David Cameron set out a sober warning to his party conference today
that it’s “sink or swim” time; a time of “difficult painful decisions”
when we must “do or decline”. The Prime Minister wants to level with the
electorate, but the persistent message of no jam today or tomorrow is
hardly a tempting prospect for our big society club. It leaves Team GB
struggling for willing members while wealthy affiliates flee to Monaco
without paying subs. In keeping with George Osborne’s speech earlier
this week, it maps out a future of hard work without hinting at rewards
on the horizon.
With no preserves in his larder to tempt the troops, Cameron sought
to stiffen the resolve of his party and the country by finding something
to fight against: a tactic used by other speakers in Birmingham to
castigate benefit scroungers and the “taxpayer funded,
Châteauneuf-du-Pape-swilling” largesse of Labour. Cameron used his
speech to unite people against the challenges from overseas. He spoke
of Britain in a “global race” and warned that “Britain may not be in the
future what it has been in the past.”
It’s a tried and tested approach, but for how long will the sense of
national identity and service that are so important to David Cameron –
he is a “simple man”, driven by family and service to his country –
resonate with people in an increasingly globalised world?
Do British people feel their jobs and homes are threatened by foreign
competition, or do they feel themselves more vulnerable to the actions
of bogeymen in the international banking community, who regard national
borders as more permeable?
Jon Bennett
Director
jon@linstockcommunications.com
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