Fraser Nelson gives the Keith Joseph lecture

Just been listening to Fraser Nelson giving the Keith Joseph memorial lecture.

He said that the choice in government is between radicalism and failure. Interestingly, he sees the great tide of anti-politics as an opportunity for the Conservatives. If we're prepared to be bold ....

Posted on 3 February 2010 by Douglas Carswell

Comments

"If we're prepared to be bold ...."


We Essex Boys got together for PMQs and lunch as we often do.
It was good to see the attack being taken to the PM after the Tory's wobbly week.
Our chat afterwards centred on the need to stay balanced but get angry again at this inept, blustering Labour government. We've been unanimously impressed at the directness and delivery of experienced former ministers Redwood and Rivkind in the last few days and we mused that it might well be time to redraft arguably the team's most effective striker of recent times to augment the energetic but still-developing young midfielders.
David Davis almost single-handedly had the scalps of first Beverley Hughes and then Blunkett and Clarke with forensic ruthlessness. With defined guidelines and proper motivation his experience on weeding out waste on the public accounts committee and his communication skills would be invaluable in 'closing the Cameron deal'.
Labour's sheer wastefulness is still not being exploited by the leadership and every piece of research by our colleagues at ESSEX VOTERS VOICE has confirmed the chord this strikes with ordinary voters, as does Immigration and state interference (or to use Boris' conference term - the nonsense!)
The Conservative message needs tightening and toughening. To be sharper.slicker.more direct.less fussy.more down-to-earth. more man-in-the-street.
Try this.

THE CONSERVATIVES
WE aren't scared of the C word.

We shall.
* CUT WASTE
* CUT THE DEFICIT
* CUT IMMIGRATION
* CUT THE NONSENSE!

CONSERVATIVES. COMMON SENSE & COMPETENCE

With the compliments of The Essex Boys from God's Own County!

Posted on 3 February 2010 23:24 by THE ESSEX BOYS

How can one be bold following focus groups?

Posted on 4 February 2010 08:20 by wonderfulforhisage

Bold? Count me in.

Posted on 4 February 2010 09:45 by Steve Baker

Or for UKIP if you aren't. Which so far & with the election a few months away...

Posted on 4 February 2010 11:07 by Neil Craig

We HAVE to be radical with our proposals and then we have to put them into practice if elected. The idea that we can tell people, "Don't you worry about a thing, you're not going to notice any difference. We are just going to slice a little off here and there, you'll hardly notice it" is foolish. If we present our argument as such, as we appear to have been doing since New Year, then we cannot claim to have a mandate to take the particularly hard decisions in cutting in areas that would otherwise be held as sacrosanct. If we do NOT cut where we need to do quickly enough, we can kiss goodbye to our economy. Either way people will be pissed as hell. Tell them the truth now and they will be easier with us when we actually follow through on it.

Honesty is the best policy and DC needs to see that. I don't really care who is running departments, as long as they are competent and signed up to the radicalism which is required to do the job.

Posted on 4 February 2010 11:39 by DP

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