It's William Hag... I mean David Cameron!

From the newly elected leader of the British Conservatives, David Cameron:

I said when I launched the campaign that we need to change in order to win. Now that I have won we will change. We will change the way we look. Nine out of ten Conservative MPs are white men. We need to change the scandalous under-representation of women in the Conservative party and we will do that. We need to change the way we feel. No more; grumbling about modern Britain. I live in a world as it is not how it was. Our best days lie ahead. We need to change the way we think.


Hmmm, so now we'll end up with a Tory party that's more progressive than Labour, and a Labour Party that's becoming more conservative than the Tories. Surely there's not enough room for everyone in the middle of the road. Someone might get run over. Tony?? David??
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And just a quicky - the Conservatives have launched a new slogan: Ideas that will change our country. Obviously the irony-o-meter was on the blink that day. Conservatives, the advocates of change.... makes perfect sense.

Comments

NahumAyliffe said…
Good piece Ari, but since when did a party's name actually represent their ideological position.

In Australia, we have the Liberal Party, containing only a small number of liberals and a whole swag of conservatives. The ALP is lead by a conservative leader and has an overrepresentation of Unionists, when union membership across the community has been in decline for the past 20 years.

So why should things be any different in the UK. Conservatives leading an agenda of change. Why not?

Shouldn't governments be about presenting new ideas, rather than trying to ape each other in their deft appeal to the fickle support of the public?

It's one thing that Howard cannot be criticized about, he has pursued an agenda of ideas. Whether or not those ideas are taking the country forward is probably another story.
9 December 2005 at 17:37
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