Dave’s Problem: Voters Don’t Trust Politicians. Dave’s Solution: Ask Them to Trust Me

Ben Brogan’s column in the Telegraph today is a rum one. His thesis is that David Cameron’s job is not merely to present himself as a plausible Prime Minister in waiting but also to persuade voters that they can and should trust politicians again. So, not a tricky job then.

[W]e have lost our ability to suspend disbelief and take at face value what politicians tell us. The MPs’ expenses scandal has had the purgative effect Parliament desperately needed, but the collateral damage has been a growth in cynicism and a loss of trust. And no one is suffering the consequences of that more than Mr Cameron.

His strategy has always been to avoid the gimmicks of retail politics – the easy to understand promises of giveaways and tax cuts that had until now been the bread and butter of politicians on the make. His idea – one that he reasserted convincingly in an important speech on political reform Monday – is to set out some clear principles and policies, but to keep us waiting for the detail.

He is asking us to take on trust that he will produce spending cuts on a scale necessary to make good his pledge to reduce the deficit further and faster than Labour.