Cameron fills the vacuum

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Jon Bright (London, OK): I recently criticised Boris Johnson in these pages for making policy on the basis of anecdotal evidence and gut feeling rather than actual research. I was immediately accused of being a Labour partisan (which I'm not). I even contrasted Boris's approach to that of his leader. On Friday David Cameron made a major speech that allowed me to test my suggestion that he has been treated fairly harshly (by some of his own party as well as his opponents) for attempting to do the opposite of Boris. His six major policy reviews, whatever you think of them, have been attempts to base policy on research - for his pains he is accused (by certain floor-crossers) of being vacuous and standing for nothing.

With the possibility of an autumn election still in the air, he tried to answer his critics - setting out some of the beliefs that "really drive" him whilst repeating his mantra that the Conservative party has to change. It's an interesting speech - setting out an coherent basis for an approach he has always called "compassionate conservatism". He manages to join the dots between being environmental and tough on crime, recognising gay couples while supporting marriage, etc. Family, responsibility and opportunity are his three main tenets: "when it comes to making choices, facing up to tough dilemmas, I think politics should begin and end with a simple question and a simple test: does this help families and the work they do?" he says. As a left-leaning blogger (perhaps my left leg is just shorter than the right one) it's the family stuff that always rankles - but you can't say it's not a value that has some kind of institutional expression, unlike 'fairness'.

Most interesting for OurKingdom is his rejection of citizens' juries: "You don't need a Citizens Jury...you just need a Conservative Government". He is arguing, quite accurately, that Brown's juries will probably be more consultative window dressing rather than a real attempt to address Britain's democratic deficit (see nuclear energy as a case in point, as Dizzy amusingly posted the other day). Governing on the basis of public involvement in the decision making process does not have to mean 'standing for nothing' - rather, in Cameron's words, it would mean standing for faith in the British public.

It's feels unlikely that Cameron will turn this into a major plank of his campaign - the usual 'big' issues of the NHS, crime, immigration and education (and the economy, if it is going badly) are still likely to be the key points. But deepening and strengthening our democracy is one issue where, ironically given the Prime Minister's Green Paper, he could put clear blue water between himself and Labour.

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