A spring in their step....
14 August 2013
..is how you can sum up the Conservative Party at the moment.
..is how you can sum up the Conservative Party at the moment.
What a contrast a year makes.... a year ago it was the Conservatives in turmoil - but now.....
............The economy is looking up with fresh signs of life appearing every day while Milliminor is utterly ineffectual as is his front bench, making blunder after blunder.
Quite simply.....
............At this stage in the parliament Labour should be much further ahead than they are to have a chance of winning.
But that does not mean that the Conservatives are on track to win an overall majority and it is not beyond Cameron the snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
There are many dangers ahead though - a new Eurozone crisis could well loom because, despite some improving figures appearing, the structural problems are still there and it is just a matter of how long a crunch can be avoided.
Also the squeeze on living standards will not end in time before the election.....
Then there also the tactical problem around ending the coalition in the run up to the election and the establishment of a clear Tory brand. This is full of problems and in this respect Cameron needs to be bold, with bold Conservative policies that will appeal to the electorate.
But - as always - it will be the economy that will determine the outcome and while it is improving it is a 'tight call' on whether the improvement will be enough. Of course, this far too slow progress is entirely the fault of Cameron and Osborne - if they had been bolder with structural reform, tax cuts and public spending cuts then a faster 'bounce-back' could be expected put them into an election winning position.
But for now they have a spring in their step for good reasons........
Finally - a graphic from City AM showing regional variations in business activity, a vital indicator of recovery....
- Silly me, it should be;Mr. Dillon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunsmoke - Good write up as usual Barry however, living standards won't increase pre election because for the majority of us they won't increase ever, we're too far in debt.
The bottom line is there are too many people living in the UK, none of the mainstream parties have the bottle or ability to address the issue.
I am reminded of that old TV western saga, Gunsmoke, I think it was. There was one character who could be described as having a spring in his step, as he went around calling out for 'Mr. Dylan!', and that was 'Chester'.
The more cruel viewer might have termed that as a pronounced limp, but I am not that cruel.
But...
I can agree that the lack-lustre Legislative Assembly affords us with little sign of a clear favourite, in this race to the bottom.