David Cameron had a good line about Labour being a 'One Notion' party (see what he did there? - hilarious) and was genuinely moving when he talked about his own disabled son and how he saw the paralympics as a triumph in moving attitudes about disability forwards. He turned the Eton issue on its head and had some good points about spreading good education, spreading privilege and being the party of the people who want to be better off. He was prepared to be personal - talking about his son or his father. But there was no big vision, and he got probably his biggest cheer in defending tax cuts via a simple lesson-like response to Ed Miliband.
And that remains the Cameron problem. His speech suggested there are still vestiges of that compassionate conservatism that made him at least a moderniser, if not a full blown One Nation Tory. But his reshuffle showed just how much a prisoner he is of a party that simply isn't interested in One Nation values, and his speech received just the level of warmth necessary for a party leader, especially since he didn't commit the assembled Tories to anything approaching One Nation policies. For real rapture, he either needed to sport a blond wig and spout some bumbly comic lines, or commit the Tories to a referendum on Europe.
And that remains the Cameron problem. His speech suggested there are still vestiges of that compassionate conservatism that made him at least a moderniser, if not a full blown One Nation Tory. But his reshuffle showed just how much a prisoner he is of a party that simply isn't interested in One Nation values, and his speech received just the level of warmth necessary for a party leader, especially since he didn't commit the assembled Tories to anything approaching One Nation policies. For real rapture, he either needed to sport a blond wig and spout some bumbly comic lines, or commit the Tories to a referendum on Europe.
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