08 May 2010

UK election, the aftermath

David Cameron has already laid down his offer to claim power with the support of the Liberal Democrats. They have been talking. Cameron has stated what he wont compromise:
- He wont surrender more control to the EU (bit late though);
- Maintenance of national defence (code for retaining and replacing the nuclear deterrent);
- The relatively closed door policy to immigration from outside the EU.

However, he is willing to surrender to the environmentalist agenda, which he shares, with the Liberal Democrats. He believes there is enough commonality to form a government. He risks leading a government that will bitterly disappoint his supporters,

Yet, if David Cameron does become Prime Minister it wont be the great success that was promised when he became leader. Simon Heffer in the Daily Telegraph has a rather damning verdict:

"Dave had to fight a widely despised Prime Minister leading a Government incompetent and destructive on a scale unseen in living memory. Seldom has there been a softer target; but seldom has one been missed so unnecessarily. With just 36 per cent of the vote, the Tories stood almost still since 2005. They are now on their knees to their other enemy, the Lib Dems. "

Gordon Brown may feel wounded, but in fact he did not do anywhere near as badly as forecast. He did better than Michael Foot in 1983, he did not come third, and he fended off perhaps a third of the Tory targets, and most of the LibDem ones.

The question is whether what David Cameron did to the Conservatives, saved it or cauterised it? I suspect it has done both.

1 comment:

OECD rank 22 kiwi said...

When do you think we will be going to the polls again? Before the end of the year?