Now that the dust has settled and the stretcher bearers and grave diggers have gone home, it is time to see which way the political wind might blow. I can’t understand why Labour needs to search it’s soul and find out what went wrong as it is so blindingly obvious. There was no great enthusiasm to vote Conservative but there was a terror of letting socialism in. Labour strategists should have woken up to the total distrust the electorate have of them when Ed refused to accept on Leaders’ Question Time that Labour had overspent. The titters and sharp intake of breathe by the audience really summed up the mood of the country.
Cameron has successfully rebranded the Tories as the the aspirational party. Proper One Nationism may drive the Rampton Wing to distraction but they are in hardly any position to complain. All those yellow bellies who flirted with the Kippers and wanted a deal must be feeling very foolish indeed. We know where you live.
So what of Labour? If they chose Cooper, Reeves or Burnham the champagne corks will be popping at Number 10 because it would have shown that they they have learned nothing. Dan Jarvis, who would have been formidable, has ruled himself out of the leadership but not of the Shadow Cabinet, is a lost resource. But what of Chuka and Tristram? Smooth, good looking, articulate and reasonable. God, how the left will hate them. Chuka has more baggage than Tristram, that Wiki rewrite will always come back to haunt him, and he can be a bit clunky on the telly. My money is on Tristram. What’s the worst you can say about him? Posh, academic, er, that’s about it. But the unions will want to butcher these these two. And it has started. OMOV (how did Hattie let them get away with that piece of gratuitous sexism?) will be in place in time for the leadership election. This means the union barons are frantically signing up their goons (the count so far is 22,000 and rising) to get Burnham or Cooper in. They might succeed.
And what of the Lib Dems? Of course Tim Farron will win. Personable, witty, and left wing he is the darling of the grass roots. Most important of all he cleverly managed to be semi detached from the coalition. Poor old Norman Lamb hasn’t a prayer. Oh, and the latest count for new members is 3,000. I would imagine that this is down to theTim machine. But what would happen to the Orange bookers? It will be Jeremy Thorpe Liberalism without the sex.
Now the KIPPERS. Farage has become the Eternal Leader. And his style is very North Korean. Dissent will not be tolerated. But UKIP is pretty well finished. They may have won 4 million votes and that’s why they will flog that dead horse of voting reform. Too late matey, we’ve had the referendum. If you can’t win Thanet, Thurrock and Broxtowe when you are riding high in the polls you are stuffed. And what happens to them if the good sense of the British people prevails and we remain in a reformed EU? The rock on which they were built would have shattered. They would revert to form as the shouty men in the saloon bar party. Rather annoying and odd.
So now Cameron can mould the Conservative party in his own image; decent, compassionate and doing the right thing. Some won’t like it. But the new intake of Tories seem to be a very sensible bunch. So what will be his legacy? Hopefully to have kept Britain in the EU and the United Kingdom intact. And ensure the torch is passed to George Osborne. None are forgone conclusions.
