The Times - stories without substance

This article in the Times is a perfect example of the Media trying to “spin” a story out of nothing. It quotes no one of authority, but more importantly, totally misrepresents the Conservative Spring Conference yesterday. For this to have been a truly “unspun” account, it would have mentioned that during the “Built to Last” debate there was indeed a speaker who was quite animated in his arguments against the consultation, but also that he was in a minority of one with the many other speakers supportive of the document. It might also have been worth mentioning that if a speaker at the Labour conference had been as vociferous he probably would have been kicked out and threatened with arrest.

The rest of the article has absolutely no credibility, being almost entirely based on supposed conversations with senior Conservatives and Shadow Cabinet members – none of which are attributed. It smacks of a story with its origins in 10 Downing Street.

For what it’s worth I believe the “Built To Last” agenda will do a great deal to cement the direction David Cameron wants to take (as well as the direction the Conservatives need to take). It cements a commitment to public services based on a smaller state, a reversal of the Government’s centralisation agenda which is harming our Health Services, Fire Authorities and police services and introduces a more caring feel to the party through a commitment to making poverty history and to Social Justice.

Much of it is indeed a commitment to traditional Conservative values, but it applies those values in a way that makes it relevant to today’s issues. Social Justice is perhaps the most important of these, because it is the biggest of all of the areas where Blair’s Britain has failed.