Leaders 'set aside' collective responsibility
David Cameron and Nick Clegg have formally agreed to "set aside" Cabinet
collective responsiblity over boundary changes, Downing Street has revealed.
No.10 said the decision to suspend ministerial responsibility, agreed
before a Lords vote yesterday, was "the first time it has happened under this
Coalition".
Given that the Conservatives, by common consent, need at
least a 7 or 8% lead in the headline polls to gain a majority in the Commons of even
1 seat, the collapse of the boundary review plans are more than a mere setback.
Barring an economic rebound that affects all parts of the UK, Cameron and Osborne
are sunk.
Cameron should have taken a horse whip to Clegg, of course,
and humiliated him for his treachery and double-dealing with the Labour Party in
the Lords. How long the government could have lasted is anyone’s guess, but it
would have guaranteed the Libs being wiped out at a subsequent election, making
it a two-horse race (I speculate that Dave would have seen the light on Europe
and welcomed back a million UKIP votes).
But Cameron is as wet as a scrubber and a hand-wringing social-democrat
himself, so there is no surprise here.
What, my friends, are the circumstances that might yet win
the election for the Conservatives? I think it’s the economy, only. Tell me in
the Comments.
4 comments:
Europe. Its not as powerful an argument as the UKIP think it is, but Cameron can trap Miliband if he plays it carefully.
If he can get Ed Moribund to refuse a referendum on EU membership, and then issue a nailed on promise for a proper multi question EU vote himself, he will attract back the Tories thinking of UKIP, who otherwise probably wouldn't vote at all.
If Dave was very clever, just before election he'd have plenty of Turkey to join EU, unlimited immigration for 40 million Muslims to the UK, scare stories in the press.
Will he play the UKIP game, for his own political gain?
Not a chance. He'll leave all that huffing and puffing to the Farage band.
And they will take down 20 Tory seats without gaining even one themselves.
Miliband will bag the gains that might just allow him to limp over the line with a 15+ majority.
We'll see on Friday just how far Cameron is willing to go. I expect no further than the barest minimum he needs to retain his leadership and nowhere near far enough to win back the deserters.
BTW - Jolly good posts. I always read.
This new years resolution seems to be holding.
Europe (inc. stopping lying about how we might repatriate powers). EU In/Out Referendum.
Growing a pair.
Stop looking so shiny.
West Lothian question *essential* now they have messed up boundary reform.
The Great Repeal bill - rather than just pissing about with Section 5, yet leaving is just as open to abuse (see Anna Raccoon) as it now is.
Do something with Clegg, or maybe, do something TO Clegg.
That will do for starters.
A really tough stance on Romania and Bulgaria. Without it they really are sunk - and I don't just mean the general election.
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