Gerald Warner has entertained us throughout the campaign with descriptions of "Cast-Iron Cameron" and the "Vichy Tories" for selling their soul in order to gain power. Dave is now Prime Minister in what the British call a "Hung Parliament", and what we across-the-pond continentals have normalized as rather routine minority government. Whereas Harper would rather play off parties against each other, Dave is content on entering into a partnership with progressives. I don't think this bodes well for the future of conservatism and the Tory long game. Much better to sit this one out, and let the Labour-Lib-Dem progressives bankrupt themselves into oblivion. Dave is now completely beholden to Nick Clegg and will do pretty much anything to not let go. The two are joined at the neck. The Tories call this a victory?
To paraphrase Churchill: some victory...some neck.
It is a disaster for true conservatism.
ReplyDeleteI disagree, he had to play the game as the ruling government dictated it, every opposition does. Now he has won he should be able to cut a more conservative line. We will have to wait and see what happens now, but there is little point pre-judging the Tories based on how they have had to behave to win government.
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ReplyDeleteThat should of course be "...since Douglas-Home".
ReplyDelete:-)
Crux Australis.
Oh come now.
ReplyDeleteDefine conservatism and progressivism. Conservatives can be progressive, you know. And why would anyone call the LibDems progressive? They don't know what they are, the poor dears.
My hope is that many good things may come of this PM. No euro is one that comes readily to mind.
Anonymous is quite right, 'progress' is not the trouble, it is the ideologically driven actions that are committed in its name which are the problem. Britain has, to its credit, always been progressive (those 'rule of law' and 'industrial revolution' incidents spring to mind).
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