David Cameron Wins Conservative Party Leadership

David Cameron was elected top man in the British Conservative Party in a postal ballot, the results of which were announced yesterday. About two Tories in three preferred him to David Davis, and the Conservatives have announced themselves pleased with their fourth leader since losing the 1997 election. They might be wise to keep their expectations low; they’ve selected a cheery toff who doesn’t look to be very prime ministerial.

Mr. Cameron has been a member of parliament for all of four years, meaning he is asbout as much experience in government as George Bush had when he was appointed president by the Supreme Court in 2000. At 39, however, he hasn’t had much time to garner experience like that of Gordon Brown, who is likely to be PM before the next election.

David William Duncan Cameron, who looks rather like Commander Data in “Star Trek: The Next Generation," is a graduate of Eton College (like Prince William) and Brasenose College, Oxford. He is a member of White’s, a Whitehall gentleman’s club that doesn’t advertise for membership (if one takes one’s meaning). Born in Kensington and Chelsea to a stockbroker father, it’s his mum’s side of the family that has an excess of silver spoons in their mouths. Seems he isn’t the first in his family to have a seat in Commons, third more like.

None of which really should count against him. After all, the sun has to shine on someone in life’s lottery. However, after the Thatcherite and post-Thatcherite yammerings about getting on one’s bike and looking for work, it does seem a bit of a PR problem to have a toff as leader of the Tories. The entire leadership campaign was about getting the Conservative Party to connect with the average voter again. At best, Mr. Cameron will connect with the average voter who brings in £200,000 a year. His cheerful outlook may help, but one doubts it.

In his victory speech he said, “People in this country are crying out for a Conservative Party that is decent, reasonable, sensible, common sense [sic] and in it for the long term of this country.” The trouble is that that party is called New Labour, and it’s running out of gas. Fortunately for Mr. Cameron, he is still young enough to launch a new career after he joins that rather large club of former leaders of the British Tory Party who couldn’t win a general election.

© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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