Open Road

Thursday Sep 6th 2007

Put up - don’t shut up

The boy Dave came out fighting in the Sun today (6 September).  Unfortunately while scything down his opponents with a fine left hook, he also managed to knock himself out.

One of the good things about David Cameron’s incumbency has been the regularity with which ancient Tories who last held office of consequence in the Mesolithic era can be depended on to pop up and complain.  As has often been pointed out, defining yourself is difficult and sounds pretentious.  Getting other people to denounce you is much better, especially if they are (a) old (a guaranteed sin in today’s politics) and (b) right-wing (hence can be regarded as fair game by the laughably ‘impartial’ BBC).

So step forward the Marquess of Lothian (aka Michael Ancram).  Perfect.  He’s a toff.  He’s old.  He had to publish his pamphlet himself for God’s sake, the literary equivalent of buttonholing people in the saloon bar of the Red Lion (“Let me tell you what I bloody well think.  The whole bloody lot of ‘em should be strung up they should.  Mind you hanging’s too good…etc etc).

This enabled DC and his acolytes to look normal while Lord Loony had his rant.  Great.  But why the line about shutting up?  “I want all Conservatives to think carefully before they open their mouths”.  It’s a free country, innit?  Why should they?  Politicians who talk tough like that always end up looking weak.  Cameron should have remembered the example of Iain Duncan-Smith (snigger) who tried the same ‘hard man’ line, and instead told the world he loved hearing half-baked rubbish about returning to core Tory values.  Anyone outside the tiny circle of ultra-Thatcherites understands the lessons of the last two elections.  Core values don’t work.  They lose votes.