The Conservative Divide

There seems to be a divide in the Conservative Party as to whether Thatcher was inspirational and great or whether she ...well ruined Britain. And this is a national divide, because Scottish Conservatives (although there are very few) have been apologising for what she did. Indeed a Tory I spoke to recently said that Cameron had actually apologised on national television, yet every time I've seen Cameron challenged on her, he seems to come up with some bullshit answer that avoids the question completely.

First off, when Cameron was asked whether he is was a "Thatcherite" he replied : "I certainly agree with some of her views, but I don't know whether that makes me one", then he was asked in a Northern constituency whether he would "divide the country like Thatcher did", to which he replied "I think she took some very necessary decisions..." I would love to know what decisions he was talking about.

So I am bedazzled to whether the Tory party actually liked the women. At a recent Political Q & A I attended, a Tory figure actually apologized for what she had done, but more than that, she apologized for opposing the NHS, introducing Section 28 and going against the Minimum Wage. It seems to me that the Conservative Party have got a lot of apologizing to do to the public and that Mr.Cameron has a lot of convincing to do to his back bench.

This is the Tory back bench of which nearly 70% want a private healthcare system, it is also the back bench that put on a smiley face and cheer him in the commons, but it seems obvious that Cameron is going to have to convince most of them that he is not doing what Blair and Brown did with Labour (in moving to the centre) and that he isn't another neo-Liberal stand up comedian (like Nick Clegg) and that he actually has left some Conservative values, because his move to the left is extremely unpopular with the Tory-right and according to NHS polls, the Tory right are still the overwhelming majority of his party but don't want to admit it in polls. After all - Cameron has been ahead in the polls for months know, why would anyone want to doubt a man that has completely transformed the image of the Conservative Party (along with it's nice new logo).

I understand that (as a Labour member) I'm hardly one to talk about a divided party, but there seems to be a real difference in the divide amongst them. In the Labour Party, there are a few left-wing rebels that are still fuming about the war in Iraq. In the Tory party, most know the conditions under which Cameron was elected leader and most know what Michael Howard really thought of him, but they also realize how good he is at stand up. But with his record, it seems that is all he is good at, after all, he was economic adviser to Norman Lamont on black Wednesday.

So, if there are any Scottish Conservatives reading this, please let me know what your views are - is Cameron's image just part of his neo-Liberal views, or his he still a true Tory.