Political Penguin

Yesterday morning I caught the ever so wonderful David Cameron on the BBC breakfast news doing a cosy sofa interview on the Tories strategy for combating anti-social behaviour.

It confused me but I think I get the gist of it now. Labour’s policy of ASBO’s is wrong because it abdicates responsibility and that the state isn’t the answer but people as in the general members of the public should be responsible along with businesses to create a civic society.

First thing of note. Apparently he doesn’t agree with ASBO’s on the Radio 4 interview, but sitting nice and comfy on the sofa when questioned about ASBO’s says he’s going to keep them. I though they were counter-productive? Why would you keep something that is acerbating the problem? Bit confused on that one still.

Nonetheless we do have a policy which makes a change, and the policy is, “it’s nothing to do with us guv, it’s your problem to sort out”. So let us get this straight, the policy is to have no policy because it’s not the position of the state to try and address problems like anti-social but up to the public.

However, this doesn’t mean that he’s encouraging people to go up to gangs of youths and tell them what they’re doing is wrong so how do you combat the issue? How exactly this is going to work is beyond me. He mentioned the issue of parents taking responsibility for their children which is always a good one of which I’ve not got that much of a problem with but it’s the parents who simply don’t care or desire to take any responsibility that are one factor of the problem. If they don’t take responsibility then how do you make them, because lets not forget, according to Dave, it’s not the states responsibility to deal with them so we can’t be thinking down the lines of fines, imprisonment or any other kind of state enforced repercussion.

Still unsure as to how this one’s going to work and here’s a major flaw in Dave’s thinking that shows through every time he pops up. He wants to come across as a libertarian, hey, he’s a Tory, it’s what their traditional ground is supposed to be. That the state should be leaving it up to the individual, that the state should not try to engineer societal factors, yet cannot get away from the desire to engineer societal change according to his or the Tories shared values through the levers of state power.

Little example. We’ve had the usual rhetoric that ‘people are best placed to decide what to do with their money’, it shouldn’t be taken off them through taxation to pay for silly little things like public services etc etc. Yet, and I know it’s vogue to have a go at Cameron over having no policies but there is one that they’ve been banging on about, that of re-instating the married couples tax allowance, and of course getting rid of tax credits.

This is of course the true paradox that the Tories find themselves in which shows them to be nothing more than hypocrites. They espouse individualism and claim the state has no business interfering in the affairs of people, yet would happily use the tax system to try and cajole people into establishing a certain lifestyle because it fits in with what they consider to be morally preferable.

The irony is that this leaves the Tories in a position where they are the ones seeking to use the state to get society to conform to their beliefs and Labour with the more pragmatic approach of focussing financial assistance to those who actually need it, people with children and in most cases mortgages. Not 50 somethings who’ve paid off their mortgages and who’s kids have left the nest.

So what have we learned from yesterday’s little appearances? Well, the Tories have a policy, and it is to have no policy that they would enact were they to be in Government because if it’s not the role of the state somewhere down the line to be giving direction. I’m going to have a little guess that there isn’t going to be some wonderful coming together of people, businesses and organisations to address the issue because there’s no backup in terms of organisation or financial incentive coming from the Government.

Of course a cynic could just say that yesterday achieved everything as far and Mr Cameron is concerned. Interview on Radio 4, interview on BBC breakfast news, plenty of exposure and media attention. Job done. Only problem being the simple inconsistencies in his argument make him look like a complete and utter twonk who hasn’t got a clue.