David Cameron vs the headbangers

Back in the early 1980s there were many Labour activists who were convinced that the party had been defeated by Margaret Thatcher because it had not been socialist enough. I never quite understood the logic of that, but it was widely believed.

Today we see a mirror image of this argument among some Conservatives. The lustre is going off David Cameron, they insist, because he has not been right-wing enough.

A good example comes from Simon Heffer on the Daily Telegraph site this evening:

Much of the disaffection among voters is bred of the feeling that Mr Cameron has taken his party to the Left not simply to accommodate its new friends, but because that is what the Prime Minister and his cronies would in any case want. All the talk of deficit reduction and swingeing cuts simply means public spending increasing less quickly than was planned.

In short, Simon Heffer is the new Eric Heffer.

The conclusion I draw is that David Cameron needs the Liberal Democrats to protect him from the headbangers. We should not be afraid to exploit his weakness.