David Cameron

The big parties’ council tax claims: correct, deceptive and useless

Cameron's Villa punditry is as reliable as his tax claims

By:
Published April 23, 2013, in Opinion


(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Did you catch David Cameron on Aston Villa’s Premier League survival chances last week? He was in Nuneaton launching the Conservatives’ local election campaign and, being a longstanding Villa fan (in the way so many of us developed our childhood allegiances, his uncle was the club’s Chairman), he was asked about their chances of avoiding relegation. His response: “I’m sure it’ll be alright in the end”.

Fantastic! A politician’s near-perfect answer. Short and upbeat. Inoffensive, in that it didn’t mention at whose expense Villa might survive. No definition of ‘the end’ – of the season, of the decade, of the millennium? – so no possibility of being proved wrong. And, as a consequence, utterly meaningless. The trouble was that several

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Whatever happened to ‘Operation Balsall Heath’?

Cameron's Tory detox plan showis little sign of convincing voters

By:
Published March 12, 2013, in Opinion


balsallIt seems an age since David Cameron gave the appearance of being a semi-permanent fixture in Birmingham.

You couldn’t keep him away from the place in the run-up to the 2010 General Election, and in the first few months after he formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats.

Balsall Heath was proclaimed to be the Tory party’s Big Society in action.

In 2007, when he was leader of the opposition, Cameron even spent a couple of days living with an Asian corner shop owner and his family. Mr Cameron, an Old Etonian, explained that he did this so that he could learn more about life in inner city communities.

It was while Cameron was at his temporary accommodation in Balsall Heath that Tony Blair quit as prime minister, handing the office to Gordon Brown. The Tory leader’s media-savvy response was to head for Ladypool Road, Sparkbrook, where he was filmed

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Tough Tory choices for a Sutton Coldfield by-election

Cameron must fear resurgent Labour and UKIP in the wings if Mitchell goes to EU

By:
Published March 4, 2013, in Opinion


suttonWith the Eastleigh by-election debacle still ringing around his ears, David Cameron can hardly be relishing another challenging electoral contest even in what may at first glance appear to be a rock-solid Tory seat.

But the prime minister’s reported intention to make ‘plebgate’ MP Andrew Mitchell a European Commissioner opens up the possibility of a tasty tussle for votes in Sutton Coldfield.

It is true that any election to find a replacement for Mr Mitchell would not have to be held until next year, but the benefit of having plenty of time to plan for a by-election does not necessarily mean that the Conservative candidate will be victorious.

After all, the party had many months to prepare for Eastleigh given the clear likelihood that Liberal Democrat MP and former Energy Minister Chris Hune would eventually be forced to resign. But the generous timescale appeared to make little difference to the Tory high command who allowed 2010 General Election loser Maria Hutchings, a most unsuitable choice, to be the candidate.

Ms Hutchings duly presided over a 14 per cent collapse in the Tory vote as Lib Dem Mike Thornton cruised to victory. UKIP candidate Diana James came second with the benefit of a 19 per cent swing against the Liberal Democrats.

It can safely be assumed there will be no shortage of Conservatives throwing their hat in the ring

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EU renegotiation? Who are you kidding, Dave? By Nikki Sinclaire

The Prime Minister will fudge his big Euro speech, says the West Midlands MEP

By:
Published January 22, 2013, in Opinion


( credit: Wikipedia)

We are just 24 hours from a pivotal speech from David Cameron,  mooted to outline what his vision is in terms of the UK’s on-going relationship with the European Union.

Many speculate that rather than a referendum promise that much of the electorate are hoping for, the Prime Minister will outline his view that renegotiation of our position in the EU is the best option for this country.

Although Mr Cameron may believe that renegotiation is a possibility, those who work within the walls of Brussels have thrown cold water onto the whole idea.

At a press conference in the European Parliament in Strasbourg last week, President Martin Schulz delivered a crushing blow to British Prime

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Cameron struggles to ditch ‘toxic Tories’ image

Prime Minister reaches out to hard-working 'strivers', but right-wing rhetoric never far away

By:
Published October 10, 2012, in Opinion


Upon becoming party leader in 2005, David Cameron immediately set out to repair the severely compromised Tory brand.

A series of public relations disasters through the late 1990s and into the 2000s, culminating in the  expenses scandal where MPs were found to have claimed for everything from moat cleaning to duck houses, helped to reinforce the general public perception of Conservatives as greedy, self-serving, arrogant and rather unpleasant individuals.

This, combined with a hangover from the Thatcher era, left the Tories with a huge problem. They were invariably seen as the instinctive cutters of public services, and in particular a party with a mission to destroy the NHS.

In his early days, Cameron’s hunch that wholesale change was required if the party was ever again to form a government on its own began to be reinforced by the results from focus groups. Bold policy initiatives might attract keen support from a wide range of voters, but that enthusiasm

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