There is something about ‘compassionate conservatism’ that infuriates the Labour party, as if the very phrase were a deceitful contradiction in terms. The notion sends Gordon Brown into apoplexy. He can handle the Tories talking about economic efficiency or immigration, but he regards concern for the poorest as a subject purely for Labour. And for too many of the last 20 years, it has been. As a result Labour has incubated, through its dysfunctional welfare state, the most expensive poverty in the world. From the beginning of David Cameron’s leadership, he has focused on this outrage. It was for ‘hugging hoodies’ that he was lampooned early on, and it was his exposure of Labour’s failure to tackle poverty that was most keenly applauded at his party’s annual conference last month.
Cameron’s critique of Britain’s ‘broken society’ has been a theme running through his speeches.
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