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« Why did people vote the way they did? | Main | Editorial: Easterhouse and Soho Conservatism »

Comments

Daniel Vince-Archer

Excellent.

Cllr Iain Lindley

A good comprehensive report James.

I do think you are being a little harsh on Cameron over the detail on the drugs question - I would hope that Davis, as shadow home secretary, would have a strong command of the details behind those situations. In the same way one of Davis's more shaky policy statements was on education (20 new grammar schools... and then what?).

 Ted

Support the Afghan Govt to take on the warlords? How?

Do we send more troops? That requires a deeper involvement by British troops in some very dangerous areas. These troops would have to fight the local militia, destroy crops of opium...we learnt those dangers with much larger armed forces in the 19th century.

Its OK have a more detailed answer but the how matters - how do we get powers back from the EU, how can we afford tax reductions without government borrowing etc. etc.

Mark Fulford

I think I have two issues with David Davis:

1. He doesn't seem to have any interest in issues that are outside core Tory principles (as defined 20 years ago).

2. He doesn't seem to learn the lessons of the past - which is shown in his language, emphasis and policies.

mod

"Davis’s reply was shamelessly populist."

Please God, not four years of back to the future, Hague style, toe curling, tabloid grabbing, unpopular populism...please!

Andrew

Not very impressive:

"firstly to support the Afghan government in taking on the warlords"

Yhe government and the warlords are one and the same in most of the country. Given that Afghanistan has essentially been abandoned since it was invaded, a major state-building commitment looks improbable now.

"secondly, to locate and destroy all opium cops"

Easy to say, but the Bush administration with vastly greater resources has failed to do so. Similarly, in Colombia it's done little more than promote the death squads.

"thirdly, to provide the opium farmers with new cash crops and the access to our markets required to sell those crops"

Bit better in theory. Good luck getting it past the US/EU though.

James Hellyer

On a few points of fact:

"Support the Afghan Govt to take on the warlords? How?"

By sending more troops, like it says in the lines after the ones you quoted! This is something he admits will be time and labour intensive.

"Yhe government and the warlords are one and the same in most of the country."

Do you think he might mean the elected government in Kabul rather than General Dostun?

"but the Bush administration with vastly greater resources has failed to do so."

The Bush administration doesn't have responsibility for this Afghanistan, it's Britain who took on that job alone.

And the US has had success in Latin America, in providing alternative cash crops for farmers to lead them away from drugs.

"Good luck getting it past the US/EU though."

Shouldn't be a problem with the US (see above).

Barbara Villiers

Well done James.

Of course we are getting all the boring and predictable responses from the Cameron supporters. Yawn.

Jack Stone

The report was exactly what I thought it would be. Shamelessly bias.
All Davis is offering the party is four more years of the same right-wing policies we have had for the last eight years followed by another inevitable defeat.
I am glad that he and his, all our yesterdays policies, are going to get what they deserve.

malcolm

Here we go again!

Barbara Villiers

Jack:

Blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada.

James Hellyer

"The report was exactly what I thought it would be. Shamelessly bias."

I'm glad you liked it Jack.

 Ted

Thought James H did a good job - was honest in reporting what was said and in reporting his own bias, would the national media did the same.

But James M - Success in Latin America?

- that must be why cocaine is getting cheaper, why Bolivia has a presidential candidate from the coca growing poor who wants US out, why Clumbia is such a safe place to visit. The US drugs policy has been a massive failure in getting any sort of control over coca production in S America.

Rick

He wanted to know what they would do about the opium farmers in Afghanistan. This seemed to wrong foot David Cameron, who told us how misguided Keith Halliwell’s plan to buy the crop and then destroy it was. He then offered his solution, which was to establish the rule of law in Afghanistan.

During WWII some bright spark decided Britain should buy up bauxite in Spain to stop the Nazis getting it forgetting that increased demand merely boosted supply.

Afghanistan is a lost cause - it is wasteland between Pakistan and Iran and keeps Russia from The Indian Ocean. With an Army in India several times larger than we have today we never conquered Afghanistan; and today you would need to destroy the Mullocracy in Iran before you could do anything.

The best way to deal with opium is to spray the whole area with granulated nuclear waste and sterilise the soil, but noone in the West would stomach the brutality needed to deal with Afghanistan.........outside the plains it is barbarism and Pakistan has no control over the border areas. It is not worth the effort - it wasn't worth the effort to The Raj and they weren't importing heroin to indulge the chic London set

Mark Fulford

"but noone in the West would stomach the brutality needed to deal with Afghanistan"

Rick, I get the feeling you're rather disappointed about that.

Daniel Vince-Archer

"The best way to deal with opium is to spray the whole area with granulated nuclear waste and sterilise the soil, but noone in the West would stomach the brutality needed to deal with Afghanistan..."

Why not just napalm the whole country and be done with the problem in one fell swoop, eh Rick?

Nelson, Norfolk

Well done James on the report. However, I feel that DD is still addressing the core vote.

DC is the man. He will help us to attract new supporters to the Conservative cause.

Can anyone come up with a strap line for the Party such as :

Conservatives - The One Nation Party

michael

Nelson, my idea is to rename the Party...

Your Conservatives.

Derek

How about Conservative Lite?

a-tracy

"I’m not sure who selected an outdoor covered area for a night time meeting in late December"

Perhaps it was someone waiting for the second coming James, you know -lowly cattle shed, Royal 'David's' City, a far distant land...

Who is to be leader and saviour of us all? We'll know next Tuesday.

neilj

Normally the Tory party picks someone who will tickle the party conference faithful's tummy while being unable to connect with the rest of the electorate. DD fits that decription so well.
As an a-political by-stander, I watch with interest now that Tory members seem to be about to pick a potential winner for the first time in years.

Richard Weatherill

Or maybe, given the low number of female MPs/candidates:

HisTory?

or New-sTory

Matthew

Good report. As a Cameroon I disagree with the take but minus the bias the detail was good and at least Cameron's strengths were acknowledged, which is pleasant to see. Davis is clearly more experienced, but Cameron is no fool; I am sure he will learn quickly. He will have to.

neilj

Sseems this site is creaking. My post at 1602 seems to be been attributed to a-tracy!!
Who is saying what on here?

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