Danny Finkelstein quizzes me about Cameron's next steps

Busy day today!  Just back from a Five Live discussion and have now got to write an article for tomorrow's Guardian. This morning I recorded this 'twofer' with Daniel Finkelstein of The Times' Comment Central blog.  Danny plans to conduct these interviews with other bloggers regularly from now on.  I'll have to work on the sound quality at my end for the next occasion!  We mainly discussed my post of earlier today on what David Cameron should do next.  Danny has a good article on inheritance tax in today's Times which you can read here.

Comments

[Ash Faulkner]

I like the idea for the adverts - possible GE campaign? I think it's important to follow up such attacks on Brown with positives of how we'd do it differently. So, with the Iraqi soldier (I've got this image of an over-the-shoulder shot of Brown, someone doing his voice, looking at the befuddled soldiers), it'd have all that, and then cut to black with 'The Conservatives will increase defence expenditure by 2% each year. When we send our troops to war, we don't leave them defenceless'...or whatever the policy would be. There could be a defenceless one, an unhealthy one, an uneducated one, whatever, but I think it's key to first point out where Brown has failed, and then end by saying what we'll do differently. Criticism is fine, and to be encouraged: but it should be followed up with policy, so that it's not just mud-slinging.

[Tory T]

It shouldn't be Brown. Nobody likes a personalised campaign. It should be "Labour".

[Paul Kennedy]

But given that we now live in the era of the "cult of personality", I'm not sure you are right Tory T.

[michael m]

The point that came over here is that David Cameron cannot hold the Government to account on his own- I am again repeating myself, but where oh, where are the Front Bench and Conservative MPs. I am fed up with seeing open goals missed and on some occasions, not even recognised- where for instance was the Tory voice on the cancer story yesterday- Blair/Brown promised to led Europe- where are we? Even worse than Eastern European countries

This all come s back to the all too apparant evidence that the majrity of the Front bench/Tory Big Hitters etc are more comfortable and financially better off in the Board Rooms than trying to get into Government. They are really a pathetic lot and from someone in a highly marginal Labour seat, give me no confidence whatsoever that there is any will to win, especially as many of them already have safe seats themselves. I have not heard one of them say we will win or really attempt to show up New Labour for what it really is- a confidence trick where we have been brainwashed into believing their spin. On crime, eduacation, health, immigration etc they have failed and wasted billions, yet what do we hear from our Westminster team?

I am afraid that most of the Policital commentators hold my view but short of the prospect of a total wipe out, nothing seems to stir the Front Bench or the MPs into doing anything to allay this perception.

[Cyberman]

You look like two cyber criminals on Crimewatch!

[John Craig]

Michael M - I think they want the wipeout

[Editor]

Cybercriminals indeed, Mr Cyberman!

Tory T: I don't think the campaign should be personal against Mr Brown if you think I mean that it should target his personality or nose-picking! I do, however, think it should be personal in that one James Gordon Brown should be held responsible for his personal role in NHS centralisation, government waste, tax credit complexity, stealth taxation, underfunding of prisons and the overstretched army and so on. I think the Bill Richardson interview format would do this well.

[Andrew Lilico]

I tend to agree with Tory T, partly because I think that Conservatives should avoid personalizing, but also because I don't think there will be anything like the division in the public's mind between "Labour" and "Gordon Brown" that there was between "Labour" and "Blair". Brown and Labour will stand or fall together, and my guess is that an attack on Brown that seems anything other than an attack on Labour will just bounce off and seem irrelevant.

[Ash Faulkner]

Hmm I'm not sure about that, Tory T. Given it is Brown that has restored Labour's fortunes (by virtue of not being Blair), it is Brown we need to connect with the mistakes of the Blair era. Everybody knows we've had a Labour government for the past ten years, there's no point telling them that again. What they may not know is the excessive influence Brown had over domestic policy - that means specifically holding Brown to account, not Labour in general.

[Cyberman]

I am pleased that the Editor took the ribbing in good spirit.

Joking aside, David Cameron must sort out CCHQ's operational practices. I have just watched Channel 4 News revel in the NHS retraction fisaco. Why did a "researcher" email senior NHS official with the retraction? Such correspondence should come from a frontbencher or a senior official.

Why was a Daily Mirror mole, with no track record of Conservative politics on her CV, close to being appointed to a £40k per year job in the Party Chairman's office?

There are serious managerial, professional and political deficiencies at CCHQ. They must be addressed asap. We cannot afford any more disasters in what could be an election year.

[Rob]

The Editor's point about passion is one I agree with wholeheartedly.

David Cameron sounds altogether too reasonable. The number of people killing other young people in this country is absolutely chilling. I would love to see David Cameron stand up and show that he can lead the country in urgently cracking down on gun and knife crime.

I think he has already had good ideas on yob culture with a speech made only yesterday, but it's time to goto "fifth gear" as the editor put it, and confront head on with all his energies the awful problems of gangs and their readiness to commit the worst violence for the most needless of reasons. I think this requires missionary zeal and a signal in the strongest terms he can muster that the decent law abiding majority will not put up with this any longer.

[Cyberman]

Have you ever seen somebody lick the chutney spoon in an Indian Restaurant and put it back? This would never have happened under the Tories.