Tories and the Nasty Party: end of an era?

It's been a long slog for David Cameron, since he became leader, in his attempt to shake off the image of the 'Nasty Party'. He's seized every opportunity he can to be pictured in the media being gay friendly, in touch with his feminine side and being photographed with black people without being visibly sick. Maybe, just maybe they've turned the corner - image wise.

After all when you compare the Tory messaging with that of the Labour government, with the exception of the economy, it does tend to be like comparing jelly babies with anthrax. Whilst Labour Ministers pride themselves on their macho credentials locking up old, sick men or giving those on welfare payments stick Cameron hugs every passing hoodie and cycles in front of all the photographers he can find.

However, whilst there is underlying substance to these impressions they are generally a product of political framing, the process by which parties try to paint simple and clear 'narratives' or stories about themselves that are digestible to the 'ordinary' voter.

I'm all for that method as part of a general political strategy - but as an approach it is dangerous because its advocates often end up only being able to think in slogans. So Labour *are* identical tp the Tories or today's Tories *are* the same old Thatcherite bootboys. That's worrying because without depth or nuance political analysis is tribal, weak and quite simply incorrect, leaving you open to making disastrous miscalculations.

As I argued in the Morning Star today it is worth understanding that all Tories are not identical to each other and that to have an understanding of the shades and disputes inside of that party is not to be on the slippery path to putting up signed photos of Norman Tebbit or combing your hair like Hesseltine. After all "You wouldn't want either leprosy or cholera, but it doesn't mean that they are the same thing. "

The coming Cameron government will not be a repeat of the Thatcher years, nor were those a repeat of Heath's disastrously aimless government. The future Tory regime is unlikely to be significantly split on Europe for example (although some voters will be worried about their coalition partners), nor will Cameron be repeating the miners' strike like some sort of historical reenactment enthusiast.

Plenty of those more traditional Tories, particularly in rural areas, tolerate the new slick Cameronites because they think it will get them elected and they don't really commit them to anything. There's a lot of them about and, no doubt, one day the real internal political clashes will take place for the soul of the Conservative Party. However, that's likely to happen at least several years into a Tory government but until then homophobe will co-exist with moderniser just like the lion that lay down with the lamb.