Tuesday 8 December 2009

Politics - Belief or Career



Having just watched, again, the video of Dan Hannan's 'demolition job' on Gordon Brown, yet again I was left wondering what this man is doing in the Conservative Party. Then my mind wandered on to Douglas Carswell, the co-author with Hannan of the Plan, and was asking myself the same question - what is he doing in the Conservative Party?

These two politicians are not 'conservatives' per se, they are libertarians and as such their 'natural' home must be Ukip or Lpuk. So why do they remain within the 'Conservative Camp'? One could ask the same question, with regard to Britain becoming a self-governing nation, why do Philip Davies, Conservative - Shipley and Austin Mitchell, Labour - Great Grimsby, remain within their respective parties when their 'natural home' should, once again be Ukip or Lpuk?

During 'Expensegate' we had MP after MP telling us that they were not in politics as a career but purely a wish to serve their constituents and represent their constituent's views.

In which case why are Hannan, Carswell, Davies and Mitchell not de-camping'? Surely not because their careers might come to an abrupt end?


Just a puzzling thought....................




3 comments:

Costello said...

Neither strikes me as a careerist. They both joined the party before the anti-conservative Cameron regime came into power and presumably both remain members because they believe they can still influence the Cameron leadership to some extent or, failing that, expect the party to return to a genuinely conservative and Eurosceptic leadership if he fails. Should the party maintain it's undemocratic and quite contemptuous Europhile stance under Cameron in the next couple of years i would expect them to leave it. If they do not then they will indeed be shown as careerists.

James Higham said...

Why do I remain a Tory?

Anonymous said...

Their original intention may have been honourable but as time passes and politics shift they too shift their politics.

Hannan has taken to telling us what a nice chap Cameron is and slowly he will be absorbed into the new thinking if it proves to be successful.

A large and influential grouping rather than taking the risk of moving into and staying in the wilderness a la Roy Jenkins, is always a preference.

New political parties are born of extreme electoral frustration. Let's hope it will now manifest itself again in strong support for one of the smaller parties.