Conference started badly for Cameron and his team as they faced attacks over their decision to restrict child benefit to lower rate taxpayers. Questions were asked about how the Conservatives expect to stick to their commitment of making Britain the most family-friendly country in Europe, while reducing support for stay- at-home mums. Yet as conference drew to a close there was broad acceptance by many in the Party that Osborne’s choice to cut child benefit was taken out of necessity rather than choice, and that it was merely the tip of a very large iceberg of spending cuts.
Cameron does have some cause to celebrate, though. He is enjoying greater support from the grassroots of the Conservative party than at any time as leader, with 91% of Party members thinking he is a ‘natural PM’, and has finally toppled William Hague as the most popular Cabinet member.
While a coalition with the Liberal Democrats would never have been the first choice for Conservative Party members, 84% do think the coalition is a good thing for the nation. This was mirrored at the Liberal Democrat conference, where journalists went to Liverpool hoping for a revolt but found that the Lib Dems are just as anxious that the coalition should work as the Conservatives.
Other key announcements at the conference included Iain Duncan Smith’s seven-year programme to simplify the benefits system and ensure that work pays, which was hailed to be as significant as Margaret Thatcher’s decision to give council tenants the right to buy their homes. Conservatives, with a little help from the Lib Dems, are attempting to position themselves as the party of aspirational, hard-working families.
Throughout this year’s conference Conservative MPs placed the blame for the upcoming spending cuts squarely on Labour shoulders. However, unless the Big Society delivers what the Government can no longer afford to do, the electorate will soon become disillusioned with this new age of collaborative politics.
The coalition partners have survived the conference season; the next challenge will be the Spending Review. Can the public stomach the fierce cuts needed to set the UK onto a path of economic stability?
Alexandra Arikoglu is senior account executive, Westminster Advisers
