Dave's New Blue Crewe

I've been pondering why it is raining so much seeing as it is a Bank holiday week and half-term for the schools. C'est la vie, probably. I've had to think of alternatives for days out. Days in with two small children are not necessarily as easy, at least for me! Gordon Brown must be thinking along similar lines. "Why is it raining, politically that is, such dire stuff all the time?", he contemplates. It could be called a deep depression. Or stormy weather.

David Cameron is basking in the sunshine! Crewe and Nantwich saw to that. It must have been terrible having to play down the prospects of the Conservative candidate, all the while knowing it was going to be a big win. "We're with you, Mr.Cameron" - "It's time for a change!" - "This lot's lost the plot" and so on. Walkabouts in Crewe were never like this, at least not for 25 years! That's when the last by-election win from Labour happened for the Tories.

The BBC seemed to get in a muddle. Was it the Ilford North by-election or the Mitcham and Morden one? There is a subtle difference, but the BBC failed to elaborate, switching from whichever one seemed best. At Ilford in 1978, the Conservative candidate, Vivian Bendall beat someone called Tessa Jowell! That was a gain from Labour. It was also won despite a challenge from Tom Iremonger, the former Conservative MP for the seat who had been unseated by the electorate and deposed by his association in 1974. The Mitcham and Morden seat, in 1982, was different in that the sitting Labour MP, Bruce Douglas-Mann, had defected to the SDP, resigned, and then came second to the Tory, Angela Rumbold. It has always been seen as a gain from Labour. However, the Ilford result probably sits better with the commentators as it is 30 years ago and was the by-election that signalled the end of the Callaghan government.

So David Cameron is chirpy and upbeat. Now he needs to set out his stall a bit better than a window dresser would. We need to see the goodies. Are they well made, or will it be cheap stuff from China. The latest policy of getting youngsters to work sounds good but seems to be more stick than carrot. A lasting approach would be making the carrot a bit tasty. Unless there is someone or something to spark their imagination to stay in work, these kids are going into a revolving door under this policy.

David Cameron hails the end of New Labour. I can't wait! The way forward is sound policies and a sense of hope.

Posted in: Conservative Party,Crewe and Nantwich by-election,David Cameron