Hope springs eternal

The Tory press conference this morning, launching their plan for National Citizen Service, shows how they hope to run a two track campaign. On the one hand, they want to be hammering Labour over their plans to increase National Insurance — Cameron called it a ‘a recovery killer, an economy killer, a job killer’ and said that Labour wanted people to pay ‘taxes for government waste’. On the other, they want to be presenting hopeful, optimistic ideas like a National Citizen Service. This fusion campaigning enables the Tories both to be attacking Labour and presenting themselves as the party that is offering a positive alternative.

National Citizen Service is very Cameron. He’s been toying with the idea since 2005. It reflects his brand of social conservatism; it’s telling that this will not be state provided. Intriguingly, the government money that will go towards these pilot projects will come from the DCLG’s contribution to PREVENT, the government’s anti-radicalisation programme for young Muslims.