Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Green tinted spectacles
A letter writer in today's Guardian illustrates why it is a good idea not to draw conclusions on the British political scene from Tokyo. Phillip Hall concludes that:
During his six-month reign, Cameron has highlighted green policies and attacked big business over bad practice. The message should be clear: the Conservatives are gaining ground by moving to the left, while Blair persists with an outmoded Thatcherite platform the electorate thought it had dumped in 1997.
His summation of Cameron's position however is as superficial as the Tories' own green conversion. The fact is that Cameron has talked green but acted blue. His much publicised bike rides are accompanied by a chauffeur-driven car containing his shoes and his papers, he has refused to address the hard questions on the environment by penalising polluters, whilst his transport spokesperson continues to promote the car with plans to ease congestion by allowing drivers to turn left on a red light.
On wider issues the Tories remain as far to the right as ever. Mr Cameron continues to insist that Tory MEPs should leave the centre-right group in the European parliament, the European People's party (EPP), to join a more Eurosceptic bloc. Although he has supposedly dropped tax cuts his economic outlook remains Thatcherite, whilst his party continues to defy him on a whole range of issues, including his famous A-list.
The truth is that Cameron has moved the Conservative Party to the left and is in competition with Tony Blair only on one issue - the battle for good PR and spin. It is on this ground that they are both most comfortable but unless there is substance beneath his position he may well find himself being swallowed up and spat out.
During his six-month reign, Cameron has highlighted green policies and attacked big business over bad practice. The message should be clear: the Conservatives are gaining ground by moving to the left, while Blair persists with an outmoded Thatcherite platform the electorate thought it had dumped in 1997.
His summation of Cameron's position however is as superficial as the Tories' own green conversion. The fact is that Cameron has talked green but acted blue. His much publicised bike rides are accompanied by a chauffeur-driven car containing his shoes and his papers, he has refused to address the hard questions on the environment by penalising polluters, whilst his transport spokesperson continues to promote the car with plans to ease congestion by allowing drivers to turn left on a red light.
On wider issues the Tories remain as far to the right as ever. Mr Cameron continues to insist that Tory MEPs should leave the centre-right group in the European parliament, the European People's party (EPP), to join a more Eurosceptic bloc. Although he has supposedly dropped tax cuts his economic outlook remains Thatcherite, whilst his party continues to defy him on a whole range of issues, including his famous A-list.
The truth is that Cameron has moved the Conservative Party to the left and is in competition with Tony Blair only on one issue - the battle for good PR and spin. It is on this ground that they are both most comfortable but unless there is substance beneath his position he may well find himself being swallowed up and spat out.
