Does David Cameron Have a Future After Latest Election Defeat?
In the wake of another special-election drubbing in Britain, questions are again being asked about the future of Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron. While he has no shortage of critics on the left, more significant is the growing dissent within his own party. If the knives are not quite out for Cameron yet, some of his MPs are certainly hovering close to the cutlery.
The latest special election (they’re called by-elections in the UK) was won by the Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives’ partners in the coalition government. The Lib Dem victory was not unexpected; the problem for Cameron is that his party was beaten into third place by UKIP, the anti-European Union, tough-on-immigration party that has been attracting growing numbers of former Tory voters.
Meanwhile, Britain’s economy stubbornly refuses to grow, and although unemployment has been falling, so have been living standards as stagnant wages are outstripped by inflation. The pound is close to recent historic lows against both the dollar and the euro, with both inflation and the fall in sterling exacerbated by the Bank of England’s ongoing policy of using quantitative easing — printing money — to try to jumpstart the economy.
Cameron and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne have failed to bring borrowing under control, and last month the UK lost its AAA credit rating with Moody’s. The downgrade isn’t the end of the world — Britain’s borrowing costs remain low, and after the U.S. was downgraded by Standard & Poor’s in 2011, its borrowing costs fell — but the downgrade is a political setback, if not a serious economic one.
Increasingly, Cameron is under pressure from many in his party to adopt more traditionally Tory policies on the economy, public spending, and immigration ahead of the 2015 general election. Not only, goes the argument, are these policies necessary in their own right; they’ll also neutralize the UKIP threat, and prevent a repeat of the 2010 election when UKIP is widely thought to have denied the Tories an outright majority by splitting the small-c conservative vote in marginal seats.
Responding to the latest setback, Cameron has insisted he will not “lurch” to the right, although in the run-up to last week’s contest he was showing signs of doing just that with talk of curtailing immigrants’ access to benefits and healthcare — precisely the sorts of issues on which he’s been outflanked by UKIP. His detractors, however, suspect it was only talk, designed to steal UKIP’s thunder.
Cameron’s ministers have also been floating policies designed to win back lost voters, notably the withdrawal from the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights. The Court has made a habit of preventing Britain from deporting suspected terrorists on the grounds that they might be tortured, and from deporting foreign criminals because it would breach their “right to a family life.”
The proposed cap on banking industry bonuses should be revised - to zero. The bankers cannot be trusted. Else why would RBS, which lost over £5 BILLION last year, still have found the money to pay £600 million in bonuses to its City gamblers? And this is despite the fact that HMG could stop the bonuses altogether, given that HMG owns over 80% of that bank.
What we need in the UK is a Conservative... (show more)
The proposed cap on banking industry bonuses should be revised - to zero. The bankers cannot be trusted. Else why would RBS, which lost over £5 BILLION last year, still have found the money to pay £600 million in bonuses to its City gamblers? And this is despite the fact that HMG could stop the bonuses altogether, given that HMG owns over 80% of that bank.
What we need in the UK is a Conservative leader and Chancellor that didn't go to Eton. Maybe then, what should be done would be done - which is to take steps to restore manufacturing industry in the UK. (show less)
there's no excuse for the idiocy of the bankers, and they should not have been bailed out. We should have... (show more)
there's no excuse for the idiocy of the bankers, and they should not have been bailed out. We should have let them go bankrupt, and let the assets pass from the clearly incompetent, to the competent, at knock-down prices. Then start again. We would have had a proper depression, but we would have healed the problem by now or nearly. But instead they've elected to condemn us to decades of pain, by bailing them out, and giving us a zombie economy.
but don't tell me it's all the fault of the bankers, because it isn't - by a huge margin. (show less)
The proposed cap on banking industry bonuses should be revised - to zero. The bankers cannot be trusted. Else why would RBS, which lost over £5 BILLION last year, still have found the money to pay £600 million in bonuses to its City gamblers? And this is despite the fact that HMG could stop the bonuses altogether, given that HMG owns over 80% of that bank.
What we need in the UK is a Conservative... (show more)
The proposed cap on banking industry bonuses should be revised - to zero. The bankers cannot be trusted. Else why would RBS, which lost over £5 BILLION last year, still have found the money to pay £600 million in bonuses to its City gamblers? And this is despite the fact that HMG could stop the bonuses altogether, given that HMG owns over 80% of that bank.
What we need in the UK is a Conservative leader and Chancellor that didn't go to Eton. Maybe then, what should be done would be done - which is to take steps to restore manufacturing industry in the UK. (show less)
I decide issues based upon facts, evidence and argument that is persuasive and intelligent.
Then, and only then...do I choose a side.
However....rampant, runaway, radical leftism is the scourge of the planet and has Europe on the brink and America on the run. It currently despises Israel and wallows in treason, slander and propaganda.
Opposing radical leftism is the job of every man and woman of honor. All other issues pale in comparison. Cameron is not a centrist if he becomes a toe-dipper.
What I want my friends on the right of me to understand, is that not all GDI's are squishy. (and please, stop using the term "RINO", it's... (show more)
I decide issues based upon facts, evidence and argument that is persuasive and intelligent.
Then, and only then...do I choose a side.
However....rampant, runaway, radical leftism is the scourge of the planet and has Europe on the brink and America on the run. It currently despises Israel and wallows in treason, slander and propaganda.
Opposing radical leftism is the job of every man and woman of honor. All other issues pale in comparison. Cameron is not a centrist if he becomes a toe-dipper.
What I want my friends on the right of me to understand, is that not all GDI's are squishy. (and please, stop using the term "RINO", it's beneath anyone who has the IQ above a Chia Pet, every time someone takes an independent stance. Use it sparingly, if ever. A little goes a long way with that epithet. The overuse of it immediately destroys credibility of the speaker, like any other kneejerk slur)
There is a difference between a center-rightist and a toe-dipper. Cameron should be aware of that difference. (show less)
If rain gets you wet, it doesn't matter how much you've politicized and radicalized yourself into hating the idea - you'll still get wet.
The UK should end all immigration while they still have a country that won't resemble those they used to exploit. Like it or not, it is what it is and people should adjust themselves to this reality, because there's an awful lot of soaking wet people proclaiming themselves dry.
If rain gets you wet, it doesn't matter how much you've politicized and radicalized yourself into hating the idea - you'll still get wet.
The UK should end all immigration while they still have a country that won't resemble those they used to exploit. Like it or not, it is what it is and people should adjust themselves to this reality, because there's an awful lot of soaking wet people proclaiming themselves dry.