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Cameron’s Manchester speech: first reaction
The Mole: faux-socialist moments are finely balanced by Tory red meat
David Cameron brought the Conservative party conference to a close in Manchester this afternoon with neither a bang nor a whimper. It was a wide-ranging speech that covered everything from the situation in Afghanistan - with the promise of a 'war cabinet' - to the death earlier this year of his son Ivan.
There were undoubted lulls, but there were moments of passion, too - notably when he promised that the Tories would be "the party of the NHS" and that it was their job to stand up for the poor.
"Don't you dare lecture us about poverty," he said, addressing Labour. "You have failed and it falls to us, the modern Conservative Party, to fight for the poorest who you have let down."
Anyone down from Mars for the day might have wondered at such moments whether they had inadvertently wandered into a post-war Labour party conference. But any faux-socialist moments were quickly corrected by a quick swing back to core Tory values - a cap on immigration, a promise to end big government and bureaucracy, the glories of family and so on.
He did his best to balance the "hard times" speech of his shadow chancellor earlier in the week, claiming that while there was "a steep climb ahead... the view from the summit will be worth it". Whether it was enough to persuade those still shivering with fright from the Osborne lecture, we shall see.
The Mole stands by what he's been saying through conference season: we need to wait until the post-Manchester opinion polls come in before we can judge whether the Tories can get away with painting such a realistic picture of the age of austerity to come.
In the meantime, here are the early thoughts from my compadres above ground...
FIRST REACTIONS TO THE SPEECH:Jenny Booth, the Times: "The video [of Bono] gave a celebrity boost to Mr Cameron's biggest speech of the year, and cemented the impression that power and influence is draining away from Labour in favour of the Conservatives."
Nick Robinson, BBC TV: "No wonder he looked and sounded nervous - his voice struggling to meet the scale of the occasion. David Cameron knows that most people assume he will be our next prime minister. He knows that they could so easily be proved wrong. This was a speech designed to answer those who say they don't know what he really believes. His answer - a traditional Conservative one - family... community... country."
Michael White, the Guardian: "A good speech but not a great speech, six out of 10 I thought. Too many themes."
Adam Boulton, Sky TV: "It was a powerful speech from the Conservative Party leader. A man clearly believing that working together, the British people can make it happen, if he becomes the next prime minister. Having listened to a few of David Cameron's speeches, I thought it was his best since his original conference speech in 2005."
Benedict Brogan, the Daily Telegraph: "The speech didn't produce the crackle of his election-stopping, no-notes virtuoso performance in Blackpool in 2007. Nor did it have the background of last year's financial crisis to give it urgency. Also, the acoustics in the hall deaden his voice. But he had an argument – the size of the state is at the root of all our problems – and an answer to the 'who are you' question – a straightforward family guy with a devotion to public service." ·
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Another average speech from the pretty boy.
As for , the refuge collector, the nurse and the teacher solving the country's problems by pulling together I'm not so sure. He needs honest politicians, lawyers and bankers, working hard for the country, some hope.
He has the Sun newspaper though and that should be enough.
As for Brown ? I think that he is the only leader with integrity, but that will not come across in the newspapers nor on TV. Shame really but there you go.
I still don't know what the Tories stand for unless it's the health service and the poor, and I cannot believe either.
Whether he reaches the summit or not, it will be all down hill from there. Shakespeare had the measure of it:
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
I thought Cameron's a fine speech and head-and-torso above the limp and ineffectual Brown effort. It did reach out and clearly identified one the many failings of new Labour: over-bearing 'nanny' state and bloated and ineffective government. Cameron came over as sincere and engaged with the social issues besetting the country.