Cameron had hoped he would take with him more than half of his own parliamentary party, but ended up with nearly 60% voting against him (136 against, 126 for ,41 abstained) and many MP’s are now rubbing their hands at the prospect of a leadership rebellion. The country, too, is turning against the Tories, with a slide from 43% to 28% in the polls. If there was an election tomorrow, Cameron would lose.
The debate prior to the vote was a sad exercise in Tory pitted against Tory, exposing a culture clash at the heart of the party which can only lead to questions about Cameron’s authority.
At every turn Cameron fails to inspire the confidence of the torch bearers of conservatism in this country
From the beginning David (just call me Dave) Cameron has been pounding the Conservative party into a leftist direction. He failed to win a majority in the last general election what with his wishy washy liberal views of a Rooseveltian Big Society, confusing fiscal packages and seeming love affair with the failed European Union project. He promised a referendum on the EU at that time and then reneged. Now he is promising an in/out referendum but only if we vote for him again in two years time. Meanwhile the country is on fire with a staggering debt of about 400% of GDP if one includes private debt on top of national debt, our bond market is about to explode, there are no sensible moves on curbing welfare, the national health service is dangerously failing the citizenry, and another uncontrolled surge of immigration is due next January when 30 million Bulgarians and Romanians will be eligible to enter the UK. And all our illustrious Dave can offer is tinkering in another war in Mali and now a vote on gay marriage. To call Cameron a lightweight would be an insult to lightweights. He has failed to grasp and fix any of what truly ails this country.
Why this bill and why now?
Hard on the heels of Cameron’s announcement in late January of an in/out referendum on the EU, which he has vowed to campaign in favour of staying in, we now find out via rival party UKIP that the gay marriage legislation is being driven by an EU proposal called the Berlinguer Report. This calls for all marriage and civil contracts conducted in any EU country to become legally binding in all member states, and who would need to provide all benefits, legal recognition and tax breaks afford to a married couple, even if such a marriage does not exist in their own legal system. In essence the report seeks to establish EU-wide rights to same sex marriage. The fact that gay marriage was not part of the Conservative manifesto and the zeal that Cameron has pushed the bill through parliament, only serves to show how much in lockstep with Brussels he really is.
Mr. Cameron believes he can stay in the EU while cutting a”better deal for Britain”. So far the reaction to this in Brussels has been best summed up by the French foreign minister who likening Europe to a joining a football club, said, ‘Once you’re in, you can’t say, ‘Let’s play rugby’.’ While Cameron talks a hard line on Europe, his actions all show he’s happy to tow the Brussels line.
An hour before the gay marriage vote took place, Cameron made a statement that could have dropped out of the mouth of any self respecting liberal when he said, ‘Marriage is a great institution and should be there for people who are gay as well as people who aren’t. That’s why I’ve pioneered this change. I think it’s important for our country, it’s important for society. Yes, it’s about equality, but it’s also about a stronger society’. He seems oblivious to the already liberal cultural norms that have torn away at the family in this country and the resultant high crime rates of children from broken homes and the higher rates of welfare need.
The conservative minded are turning to the UK Independence party (UKIP)
Nigel Farage, the leader of UKIP (United Kingdom Independence Party) has become an ever increasing thorn in David Cameron’s side. It has been speculated that Cameron’s sole purpose in the promised EU referendum was to keep UKIP at bay.
Formed 20 years ago with its raison d’être to pull out of the European Union, UKIP offers a lot of red meat to true conservatives; policies such as a 5-year freeze on immigration, repatriation of legislation from Europe, flat rate tax for corporations and individuals, even an argument for privatizing the sacred cow of the National Health Service. They have clearly stated their position against gay marriage.
Currently they have no MP seats in parliament, but with their recent surge in the polls overtaking the Conservative coalition Liberal Democratic partners, that looks set to change. At 14% in a recent Mirror poll, UKIP could be the next coalition partner, replacing the ineffective Lib Dems. They could be the only force that preserves some sense of conservative principle in this country.
With the raspy voice of a politically incorrect smoker, the ebullient Nigel Farage is fearless in his attacks on the EU who he considers to be a danger to UK sovereignty and freedom. He was fined £2,400 for telling the EU President Herman Van Rompuy that he came from a non-country ( Belgium) and that he had ‘the charisma of a damp rag’ and the ‘appearance of a low-grade bank clerk’. It’s the stuff that prompted Cameron to call UKIP supporters ‘fruitcakes, loonies and racists’. A comment which he will come to regret as with each television interview Farage is increasingly becoming the voice of common sense. Just you tube Van Rompuy and you’ll see Farage was pretty much on the money.
Will the ‘Tory Barack Obama’ usurp Cameron’s leadership?
Prior to the vote the newspapers were rife with rumours of a leadership challenge, coming from multimillionaire IT tycoon, Adam Afriyie, the man dubbed as the ‘Tory Barack Obama’. His parentage of a white mother and African father compare to Obama’s but the similarities end there. From humble beginnings in a single parent home on a council estate, Afriyie built up a £100million fortune and became the first black MP. ‘Untainted ‘is the favourite word used to describe Afriyie's appeal. He is seen as economically right wing, has no taint of the expenses scandal which saw many MPs fiddling their expenses and allegedly has made it clear Mr. Cameron is on the wrong track. Moreover, he is getting the backing of movers and shakers within the party. Perhaps sensing the threat, Cameron has overlooked Afriyie for any senior positions.
David Cameron’s leadership has brought conservatism to its knees. In his misguided thrust to modernize what he seems to see as a dinosaur party of old and out of touch thinking, he has let slip any chance we had of saving this country from the harm accrued from the last leftist government. If Dave can be thrown out or forced to co-govern with someone, anyone who will hold his feet to the fire, it won’t be a minute too soon.
