Conservatives bid to ally themselves with the people
DAVID Cameron sought yesterday to offset a tough message on cutting public spending with a vision of citizens taking charge of their own destinies.
The following are analysts’ views on the launch of the Conservative manifesto:
“There is an element of populism in this (talk of big society), it’s almost the Conservative Party trying to ally itself with the people against a government elite.
“It was about trying to sell the Conservatives as having a positive message and a lot of ideas. Cameron said the next five years doesn’t have to be a depressing period, that’s very different from talk a few months back of an age of austerity.”
“It is not surprising to see the main political parties using the manifestos to score political points but what is important for the markets is the fiscal policy detail.
“Pre-election manifestos are not going to provide the minutiae on tax and spending plans that markets want to see.”
“On the one hand, it has got to be something different in terms of how they present their engagement with the public and I think they ticked the right boxes there.
“Where I think the public will still be asking questions is how the Conservatives are going to tackle the issue of public sector debt.”
“The Conservatives are trying to make a distinction between society and government which is designed to assert a social conscience and distance Conservatism from Thatcher’s legacy.
“The big issue is the impact of this on public spending... Both the Conservatives and Labour are preferring to talk about efficiency savings rather than how they will actually cut the deficit.”
“There is a coherent theme — trying to reduce big government. I think the Conservatives have been more successful than Labour in getting across a coherent message, but for an opposition party it is always a much easier task.”
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