Beneath the pasty faces, do we hear knocking knees amongst the Tory hierarchy who have now decided to go into an almost terrified change of mind on the ill-named pasty tax? Who can be advising them that, having taken the pain of the adverse PR and gleeful goadings from the children across the House of Commons floor it was now a good idea to step on the brakes, throw the gears into reverse and abandon the perfectly justifiable (if you put it the right and intelligible way) pasty tax and to delay reduce the newly imposed VAT on static caravans from 20% to 5% ?
Mr Miliband should dine out on another good day at Prime Minister's questions on this needlessly presented open goal. The simple rule of any strategy is that you've taken the grief and survived, don't walk back into the issue for another go. Hold your nerve and carry on. The damage has already been done and recovery will just happen with the passage of time. Even a day can be a long time in politics.
The Prime Minister and his far too small, narrow and unworldly inner circle must be longing for the safe haven of the long Summer recess when hopefully they can regroup, widen the talent pool , get in some good streetwise advisors and just get a grip. That's if they understand what's needed .Until they do the Eds and their gangs, lusting for more blood ,look like they are going to have many field days knowing that their constantly repeated soundbites, "Out of touch", "Too fast, too soon" and others similar are gaining traction and not just through the sheer weight of repetition.
Beneath all this, what worries long time political observers, is the lack of shere political nouse in the leadership and running of both major parties. There is a deficiency of weight and depth in both. Cameron comes across as a presentable and more or less acceptable Prime Minister though increasingly old style establishment and nowhere near a great one. Miliband, while winning the current round of spats looks nothing like a PM and anyway is likely to be knifed behind the curtains if the party looks like it's in with a chance of having another go at further wrecking the economy. Clegg, unable to accept that his party is part of a governing coalition and that with that goes responsibility for at least outward cohesion, appears to have no idea at all about how a bidder for the highest office should look and behave. For him that's OK as he will never be one, but for the others the deficiencies are serious and, to the electorate, depressing.
Gravitas and weight aside, the other disturbing thing is that neither major party appears to have a vision or plan for a better Britian. In a real world there would first be a clearly defined political philosophy from which a strategic and below that tactical plans would flow. Each item on each plan would be costed and constantly tested against the philosophy and overall aims. Any conflict would be removed before it became a problem. Hence for example if growth in the economy is the objective, things that get in the way of that would be removed and already successful industries encouraged rather than discouraged. The thriving educational sector would not be part of a clampdown on immigration. Student visas would be specifically and correctly issued and the period of residence not count toward any later rights to residency or citizenship. Students are simply not immigrants but are needlessly and absurdly being treated as if they were. In another neck of the business woods the highly successful aviation industry would not be hobbled by ever the increasing and extortionate Air Passenger Duty and the stubborn refusal to build another runway where it most urgently needed and quickest built-Heathrow. Then there is power generation and then......the list goes on and on and needs decisive untangling but there is no sign of the Tory leadership even understanding there is a problem.
On the question of thinking everything through and coming up with real plans, Labour are at the moment ahead. Miliband's enlisting of Messrs Adonis and Crudas to work respectively on plans for business and industry and winning the next election is a good strengthening move. Both are good producers and not intensly political. Adonis was once a Lib Dem and should have been re-recruited by the coalition from day 1 , ideally to continue in his transport role. By further additions to a visibly sensible group, Labour could overcome the lightweight appearance of its knockabout 4th form leadership team. For the Tories, there are groups such as the young MPs "301"who are seeking to get a grip on the party and come up with strong electorally attractive plans with which to recapture the high ground. They need to get motoring now and break cover quickly once the summer recess is over and have clear offerings on the table by May 2013, two years ahead of the next election. Any later than that and they start to get behind the clock and the task of coming up with winning formulae becomes harder . The counter arguement of "why didn't you do it when you were in office?" will get stronger by the day. If the Tory machine doesn't regain its grip, stop panicing and swerving all over the road it will end up in the ditch or against a wall.
Mr Miliband should dine out on another good day at Prime Minister's questions on this needlessly presented open goal. The simple rule of any strategy is that you've taken the grief and survived, don't walk back into the issue for another go. Hold your nerve and carry on. The damage has already been done and recovery will just happen with the passage of time. Even a day can be a long time in politics.
The Prime Minister and his far too small, narrow and unworldly inner circle must be longing for the safe haven of the long Summer recess when hopefully they can regroup, widen the talent pool , get in some good streetwise advisors and just get a grip. That's if they understand what's needed .Until they do the Eds and their gangs, lusting for more blood ,look like they are going to have many field days knowing that their constantly repeated soundbites, "Out of touch", "Too fast, too soon" and others similar are gaining traction and not just through the sheer weight of repetition.
Beneath all this, what worries long time political observers, is the lack of shere political nouse in the leadership and running of both major parties. There is a deficiency of weight and depth in both. Cameron comes across as a presentable and more or less acceptable Prime Minister though increasingly old style establishment and nowhere near a great one. Miliband, while winning the current round of spats looks nothing like a PM and anyway is likely to be knifed behind the curtains if the party looks like it's in with a chance of having another go at further wrecking the economy. Clegg, unable to accept that his party is part of a governing coalition and that with that goes responsibility for at least outward cohesion, appears to have no idea at all about how a bidder for the highest office should look and behave. For him that's OK as he will never be one, but for the others the deficiencies are serious and, to the electorate, depressing.
Gravitas and weight aside, the other disturbing thing is that neither major party appears to have a vision or plan for a better Britian. In a real world there would first be a clearly defined political philosophy from which a strategic and below that tactical plans would flow. Each item on each plan would be costed and constantly tested against the philosophy and overall aims. Any conflict would be removed before it became a problem. Hence for example if growth in the economy is the objective, things that get in the way of that would be removed and already successful industries encouraged rather than discouraged. The thriving educational sector would not be part of a clampdown on immigration. Student visas would be specifically and correctly issued and the period of residence not count toward any later rights to residency or citizenship. Students are simply not immigrants but are needlessly and absurdly being treated as if they were. In another neck of the business woods the highly successful aviation industry would not be hobbled by ever the increasing and extortionate Air Passenger Duty and the stubborn refusal to build another runway where it most urgently needed and quickest built-Heathrow. Then there is power generation and then......the list goes on and on and needs decisive untangling but there is no sign of the Tory leadership even understanding there is a problem.
On the question of thinking everything through and coming up with real plans, Labour are at the moment ahead. Miliband's enlisting of Messrs Adonis and Crudas to work respectively on plans for business and industry and winning the next election is a good strengthening move. Both are good producers and not intensly political. Adonis was once a Lib Dem and should have been re-recruited by the coalition from day 1 , ideally to continue in his transport role. By further additions to a visibly sensible group, Labour could overcome the lightweight appearance of its knockabout 4th form leadership team. For the Tories, there are groups such as the young MPs "301"who are seeking to get a grip on the party and come up with strong electorally attractive plans with which to recapture the high ground. They need to get motoring now and break cover quickly once the summer recess is over and have clear offerings on the table by May 2013, two years ahead of the next election. Any later than that and they start to get behind the clock and the task of coming up with winning formulae becomes harder . The counter arguement of "why didn't you do it when you were in office?" will get stronger by the day. If the Tory machine doesn't regain its grip, stop panicing and swerving all over the road it will end up in the ditch or against a wall.
