Summary
A former minister, George Waiden, has written that, in calibrating his position, Cameron asks himself: "What would Diana have done?" Cameronism is certainly not an ideology, nor even - yet - a coherent political philosophy Cameron himself, in his 2005 Keith Joseph Memorial Lecture, explicitly rejected "ideological" politics in favour of "practical Conservatism". Cameronism displays certain features: it emphasises the pragmatic over the theoretical; takes an essentially optimistic view of human nature; favours the devolution, rather than centralisation, of power; stresses social, rather than economic progress; and places more faith in society than in the state.
See the full content of this document
Extract
Cameronism: A Deeper Shade of Blue?
David Cameron, plus a sizeable entourage, swept past, drawing the attention of the senior Labour politician (now a cabinet minister) from our conversation. It was November 2005, and the self-styled "modern compassionate conservative" was on course to lead the Conservative Party. "Does he worry you?" I asked my lunch companion. "A bit, to be honest," was the reply. "But he's fantastically right-wing, you know. You should read some of his old speeches."
I did. And they were, indeed, a deep shade of blue. The trouble is that the electorate was apparently unwilling to make the same effort. Labour's attempts to portray Cameron as a rightwing wolf ...See the full content of this document
Sponsored links
