In 2010, with the Euro-crisis deepening, stagnation entrenched and unemployment still to peak, David Cameron boasted that Britain was “out of the danger zone”. Four years on, with unemployment tumbling, growth resurgent and wages finally picking up, prime minister Pangloss has made way for prime minister Jeremiah. The “red warning lights” on the dashboard are, Mr Cameron wrote in Monday’s Guardian, flashing again.
Six months before he faces the country, Mr Cameron is no disinterested voice. A leader who once vowed to “let sunshine win the day” has very particular reasons for now pointing to dark clouds. The economy, on which the Conservatives are more trusted than Labour, has been losing salience in the polls, while a troubled health service, on which the opposition enjoys the advantage, edges towards centre-stage. In these circumstances, bad news suits the Tories better than no news on the economic front. They have also learned the obvious lessons of 2007-08, when Gordon Brown’s initial reluctance to concede things were as bad as they turned out proved a tactical mistake.
Continue reading...