A week is a long time in politics

Posted By: Michael Holly
Date Posted: 17/10/2007

Harold Wilson once famously said that a week is a long time in politics. What would his reaction have been to the seismic events that have taken place since the Conservative Party Conference at the beginning of the month?

I was fortunate to have been a delegate at the Conference although I have to admit that I attended with some trepidation. With the opinion polls reading badly for us I did not know what to expect, particularly as this was my first Conference. Would there be massive dissent, would Gordon Brown announce a snap election during the Conference?

The outcome exceeded my wildest dreams. There was complete solidarity behind David Cameron; during the whole conference I did not hear one adverse comment about him or his leadership. There were cutting remarks, but these were aimed at Gordon Brown for the disgraceful way that he used our troops in Iraq for political headlines.

All of the big hitters, William Hague, David Davis, George Osborne and Liam Fox gave outstanding speeches outlining clear new policies and commitments that reflect the concerns of the people of our Country. David Cameron’s concluding speech, without a script or an autocue, was inspirational. George Osborne’s taxation policies on inheritance tax, the abolition of stamp duty for most first time house buyers and incentives for families grabbed the headlines.

For me, however, the star of the Conference was Iain Duncan Smith. His understanding of what needs to be done to mend our broken society (yes, Gordon, it is broken!) showed a depth of knowledge, genuine feeling and a will to change things that is all too often missing in today’s politicians.

During the Conference I also attended a number of fringe meetings including discussions on the NHS, road pricing and Europe. I was impressed by the quality of debate and the fresh ideas that we are clearly coming up with.

All this has been reinforced subsequently; Alistair Darling stealing our tax policies, his deputy, Andy Burnham, calling for tax incentives for married couples and with pressure from his backbenchers perhaps even Gordon Brown will eventually honour Labour’s manifesto pledge and allow the British public a referendum on the European Constitution.

No wonder we have bounced back. We are the Party of ideas; we are the Party of the future.