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RSSCan we trust Dave?
Cameron is breaking his "personal" pledges.
By Mehdi Hasan Published 25 March 2011 10:54
So how much is the Prime Minister's word worth? The well-informed James Forsyth wrote in the Mail on Sunday on 13 December 2010:
Breaking one of Cameron's personal promises is one of the great no-nos of this government. All the way through the Spending Review, great care -- and cost -- was taken to protect any commitment that Cameron himself had made.
Downing Street is desperate to protect the Cameron brand. They know that a leader's word has to mean something . . .
Forsyth is right: in an age in which trust in politicians is plummeting by the day, a party leader's word does have to mean something. He's wrong, however, to say: "Breaking one of Cameron's personal promises is one of the great no-nos of this government." The Prime Minister himself has broken a fair few (child benefit? VAT?) and, as this morning's newspapers make clear, he is in the midst of violating a few more.
Take the NHS. Cameron, in opposition, made a great fanfare about protecting the NHS budget from cuts; in fact, in December, Cameron told MPs at Prime Minister's Questions:
We are not breaking that promise. We want to see NHS spending increase by more than inflation every year.
Yet, as the Mirror reports:
An analysis by the highly respected Institute for Fiscal Studies showed yesterday rising inflation means NHS funding will fall 0.9 per cent over the next four years, equivalent to a cut of £900m.
The Chancellor, George Osborne, has helped to cook the books by reducing the baseline from which the Government measures health spending.
But the IFS said that even with the new baseline Mr Osborne will struggle to maintain NHS spending above "zero" and was "sailing very close to the wind".
Then, there is the issue of pensioners and the Winter Fuel Allowance. From the Guardian:
Older people will receive up to £100 less from the government in payments to help with their winter energy bills -- a cut George Osborne failed to mention in his Budget speech, or include in the Budget document.
The winter fuel payment is currently worth £250 for the over-60s and £400 for the over-80s, following a temporary uplift of £50 and £100 respectively -- introduced by the previous government in 2008. It is this top-up that the current government is allowing to expire from winter 2011.
Yet in a speech delivered 48 hours before last year's general election, Cameron proclaimed:
And I want to say to British people clearly and frankly this; if you are elderly, if you are frail, if you are poor, if you are needy a Conservative government will always look after you. On the journey we need to take this country on, no one will be left behind. And let me say very clearly to pensioners if you have a Conservative government your Winter Fuel Allowance, your bus pass, your Pension Credit, your free TV licence, all these things are safe. You can read my lips, that is a promise from my heart.
Hmm. Dave had better be careful. There was another centre-right leader who made grandiose promises -- before breaking them -- while uttering the fateful words, "read my lips". Whatever happened to him?
Tags: Budget 2011 David Cameron NHS
Mehdi Hasan is the New Statesman’s senior editor (politics) and the co-author of Ed: The Milibands and the Making of a Labour Leader
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22 comments
... as far as we can throw him.
Dave is doing so many u-turns, he's spinning. Surprisingly enough Dave is showing his 'Liberal Conservative' side more and more these days. And that will upset the Tory Rednecks.
Balls made a good attacking speech yesterday and reminded me very much of Ken Clarkes style of oratory: all bluff and bluster. That clip of Ken snoozing his way through Osbornes Speech is a classic ad needs to be played repeatedly.
We cannot trust Dave Cameron for he is not ( yet ) a Muslim. Until he reverts to the truthful religion of Islam, he should not be treated with respect.
Mehdi understands very well that the Kuffar live their lives like animals. Cameron is a member of that group. He is nothing more than cattle. So we cannot trust him. C'est vrai.
Cameron is simply a patsy from that silly Anglican Church, which is / used to be our national religion.
Bring on the Revolution.
Yours,
Bobby the Shoe
Utter rubbish from Bobby.
Of course we can trust our Prime Minister. After all, what child doesn't like Iggle-Piggle?
http://clemthegem.wordpress.com/
Of course you can't trust him.
Before the election Cameron told us...
"No top-down reorganisation of the NHS"
and what are we seeing? The biggest reorganization of the NHS since its creation.
This rap video explains it all..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl1jPqqTdNo&feature=player_embedded
Just a big fat, lying sod, who thinks that the general public won't notice what they are up to. He's in for a shock 2015.
ang - i don't think we can wait that long. If the economy recovers, Ham-Face, Little Nicky and Mr Toad may well get away with it.
http://clemthegem.wordpress.com/
If Cameron were a muslim, there is no doubt in my mind that Medhi would be backing him all the way.
Because lets face it that is Medhi's bottom line in what is right and wrong.
Bobby the Shoe and Andy - I do not understand why you torture yourselves so much. If you really do not think that much of Mehdi Hassan, why do you bother posting on here? You gotta admit, its kind of sad.
Cameron has stopped doing U turns and has found his way on to a roundabout so he can now go round in circles,taking the country with him.
Can we trust Dave? Not when he spent much of the last election camapign blathering on about healing broken Britain, and yet is busily engaged in doing all he can to create poverty and distress all over the place. In what way are any of his policies 'healing'?
Cameron is a jumped up Lord Faunleroy figure, who will gain the same plac in history as Blair, who, althoug I hated the man and all he did, was actually elected to power three times.
So basically Bobby, you hear what you want to hear. If you ever read anything Mehdi has written it is glaringly obvious he doesnt think this.
You just quote stuff completely out of context and pursue no other role in discussion than to talk absolute rubbish.
Please leave these discussion to political discussions only and no personal attacks, albeit worthless and weak.
Imran and Clem the Gem don't like it when anyone has the temerity to criticise ( demonise ? ) their hero.
My point is very simple: Mehdi Hasan regards ALL KUFFAR as cattle. Therefore, Cameron is not to be trusted. That goes without saying.
When Britain becomes officially Islamic, Mr Hasan will not insult out leaders. At the moment, we're stuck with a fat Etonian who happens to be a practising Christian.
We all live like animals, according to Hasan. Unless we join The Religion Of Peace, we are condemned.
Bring on the Revolution !
Bobby the Shoe
We can trust him to create another Thatcher era of repossessions when there are no alternative housing solutions. http://www.howtoinstalllaminateflooring.org/
Hello Adam Chorley. It's nice of you to enter the fray.
I ain't sure that I hear what I want to hear. I know what Mehdi Hasan says, for I have heard his comments. The old "taken out of context" line is as boring as 'prejudice' and 'Islamophobia'. I understand the context of what Mr Hasan says.
Mr Hasan talks about trust. It seems to me a legitimate question to ask: can one trust Mehdi Hasan ? If he is of the opinion that all Kuffar live their lives like animals, why should they deign to read his copy ?
I would never say that Muslims live like animals. NEVER, because I do not believe it to be true. If Nick Griffin says that they do, will we look for context ? Will we accept it as a fair comment ?
What's the difference between saying that non-Muslims live like animals, and saying that Muslims live like animals ?????
Explanation, please.
Bobby the Shoe
What a nice question: 'Can we trust Dave?'
Premature Quotes!!!! Today's news and tomorrow's fish 'n' chips wrapping!
David Cameron is the greatest Prime Minister in British History!
I totally trust Prime Minister David Cameron. I got over 300 non-voters in Hendon to vote for my marvellous member Matthew Offord MP. This is how much I trust Prime Minister David Cameron!!
@Bobby the Shoe
Shut up you archaic imbecile. Go and find a few brain cells. Racist idiot
'Bobby the Shoe' is a twat . but he's like an attention seeking child, and sadly he gets it. What he doesn't get mind you, well sorry no time, just passing through tonight.
Oh Yes - we can trust Dave.
We can trust him to take us from the so-called brink of bankruptcy to a nation which becomes totally bust.
We can trust him to destroy all that's good about our public services and the welfare state.
We can trust him to only help the priviledged; - whilst abusing the poor.
We can trust him to create another Thatcher era of repossessions when there are no alternative housing solutions.
We can trust him to destroy all confidence and take the Great out Britain.
We can trust him to rely on his absurd vision of a Big Society that will benefit only those who indulge in the obscenity of excessive wealth.
We can trust him to destroy all that's good about trusting one another as he engages in destroying the moral fabric of a decent society.
We can trust him to become even more loathesome to a point where thankfully he'll be booted out as the worst prime minister in living memory.
Oh Yes - we can trust Dave.
We can trust him to take us from the so-called brink of bankruptcy to a nation which becomes totally bust.
We can trust him to destroy all that's good about our public services and the welfare state.
We can trust him to only help the priviledged; - whilst abusing the poor.
We can trust him to create another Thatcher era of repossessions when there are no alternative housing solutions.
We can trust him to destroy all confidence and take the Great out of Britain.
We can trust him to rely on his absurd vision of a Big Society that will benefit only those who indulge in the obscenity of excessive wealth.
We can trust him to destroy all that's good about trusting one another as he engages in destroying the moral fabric of a decent society.
We can trust him to become even more loathesome to a point where thankfully he'll be booted out as the worst prime minister in living memory.
I am not racist.
Bobby the Shoe is not racist.
Bobby the Shoe thinks that you should never accuse people of living like animals, whether they be Muslim or Christians.
In my view, it is simply wrong. Mr Hasan disagrees with me, his contention being that the KUFFAR are cattle. We live like animals, so he says.
I think his views are more extreme than mine, and that such extremism is not worthy of a NS political chap.
That will be all,
Bobby the Shoe
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