Letters From A Tory

Dear Daniel Finkelstein,

You certainly put together an interesting argument in today’s Times.  With the stock market looking decidely shaky, voters will probably have their attention deflected away from the Government, at least for a short while.   However, I don’t agree with your assessment of where this will all end.

In hard times, I agree that voters often prefer the devil they know - which in this case would mean sticking with Labour should the economy still be in a mess at the next election.  I suspect that voters won’t hold our Government responsible for the stock market wobbles, which is perfectly understandable.  However, the myth of Gordon Brown’s economic competence is starting to slowly disintegrate and people are genuinely wondering whether he can steady the rocky boat that is our economic outlook (let’s face it, Alistair Darling is an irrelevance and doesn’t control anything).  To this end,  I don’t agree with your prediction that David Cameron will abandon his optimistic approach to campaigning because he is starting to reap the rewards of his approach and the public are looking to him to provide an alternative to Labour (i.e. no sleaze, maybe some tax cuts, general competence, and sorting out the mess that this country is in).

I guess the fundamental point we disagree on is that you believe that Gordon Brown is seen as an authority figure in the minds of the public, whereas I think they look at him as a complete disaster.  He won’t get blamed for the stock market wobbles, but in my humble opinion he will never again be seen as the saviour of the British economy.

Yours sincerely,

A.Tory

Dear Ruth Lea,

Yet again I find myself agreeing with your views on British politics.  Not only do I think that Global Vision, a think-tank set up by you to help us redefine our relationship with the EU, was an excellent addition to the debate, but you have a keen eye for political commentary as emphasised yet again by your piece in the Telegraph.

You are absolutely right to trace back the current financial problems in the UK to the ERM chaos in the early 1990s, as this is where a lot of the groundwork for Gordon Brown’s supposedly good performance as Chancellor was originally laid.  My question to you is how do the Conservatives break this commonly held perception of Brown’s competence during his 10 years in control of the purse strings?  Whilst your assertion that Brown deserves the blame is certainly true, how do the Conservatives break down the psychological barriers in the minds of the voters that were created by the ERM disaster all those many years ago?  Do you think we can convince voters that Ken Clarke was largely responsible for the sustained economic growth in this country, or would it be more practical to focus on the present day and attack Brown on the current political battlefield?

Yours with respect,

A.Tory

Dear Iain Dale,

As always, your Telegraph articles provide a refreshingly different perspective on events from most bloggers and journalists.  However, on this occasion I must disagree with you on a couple of key ideas from your latest offering.  Gordon Brown may well offer a new type of opponent for David Cameron relative to Blair, who was on the slippery slope to political oblivion long before Cameron turned up.  I think Gordon Brown knows he doesn’t have the political savvy and cunning that Blair used so well to keep a tight reign on Parliament, so he will have to resort to other tactics - and trying to undermine his opponents seems like a reasonable course of action.

However, your assertion that the next four weeks in politics will be crucial might turn out to be true, but for different reasons than you proposed.  The financial turmoil sweeping through international markets, and now seriously biting in the UK, is likely to cause widespread to damage to consumer confidence and political egos in equal proportion.  Gordon Brown has been able to focus on tripping Cameron up because of the annual lull in political activity in August and early September, but now his attention must return to domestic crises such as the growing discontent from the unions and the chaos in the finacial markets.  Should he choose to ignore these, he runs the risk of embarrassing himself and losing face.  My suspicion is that he is happy to stick the knife into Cameron if there is nothing better to do, but if the voters feel he is becoming too concerned with Cameron and neglecting his duty as Prime Minister (even to a small degree) he stands to lose credibility and popularity.

Whilst I am not suggesting your article missed the point as Gordon Brown is probably quite happy with his sabotage jobs at the moment, in my opinion the upcoming weeks will force Brown to get serious about his own work rather than worry about somebody else’s.

Yours sincerely,

A.Tory

Dear Alistair Darling,

So nice to hear that you’ve realised you are Chancellor of the Exchequer and have actually spoken about something financial this morning.  I was beginning to wonder if no-one had told you about your appointment.  Unluckily for you, the job you have inherited from Gordon Brown has led you into the lion’s den.

The reports this morning about the enormous consumer slowdown, falling house prices and your pathetic calls for banks to be more responsible are all pointing in the same direction - downwards.  Our economy is resting on top of a very steep hill, and with one small push could be sent into recession and there is nothing you can do about it.  The interest rate rises were reasonable enough and were probably needed, but the irresponsible bank lending that Gordon Brown has used to support the economy for so long by allowing consumers to borrow borrow borrow is surely about to end.  When it does end and the British public suddenly decide to be more cautious, the economy will be sent into a downward spiral that will take house prices and consumer spending down with it.

It really frustrates me that people think Gordon Brown was an effective Chancellor, when he increased government spending so much that this country is now £5oo billion in the red and he was more than happy to allow consumers to borrow even when they had already accumulated substantial debts to make sure that the economy kept growing.  Unfortunately I think it will be you who picks up the tab for this terrible mismanagement.  Worse still for the Labour Party, the prospect of an Autumn or Spring election will evaporate overnight if the economy snaps.

I’m looking forward to watch you try and squirm your way out of this one, Darling.

With genuine sympathy (not),

A.Tory

Dear George Osborne,

Your announcement this morning concerning the plans for public spending under a future Conservative government was well delivered.  Telling the British electorate that you will stick with Labour’s spending plans was, in my opinion, a fairly bold move.  There is no question that the last Conservative government had lower tax rates than Labour, and historically I think it is reasonable to say that Conservatives have kept taxes lower.  It was interesting to read that you still refuse to make any firm commitments to cutting taxes, in order to stave off criticism from opponents on all sides - despite similar calls from within the Conservative Party itself.

Even though I very much agree with the policy of spelling out to voters what you intend to do about public services and other government expenditures, I am still concerned about the long-term ramifications of your announcement this morning.  With public sector debt at £500 billion (predicted to rise to £540 billion within the next six months), I find it hard to believe that you are willing to go along with Labour’s spending policies knowing the damage that it is causing our national finances.  I can only hope that your commitment to match Labour is a strategic short-term offering to remove the ‘Tories will cut taxes’ argument from political circles, because if and when you become the Chancellor of the Exchequer you will be faced with some harsh realities.  You will certainly be able to spend the government’s money more efficiently than Gordon Brown has done, but will this give you enough breathing space?

 Yours sincerely,

A.Tory