Thursday
May152008
David Cameron: I'm alright Jack
Thursday, May 15, 2008 I am assured by a very reliable source that the following story is true. "Call me Dave" recently visited the offices of a leading national newspaper. What, he was asked, is the first thing you will do if and when you become prime minister? Reverse the ban on fox hunting, he replied, without hesitation.
What about the smoking ban, someone else enquired. I don't smoke, said Dave. So that's alright. For him.
Reader Comments (61)
You will surely be hoisted by your own petards, and please don't blame me. I give up on you all.
Oh come on, Peter, don't be ridiculous.
I know it must be frustrating for you, being the only "die hard" Tory who participates in this blog, but giving up on us seems a bit heavy-handed.
You seem to want to believe, against the odds, that the Tories are a better fit for the public than Labour. I doubt that's true since we live in an ideologically left-wing age, but even so, are the Tories up to the job of turning this country around? Will they endeavour to get rid of the kind of insane PC that you mentioned? Will they, gasp, amend the smoking ban?
Personally I think the answer to all of those questions is "no". The Tories seem to me just as bland and PC as New Labour. They've just caught up with New Labour - and that means the party which used to be about traditions and "conserving" is no longer about traditions and conserving.
As for why people focus on castigating David Cameron, I'd hazard a guess as to the reason: nobody seriously thinks the LibDems are going to get in, so no point moaning about Nick Clegg. Nobody seriously thinks Labour are going to be around for long, so no point moaning about Gordon Brown. David Cameron represents the next chapter in British politics - the politics we wish to influence. So ironically HE is the relevant figure, not the present incumbent.
And when that relevant figure - the man we are almost certainly going to be calling PM in the near future - says he won't repeal the ban because he's not a smoker, I think it's perfectly rational to be angry. It means, in effect, that the next chapter in British politics is going to be as anti-smoking and pro-PC/health-fascism as the current chapter.
Whilst I find Peter's seemingly blind devotion to the Tories to be irritating I do think he has a point re any pronouncement from Cameron re the smoking ban at this stage.
It would be lunacy for any politician with a serious chance of becoming PM to make such noises now and risk losing more votes than are likely to be gained. That's aslo why Boris will be kept on a short leash.
It is only a relatively few months since Labour were ahead in the polls and there was talk of a snap election. To have achieved such a turnaround is a major achievement for the Tories and they're not going to risk their gains for something like this unless it is clear that the smoking ban has cost Labour a serious number of votes and that it (and the whole nanny state PC thing) is an issue that the Tories can exploit.
Sadly, due to peoples' apathy (itself parly engendered by the irksome lack of MSM coverage of the issue), this is not the case.
Perhaps the best that can be hoped for is that an incumbent Tory administration would introduce exemptions to the ban etc. as a part of a plan to dismantle the excesses of state control that we have seen since Labour have been in power.
That is not to say I support the Tories - I'm with UKIP since I perceive the main danger to our country is the EU. However, I'm also a pragmatist and believe that DC will be the next PM. Hopefully he will then assume a more eurosceptic platform which may even see us moving towards a withdrawal from the EU in a second Tory term - well, that's the plan anyway.
Come home Peter. All is forgiven. Well - almost all! Respect the right of many of us to believe that an independent United Kingdom is needed - sooner rather than later. UKIP is no threat to the Tory party. They would replace New Labour.
The only way to repeal the smoking ban and all other repressions is to get out from under the boot of the present fascist political EU system. The Lisbon Treaty MUST fail. Please read the link I gave previously:-
http://www.irish-friends-vote-no-for-me.org/index.php?
Read, in particular, the Personal Letter from 5 University Professors in Austria. Also the one from the chap in Antwerp, Belgium. There is no post, as yet, from the U.K. Please EVERYONE sign the petition. It has 4453 signatures so far from 22 EU member states and was only started on 12th May.
BTW, Peter, as you have probably gathered, I am as middle class in upbringing as you are. Just for the record - so was Maggie Thatcher, who grew up just 12 miles away from my childhood home. She was the daughter of a pharmacist who DID have a chemist's shop.
Incidentlly, Col, I do take issue with you in your passing comment that the class system should be revived. I was taught by my grandmother that a true lady is one who treats her servants with respect. I do not wish to look down upon anyone and I do not wish to look up to anyone. I simply wish to remain a member of the human race who has compassion for all other human beings.
Brilliant TV last night folks. Hope you were watching, Blad! A superb program on your namesake Tolstoy. Also a superb program on Russia. I had much to do with the Russians during my first marriage to a British Army Officer. He was a Cambridge graduate in modern languages and the British Liaison Officer to the Soviets in Western Germany. We were much involved in the Cold War. It was hard for me to be civil to the Russian Officers and their jewel-bedecked wives at their many lavish receptions. I knew of the conditions in Communist Russia.
We must not allow ourselves to become a controlled nation as they did. Please read the letters on the link above and add your signatures.
I think call me dave is a wanker, but having said that I would still rather see the tories in govt, anyone but labour as I think they have ruined england. I am unaware of this peaceful petition for the irish I dont know what its about but if its anything to do with encouragement for a no vote for the dreaded lisbon treaty I'm all for it. To date I cant say how the vote is going to go as the electorate is being bombarded by the yes side, all the main govt parties are urging us to vote yes including our new PM who has admitted he hasnt read it fully himself!! but says it will be catastrophic for us if we vote no. Its like history repeating itself, we all originally voted no for the Nice treaty but were later brainwashed and terrified by our govt into voting yes with the bombardment and scaremongering over the loss of jobs and that we would be the laughing stock of europe. Even tho up to now we have been good little foot soldiers of the eu it hasnt stopped the increasing and continuing job losses for the past year. Anyhow it should be interesting to see what happens.
I was hoping you would get in touch, Ann. Please read the link I have given. You will see that Ireland is the only hope that Europe has. Read the Personal Letters addressed to the Irish people from all over Europe.
Of course your P.M. urges you to vote Yes. All P.Ms have already been "bought" by the EU. The EU have unlimited money and will bribe your media. The Yes vote in Ireland is vital to the EU. Without it the Lisbon Treaty will fail. Please do all you can to let the Irish people know the truth and know how important it is to say No.
Otherwise, from January 2009 onwards, we will be a communist/fascist controlled state with no personal vote and no national vote, There will be no turns back apart, eventually, from long lasting bloody civil war.
Read the link above and do what you can in Ireland to spread the word.
To date 5041 people from 22 EU member states have signed this petition. It was only started on 12th May. The numbers rise daily.
Hi peter yes i have written so many times to brown and i have only recieved the standard health department letter back. I have emailed him so many times my machine is wareing out.The reason i am so annoyed with cameron is at the beginning he said ( correct me if i am wrong ) that he hated bans of any sort and now he has decided that we have all moved on since the smoking ban but we havent.The reason is he has given up smoking and he dosnt want any of us to smoke either or it could be he dosnt want temptation put in front of him. How selfish is that. As predicted i got the same standard email back and i have responded to that with a very harsh email back to them as well.I hate this country i would leave if i could. Its a nanny state created by labour and i am so glad they are losing even if its to the conservatives.I wonder what they would do if we all gave up smoking they wouldnt be able to manage finacially i would love that to happen just to see the look on their smug faces.
Margot thanks for the link you gave me, I have joined the campaign against the eu constitution and happy to say that they seem to have a good campaign going with marches, meetings and media involvement planned and which I hope will have some impact in the weeks ahead as it is so one-sided here with the govt and powers that be having the money to pour into their brainwashing campaign, nearly every poster in dublin city is for Yes along with the media bombardment. So fingers crossed for the 12th June.
I have done the same thing and signed the petition. By the way, if Peter Thurgood has given up on the likes of me, well, I can only say that I gave up on him with his devotion to David Cameron a long time ago. I voted conservative for 25 years - I just so happen to have changed my mind. I voted for David Davis to be leader of the party after Michael Howard stepped down in 2005. I had my doubts about Mr Cameron's leadership qualities even then. I also found out this week that the committee of our local conservative club (where I used to be a member) were strongly in favour of the smoking ban years before it became law. I remember being chastised for smoking in there by party members only last year before the ban came in. I'm afraid my personal experiences have enabled me to formulate my own opinions so I am prepared to be hoisted by my own petard.
Ann.
Very good news to hear you have joined and to be able to get news from inside Ireland itself.
A 23rd EU Member State has now joined the petition which stands at 5743 as I write. It goes up by hundreds daily. WE can monitor it for ourselves by having a daily look at the above link.
Yes, Jenny, I agree with you. It's no use supporters saying that Cameron "might" do this or "might" do that. I believe that all three leaders are controlled directly by Brussels and really have no freedom of choice.
Peter Thurgood you are an idiot of magnitude.
kindly desist from posting further comments!