IS CAMERON THE TORIES' RAMSAY MACDONALD?

Ramsay MacDonald was Labour Prime Minister during the Great Depression and economic crisis of the late 1920s and early 1930s. It was a period of great political instability and the major parties were split over the need for cuts in public spending. In 1931, MacDonald formed a National Government with the Conservatives to stay in power. He was expelled from the Labour Part and, ever since, his name has been synoymous on the Left with treachery.

David Cameron was born 100 years almost to the day after MacDonald and his political rise has coincided with the greatest economic crisis since the 1920s. His attempts to do a deal with the Liberals in order to gain power are being watched by some in his party with a degree of concern. There are already grumblings on blogs like ConservativeHome and in the Daily Mail about the way the campaign was handled by what they see as a liberal clique. Getting into bed with a party that is seen by most Conservatives as beyond the pale on immigration and Europe could be a step too far for the Tory rank and file. A period of weak coalition and compromise on core Tory issues could turn the grumbles into open revolt. Is it too much of a leap to imagine Cameron, once seen as the saviour of his party, going down in history as the Tory equivalent of Ramsay MacDonald.

(This man thinks that Cameron is the reincarnation of MacDonald: I don't!)

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