political commentator * author * publisher * bookseller * radio presenter * blogger * Conservative candidate * former lobbyist * Jack Russell owner * West Ham United fanatic * Email iain AT iaindale DOT com
Friday, July 20, 2007
Telegraph Column: Cameron's Travels
My latest Telegraph article is online HERE. It looks at how Cameron's trips shape his world view and criticises those who believe politicians should stay inside the Westminster bubble.
This is in no way intended to be a gloat but Cameron was asked if he thought it was a good idea to appear on the Ealing ballot paper as "David Cameron's Conservatives". He just kind of stuttered and went sort of sickly looking.
He was marginally more coherent than Tony Lit's post-result BBC interview in the early hours of this morning.
Kind of reminded me of the time he did that Sky News interview and lost the plot when he couldn't sufficiently answer the question.
Were Conservatives ever meant to make gains in Ealing? I don't know the history of the area, but if it was never Conservative stalking ground, then perhaps the Party should not have given it the hype that it was given? From what Grant Shapps was saying earlier, it was never particularly the sort of place to use as a benchmark of success.
I would suggest Mr Cameron should visit his members in the real world. He does not represent the party membership with his current leftie stance, and he has no chance of winning if he continues, He will not in the long term attract new voters and will lose his party vote. The Conservatives are a right wing party or they are nothing. You find a gap in the marketplace and go for it. There are no gaps in the centre or left wing as they are filled by others.I thought he was a marketing man.
The purpose of the Rwanda trip is to associate the Conservative Party with the Liberal world of fake concern for everyone who is not English. We have probably all sat in quiet mirth while wimmin tell us about being little Englander and opine portentously about “Aftrica”. I don`t object especially but to pretend this is all happening in Political ignorance is a little disingenuous . It is unlikely to impress the party much but will be aimed at the swing voters Cameron has always had in his sights.
I do hope this blog is not going to be one of those that claims some entirely spurious moral superiority based on a jolly holiday of hand wringing tourism. I have never been able to take such people seriously and do not intend to start now .
Nobody is suggesting that politicians should stay in the bubble all the time. In fact, some of us prefer politicians who have done some work or just any activity apart from politics from their university years. However, poverty tourism is not really a good way of finding out anything about the big bad world. So these people who know nothing about the way people live in Britain are goind to "build" schools and whatnot in Rwanda. Just exactly how good are their building skills? Better than that of every single Rwandan? It is this arrogance and patronizing attitude to all that most of us object to.
The car manuel just about sums up where the Conservatives are. Dumbed down trying gimicks. I thought it was the most pathetic thing I have ever seen the party produce. They think the electorate are so thick they have to produce something like this. They need a wake up call and get back to some yah boo politics.
Come MPs get rid of him quick and you may have a chance.
I can say what you are thinking.
Cameron was brought in to try and fight Blair but against Brown he looks lightweight and flimsey.
A missionary arrived in Ruanda to convert the locals. He tried his limited vocabulary on a local chief who replied, in impeccable English "You are welcome to try, old chap, but my people are pretty happy with the god that we have, a sacred bull". Neverthless, the missionary prevailed upon the chief to allow him to preach a sermon. After every sentence the audience bowed low and shouted "Umubano, Umubano". Highly gratified the missionary told the chief that he was confident of converting them all to Christianity. The chief, still doubtful, took him to a tunnel entrance leading to a reeded enclosure and advised him first at least to see their god. As the missionary set off through the tunnel the chief shouted out "Be careful there, it is knee deep in Umubano".
This was my response to the article on Comment Central:
"Cameron's trips shape his worldview", I suspect that this was written on one of Iain Dale's trips to the loo. There is Iain Dale's Diary in the blogosphere, but this is Iain Dale's diarrhea in the bogosphere...
I think Dave will probably adopt a baby when he is over there , he already has that disabled one he likes to show off . A black one would bigg up his street credentials.
Unfortunely you compare Cameron's travels with those of Paddy Ashdown in 1992. This is such an unfair comparison as Paddy Ashdown did not take a press team with him, PR managers and TV crews.
If Cameron really cared and really wanted to learn, he would do so away from the glare of TV cameras.
I've already blogged on this (yesterday) the link is :
As a neutral can I suggest that David Cameron needs an urgent re-think. David Cameron's Conservatives sounds about as pretentious and redundant as William Shakespeare's Hamlet. If he wants people like me to vote for him he needs policies not PR. He doesn't need to be the only man on the empty Blair bandwagon. People by the product not the advert.
I'm one of what must be an increasing number of Conservative supporters who is worried by Cameron's apparent lack of judgement. To push on with the Rwanda jaunt after Ealing is a miscalculation, as was the choice of Tony Lit(e), the instant Tory. We need less fluff and PR and more clear. boldly stated policies and we need them now.
The car manual is lying unread in our house. I am a car bnut (or was) .. it's an irrelevance. My wife does NOT look at anything to do with cars.
Frankly if I was asked to vote today, The LibDems look better led than the Conservatives.
Do I worry about Africa when voting? Is the Pope a Protestant?
D Cameron may well be expanding his horizons: bully for him.
His political judgements need sorting out soon or his political horizons will go on being those in Opposition (but probably not as Leader.)
Rwanda and Cameron are irrelevant at the present to me and I suspect 70% of the electorate.
Our safe Conservative seat went Labour in the mid 1990s.. Has D Cameron ever visited? Nope.
We're in the North Midlands of course: further away politically than Rwanda.
I despair .. again.
Muppetry. (reminds me of William Hague )
PS: and If DC does turn all traditional Conservative, I have decided to give up permanently and vote LibDem.. much as I write that with clenched and grinding teeth.
This is in no way intended to be a gloat but Cameron was asked if he thought it was a good idea to appear on the Ealing ballot paper as "David Cameron's Conservatives". He just kind of stuttered and went sort of sickly looking.
ReplyDeleteSaid it all really.
He was marginally more coherent than Tony Lit's post-result BBC interview in the early hours of this morning.
ReplyDeleteKind of reminded me of the time he did that Sky News interview and lost the plot when he couldn't sufficiently answer the question.
Were Conservatives ever meant to make gains in Ealing? I don't know the history of the area, but if it was never Conservative stalking ground, then perhaps the Party should not have given it the hype that it was given? From what Grant Shapps was saying earlier, it was never particularly the sort of place to use as a benchmark of success.
A perfectly sound point MacU. It was clearly not going to be a win.
ReplyDeleteThe whole thing was best left on the back burner.
So was Dave panicked into visiting the place FIVE TIMES? Whose idea was it?
I would suggest Mr Cameron should visit his members in the real world. He does not represent the party membership with his current leftie stance, and he has no chance of winning if he continues, He will not in the long term attract new voters and will lose his party vote. The Conservatives are a right wing party or they are nothing.
ReplyDeleteYou find a gap in the marketplace and go for it. There are no gaps in the centre or left wing as they are filled by others.I thought he was a marketing man.
The purpose of the Rwanda trip is to associate the Conservative Party with the Liberal world of fake concern for everyone who is not English. We have probably all sat in quiet mirth while wimmin tell us about being little Englander and opine portentously about “Aftrica”. I don`t object especially but to pretend this is all happening in Political ignorance is a little disingenuous . It is unlikely to impress the party much but will be aimed at the swing voters Cameron has always had in his sights.
ReplyDeleteI do hope this blog is not going to be one of those that claims some entirely spurious moral superiority based on a jolly holiday of hand wringing tourism. I have never been able to take such people seriously and do not intend to start now .
Whose idea was it to send out the 'car manual' this morning with the Telegraph, gimmicky,irrelevant and patronising-
ReplyDeleteNobody is suggesting that politicians should stay in the bubble all the time. In fact, some of us prefer politicians who have done some work or just any activity apart from politics from their university years. However, poverty tourism is not really a good way of finding out anything about the big bad world. So these people who know nothing about the way people live in Britain are goind to "build" schools and whatnot in Rwanda. Just exactly how good are their building skills? Better than that of every single Rwandan? It is this arrogance and patronizing attitude to all that most of us object to.
ReplyDeleteWith that article you have not helped Cameron's damaged reputation one bit but you have damaged yours.
ReplyDeleteCameron should of course travel around meeting people but not in Ealing where he is just associating himself with losing..
Iain you used to be a political commentator with some balls - try again eh.
The car manuel just about sums up where the Conservatives are. Dumbed down trying gimicks. I thought it was the most pathetic thing I have ever seen the party produce. They think the electorate are so thick they have to produce something like this.
ReplyDeleteThey need a wake up call and get back to some yah boo politics.
Come MPs get rid of him quick and you may have a chance.
I can say what you are thinking.
Cameron was brought in to try and fight Blair but against Brown he looks lightweight and flimsey.
A missionary arrived in Ruanda to convert the locals. He tried his limited vocabulary on a local chief who replied, in impeccable English "You are welcome to try, old chap, but my people are pretty happy with the god that we have, a sacred bull". Neverthless, the missionary prevailed upon the chief to allow him to preach a sermon. After every sentence the audience bowed low and shouted "Umubano, Umubano". Highly gratified the missionary told the chief that he was confident of converting them all to Christianity. The chief, still doubtful, took him to a tunnel entrance leading to a reeded enclosure and advised him first at least to see their god. As the missionary set off through the tunnel the chief shouted out "Be careful there, it is knee deep in Umubano".
ReplyDeleteThis was my response to the article on Comment Central:
ReplyDelete"Cameron's trips shape his worldview", I suspect that this was written on one of Iain Dale's trips to the loo. There is Iain Dale's Diary in the blogosphere, but this is Iain Dale's diarrhea in the bogosphere...
Posted by: jailhouselawyer | 20 Jul 2007 11:43:02
I think Dave will probably adopt a baby when he is over there , he already has that disabled one he likes to show off .
ReplyDeleteA black one would bigg up his street credentials.
Unfortunely you compare Cameron's travels with those of Paddy Ashdown in 1992. This is such an unfair comparison as Paddy Ashdown did not take a press team with him, PR managers and TV crews.
ReplyDeleteIf Cameron really cared and really wanted to learn, he would do so away from the glare of TV cameras.
I've already blogged on this (yesterday) the link is :
http://norfolkblogger.blogspot.com/2007/07/iain-dale-in-telegraph-sorry-iain-but.html
Is it really a good idea for the Tories to leave all those power saws behind in Rwanda ? ! !
ReplyDeleteDon't want to start more carnage !
norfolk blogger: That isn't a link. This is a Link.
ReplyDeleteAs a neutral can I suggest that David Cameron needs an urgent re-think. David Cameron's Conservatives sounds about as pretentious and redundant as William Shakespeare's Hamlet. If he
ReplyDeletewants people like me to vote for him he needs policies not PR. He doesn't need to be the only man on the empty Blair bandwagon. People by the product not the advert.
I'm one of what must be an increasing number of Conservative supporters who is worried by Cameron's apparent lack of judgement. To push on with the Rwanda jaunt after Ealing is a miscalculation, as was the choice of Tony Lit(e), the instant Tory. We need less fluff and PR and more clear. boldly stated policies and we need them now.
ReplyDeleteThe car manual is lying unread in our house. I am a car bnut (or was) .. it's an irrelevance. My wife does NOT look at anything to do with cars.
ReplyDeleteFrankly if I was asked to vote today, The LibDems look better led than the Conservatives.
Do I worry about Africa when voting? Is the Pope a Protestant?
D Cameron may well be expanding his horizons: bully for him.
His political judgements need sorting out soon or his political horizons will go on being those in Opposition (but probably not as Leader.)
Rwanda and Cameron are irrelevant at the present to me and I suspect 70% of the electorate.
Our safe Conservative seat went Labour in the mid 1990s.. Has D Cameron ever visited? Nope.
We're in the North Midlands of course: further away politically than Rwanda.
I despair .. again.
Muppetry. (reminds me of William Hague )
PS: and If DC does turn all traditional Conservative, I have decided to give up permanently and vote LibDem.. much as I write that with clenched and grinding teeth.