. So it is hard to take you seriously when your candidate only ever seemed to be interested in getting his ten second soundbite on the news.
Incidentally, I’ve been a little lax keeping up with the news recently. Could you please tell me where I can find a detailed explanation of what Labour party policies will be if they win the election?
I too watched QT. However, I thought Rory Stewart was excellent on Afghanastan – the only person on the panel who had knowledge. He does need to watch that his intellectual arguments are not easily conveyed to a less informed audience. Given that he is a candidate and not used to this type of exposure, I thought he did well. I also thought his views on other topics were firmly in the middle – I appreciated this.
I will give you one policy that I know the Tories are considering. It relates to insurance for residential care and is very much on my mind at the moment (I am retired) given all the press coverage of a “death tax”. I pay insurance, household, buildings, travel etc etc. I have never made a claim but think the risk involved is worth the premium. Similarly, whilst I have never been a hospital inpatient, am physically very active (runner), mentally active etc, I would probably pay £8,000 for an insurance premium than have my estate debited by £20,000 or 10%. I think the latter is outrageous as I have spent my life saving for my retirement whilst others have not. Universalism comes at a terrible price for those of us who have been thrifty.
Living as I do in a marginal constituency I get expensive promotional materials from the Conservative party. This places me in a first class position to answer the question about policy.
The policy is:
Change
and we are to vote for it.
Thus we have “Vote for Change”.
I have in my hand the results of a big survey carried out by Hove & Portslade Conservatives. Mike Weatherley is the parliamentary candidate.
The survey was done in the Summer of 2008 but the results have appeared now as the election is looming.
It’s quite a clever game because I think that “survey” at the time was a form with the Conservative party logo all over so that Labour people like me wouldn’t bother with it.
“86.5% either strongly or somewhat agreed that the government should have put money aside during the boom years”
is the biggest “fact” presented. The assumption in the question being that they didn’t put money aside during the boom years and of course that must be why we have financial problems. It’s not the kind of question you can say no to.
Anyway there are quite a lot of pages dedicated to the results of this “survey” all in glossy colour. Lots of graphs showing the results to questions. Quotes from Mike the parliamentary candidate are included to flesh out some of the issues.
For this statement:
“Britain should immediately withdraw all armed forces from Iraq”
people had been asked to agree or disagree to varying degrees and there is an impressive graph showing the results.
Beside this is a helpful comment from Mike:
“A controversial issue, with huge support to bring our forces home. Sadly, as our troops were redeployed to Afghanistan, the Government failed to support them with adequate equipment. A disgrace.”
On the back page of the “survey” results are what at first looks like the policies, well, no, not quite, better to call them “commitments”. In fact “Ten in 2010”.
Here is what Mike is committed to:
1. Better Homes
2. Stronger Communities
3. Civic Renewal
4. World Class City
5. Community Safety
6. Positive Futures
7. City Circle
8. First Class Education
9. Sustainable City
10. Sustainable Economy
There is a bit of text for each one, so “City Circle”, for example, is about making sure older people feel connected to their communities.
It looks like the Conservative Party is in favour of “Positive Futures” which is a relief because it must mean that Labour want “Negative Futures”.
Just saw you on Alan Titchmarsh… I do have a life – honest! lol! I like the way you keep bringing the questions back to 2nd book! I can’t believe the whole “politicians crying on TV” thing is still going on -I wish the media would get over it and ask a relevant question… I live in hope… Don’t know if you watched the rest of the show, you were the warm-up for fixing doggie doings on lawn…!
Hunting with dogs.