Fox Enters the Race

I heard that Liam Fox has entered the race with the promise of reminding the voters that ‘the Conservative Party is the natural party of governance.’ Well this would be a retrograde attitude, which would consign the Conservatives to yet more years in the wilderness. Harking back to a by-gone era is not what the Tories need – they need a fresh approach to policy and an intellectual rethink of direction.

Tory thought following the Haige, IDS, and Howard leadership has become a stagnant pond, and for all intensive purposes New Labour has replaced them as the natural party of government. Public disillusionment with Blair resulted in a reduced but still significant Labour victory only a few months ago.

Fox is poor in front of the cameras and does not have the personality for the top job. Clarke, Cameron, and Davis however all offer different versions of a better future for the Tories: -

Davis although authoritarian offers clear guidance for a difficult future, and you feel his drive and determination would drive for better value from public services. His steel would also lead to increased public confidence in homeland security – however one wonders about his persona and the Conservatives need to shake free the ‘nasty party’ tag.

Cameron is young and fresh and would have the advantage of disassociation with the calamity of the Major years. With the Blair/Brown political recipe having been so successful one wonders if the Cameron/Osborne partnership would be attractive in the current political climate.

Clarke of course is the darling of the Tory left and may well be more in touch with urban England. He could never be described as perfect and his links to American Tobacco would be an albatross no doubt. He remains however the intellectual heavy weight and orator that Blair (and Brown) would fear in the House. While Davis would undermine the Blair authority, Clarke would mock Blair in the commons. Clarke’s personality would also be more palatable than the dour Brown.

All in all Clarke would be the choice – as agreed by a majority in the recent BBC poll (40%). Davis, Cameron, Rifkin, Green, and Osborne must make up the cabinet; any sulking to the backbenches would weaken the party further.

This may well be exiting times for the Tories; I do not think Brown will have the calm parliamentary waters Blair has enjoyed.