The Smiler

I have been meaning to do this for a while and I haven't really done so now, but this is my first look at David Cameron. I call him 'The Smiler' because he reminds me of the Presidential candidate in Warren Ellis's 'Transmetropolitan'. I am told that the character in the comic is based upon Nixon and to a lesser extent, Tony Blair.

Nixon was the first to use television to appeal directly to the public during his campaign to be vice president. The context was that he was accused of embezzling his campaign donations. But regardless of that, I am too young to remember Nixon and was also too young to vote when 'New Labour' first got into power in 1997. Blair seemed to represent a new era, that things were going to change for the better.

Now, we are seeing almost a repeat of that struggle, only with a new, 'new hope' in the form of David Cameron. I admit I have been biased against Cameron from the start, he seemed to speak politlely and gesticulate that he really cared but he never really SAID anything.

If you look at the videos on 'Webcameron' you can see his spin, in the same way as Nixon coming to the fore. I took his speech about Council tax and tried to look at it from all angles, give the guy a chance.

Cameron proposes that he gives more power to local government. This will manifest itself in allowing local governments to alter the rate of council tax in their area. However, if they want to change it, a local referendum must take place and they must produce a shadow budget to show how the money would be spent.

On the surface, this seems reasonable.

But look closer and you see that Communities Secretary Hazel Blears retorts with the fact that local communities can have a local vote NOW about the level of council tax and many already do. The bureaucracy Cameron claims he wants to get rid off is in fact, more bureaucracy.

Look even closer and the fact remains that the Tories created the Council tax and have you noticed how it bears no realtion to whether people can pay it or not?

Surely what will happen is what happened with the top-up fees? Universities introduced the maximum they could and now they are fighting for the removal of the 'cap'.

This is not the definitive word on Cameron, but let us all watch him very closely. I hope he doesn't get into power.

Ram