The overwhelming response to David Cameron's conference speech was that, by all accounts, it was terribly underwhelming. But why has the faith in our PM suddenly dwindled? Why is Cameron not gaining the same widespread admiration now that he universally enjoyed when stepping into power as leader of the Conservative Party? Of course, the answer is actually rather obvious; his performance of late has been inept and poor by anyone's standard, let alone the leader of Great Britain. When you allow Ed Miliband - widely considered to be a poor public speaker - to outshine you during party conference season, you know something is going shamefully amiss.
In July I wrote a piece underlining some of Cameron's biggest mistakes since entering Downing Street last year. His 'cock-ups' included Libya, the economy, his questionable relationship with News International and his grotesque contribution to the AV debate. All damning examples of why, in my own words, Cameron is an "inept and unwanted leader" who is "leading his country down an unforgivable path of destruction". Ominously, nothing appears to be changing and this weeks performance merely aided the doubters who have lost all faith - if they ever had any - in his, and his party's, leadership skills. The Daily Mail referred to his speech as a "fierce attack", when, in actual fact, it was nothing more than a limp, lifeless, predictable waffle full of half-truths and inaccuracies.
In what was undoubtedly a day to forget for the Tory leader, it all began with his ill-timed request that we all pay off our debt. In Cameron's original speech he was supposed to say, "The only way out of a debt crisis is to deal with your debts. That means households - all of us - paying off the credit card and store card bills". However, following ardent criticism, Cameron's cronies altered his speech to imply that families are already paying off their debts. Either way, the original draft highlights just how out of touch the party is with the realities of day-to-day struggles. His original draft suggested that families were merely choosing not to pay off their debts as opposed to not being able to due to the aggressive squeeze on living standards. I am pushed to think of a more thoughtless, ignorant remark during these tough times.
What this blunder also emphasised is just how wrong the Conservative's are getting it with regards to the economy. They appear clueless. The party endlessly preach the need for growth yet encourage families to save and pay off debt (i.e. not spend). At the same time, they are pursuing a belligerent austerity agenda meaning that everyone is saving and failing to inject money into our waning economy. More telling is the fact that the government's policies are forecast to cause an increase in household debt; rising from £1,560bn to £2,126bn over the next five years. The VAT rise shall result in higher inflation, thus leaving families needing to borrow more in order to sustain their standard of living. Cameron's speech ended up declaring, "That's why households are paying down their credit and store card bills", which begs the question, how come household debt is on the rise then?
And now we get to the speech itself. Cameron audaciously claimed that the Conservatives are "the party of the NHS". This is a false claim dubiously repeated by our PM despite the fact that his policies suggest otherwise. He has continually bragged that the Conservative's would increase spending "in real terms" on the NHS over the course of this parliament: "We are not cutting the NHS. In fact, we are spending more on it". He was referring to the fact that £11.5bn more in cash will be spent on the NHS in 2015 than in 2010. What he has conveniently failed to mention is the fact that this £11.5bn will disgracefully be swallowed up by inflation; therefore, not benefiting patients in any way whatsoever. Chief economist Professor John Appleby supports this view: "By 2014-15 the amount of money the NHS has to spend in real terms, its purchasing power, will have gone down by 0.9%".
The list is endless. The most passionate segment of his speech was dedicated to knocking Labour's record on education and equality. He criticised the "liberal left", stating that they make excuses for underachieving poor students: "They practice oppression and call it equality". His comments seemed to imply that he wants to give children from poorer backgrounds greater opportunities, but, as Shadow Education Secretary Andy Burnham tweeted, "Cameron breaks his promise to keep EMA and then has the nerve to lecture us all about the aspirations of least well-off". Essentially, Cameron says one thing and then contradicts it with his actions. He is undeniably the master of soundbites. This was best exposed by his cheap, meaningless announcement that "this country will never join the euro". Shock horror! Has there ever been any suggestion of that happening during the current hostile climate?
His speech hit a disturbing note when he joked of Theresa May's anti-Human Rights Act blunder. He made light of his Home Secretary's lies regarding an illegal immigrant not being able to be deported because of the fact he owned a cat. Her comments have been proven false and yet our PM could only joke that his party members should spend time reading Mog the Cat. Far from being a killjoy, I believe he should have apologised for May's made-up statement rather than brush it under the carpet and condone such anti-immigration scaremongering. Worse still, he even made a snide dig at his Justice Secretary Ken Clarke - the only Tory to condemn May's action - by suggesting that he read a book entitled Crime and Punishment.
So what did this speech reveal about our Prime Minister? It further highlighted his inability to produce facts and figures; instead opting to rely on populist soundbites. No sign of a Plan B on the economy either; preferring instead to state that "our plan is right and it will work". With unemployment up and growth down you would be hard pushed to find any right-minded individual supporting this view. Overall, Cameron's speech - along with Clegg's at the Lib Dem conference - was uninspiring and flat. As Steve Richards points out in the Independent, "Where are the Heseltines, Portillos, Benns, Foots and many others who used to light up politics, sometimes destructively but always with a compelling and sometimes mesmerising accessibility?" Indeed. Where are they?
Whilst all the conferences were somewhat disappointing and certainly forgettable, at least Miliband attempted to question the status quo. As Richard's states, his speech at least made "an attempt to address the scale of tumultuous change sweeping across Britain". He provided genuine alternatives and proved economically more viable than his Tory counterparts. Cameron may be faltering in terms of performance but interestingly his overall likeability rating remains higher than that of both Miliband and Clegg. What is imperative is that the British people look beyond the smart suits and slick rhetoric; it is smart policy and slick leadership that we need. Cameron does not offer this. Instead, his performance of late has demonstrated his inability to adapt to change and his lack of understanding towards the problems staring this great nation in the face.