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Society, as Conservatives traditionally understood it, is not a machine but an organism. We should meddle, even with its most pathogenic features, with caution and with awareness of the law of unintended consequences. The next Tory government will thus have no mandate to repair the economy - which can be repaired - but a mandate to repair society - which, by and large, cannot.

The business of government is difficult. It is sometimes possible to take credit for a legacy one has not earned and to pass the buck for failure to one's successor while smiling and cheating long enough to survive. That is Tony Blair's way - to which Cameron and his friends are attracted. Or one can embrace a philosophy, expound it, practise it in season and out of season, and be judged by the results. That was Margaret Thatcher's. David Cameron is no Margaret Thatcher, nor need he be. But hers is the better way, and in the short time left before he assumes the responsibilities of power, he should be encouraged to understand and internalise her example.

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Anonymous
November 30th, 2011
7:11 PM
The Conservatives as well as other parties prefer for the public to have limited political knowledge, they write their manifestos which in theory sound wonderful. They all seem to benefit the people that need it most, the lower classes. So the lower classes vote for them and by doctrine of a mandate, the Tories once in power are able to create the mess that Thatcher when she was in office from 1979 - 1990. In reality, the Tories are still what they always were and what they always will be, a Government that wants an elitist structure in society. Of course no country can be entirely equal as every citizen is different. If you gave every person £100, every person would spend it differently. But why should one who is born into poverty have to stay in it, we are all human and should all have an equal chance of becoming successful. But, the Tory government have taken away this chance of liberty for the lower class citizens by increasing university fees. So intelligent children whom could easily get As at GCSE and A level and enroll in a course at university will now be in dept for all their life. So well done the people who have voted for the Conservatives. Congratulations. You have just brought in another Thatcher. I look forward to having riots on my doorstep again. (P.S David Cameron, a way of solving our financial deficit is perhaps by reducing your £142,500 salary!!)

Anonymous
April 13th, 2010
11:04 AM
Congratulations. Half the lower-paid in this country are thinking of voting for David Cameron. I must admit that I find his policies enticing. If only Margaret hadn't creamed off so much for her family and friends. Saudi arms commissions are but a start. And how do you manage to declare that the bankers and big business are behind you and still keep the loyalty of the masses. Must be mass-hypnotism. Am economically Conservative , definitely not a Labour voter, but care too much for fellow-humans to vote for cynical marketing and greed. Did it in 1979, then realised how self-interested you lot were.

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