Apologies for the long wait for this post but there was a power cut right after I praised David Cameron's new trailer for Tory tax policies. Stranger things have happened but the original post seems to have been lost, so therefore I know not to do that again. Originally the power company said that it would take until the early hours of tomorrow morning to get the fault fixed, but we were just buckling up to go out when things came back on, and so as not to waste the spag bol I had been in the process of cooking, we stayed at home.
So obviously I am not allowed to praise Foxy then. Shame, because his plans to announce tax policy later this coming week are actually what people have been asking for for a while, though it doesn't seem to change the overall predictions.
Also I am fully booked to be in Estonia/Latvia/Lithuania between Monday 24th November and Monday 8th December, so this blog will be coming to you from the Baltic States between those dates. I will be taking my mother's camera (mine is a cheapo s/h one that stopped working a number of months ago) so I will be able to upload photos and a travel diary of sorts.
THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY
1. External appearances of poll. STRENGTH - "A pointer towards exercising your qualities of reason, rather than to respond wiith anger, injured pride or feelings of self-importance. The lion on his own can be a very destructive force, but when feelings are brought under the jurisdiction of the mind, then something much more positive can be derived."
The Tories have not sunk behind Labour yet but their response to this poll have been rationalisations and muted concern (apart from Louise Bagshawe, for whom complacency is not obviously a dirty word). They are apparently still holding Labour off and need to keep doing so. To do this they need to capitalise on these leads and understand that Rome was not built in a day.
2. Internal expressions to this poll. TEMPERANCE REVERSED - "Overlooking pitfalls. Not centred, little foundation. Dispersed energy pattern."
A very unbalanced and difficult card which suggests a lack of coherency and stability. (It fell out of the pack reversed even though all the other cards were upright.) The Tories do not seem to have the same potential for actual growth and even Tim Montgomerie at one point played down the significance of the result by pointing out that relative to pre-conference lows, Brown had still maintained part of his "bounce". Not a good omen for the Tories and an imbalance needing correction in one way or another.
3. Obstacles. KNIGHT OF WANDS - "Dynamic male energy. If it represents a person, it would show the querent or someone with whom they are connected in some area of activity. If it represents a process, it indicates the need for a high level of energy to complete the tasks at hand."
The Tories lack this energy level needed - as in the inverted Temperance - and need to generate it properly to turn these poll margins into reality at a general election. The lack of electoral ballast in Glenrothes was expected but still, in the words of the Telegraph, "pitiful". The Tories need to overcome this inertia or else snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
4. Overcoming these obstacles. IV WANDS - "Welcome home! The poles are dressed for an important guest to return to the castle and that guest is to be greatly honoured. Working with other people toward a common purpose."
The Tories overcame part of this inertia by actually beginning to put forward plans for tax cuts. I am tentatively welcoming this because it may help put some flesh on the bones of a proper manifesto. However, this is only the beginnings of a secure structure and there needs to be real progress on this front in order to stave off problems closer to the election.
5. Direction. THE SUN - "An opportunity to plan, build, execute projects. Entering a period of sustained empowerment. Light after darkness."
There is a sense of illumination and construction here with Cameron's team beginning to respond to criticism that they have been in danger of slipping further because of a reluctance to promote policies that would engender a more concrete public profile and maintain some of the momentum they generated during 2008.
6. Solution. V CUPS - "Disillusionment, if you rely on the commitments of others. The need for self-reliance. Also don't focus so much on the past. Here, the figure in the card must turn around from what has been spilled and drink afresh from the cups which stand upright."
It may however be too little too late - the negativity of the outcome cards is still there, and this belies the presence of The Sun in the "Direction" position because it means that something elsewhere has failed. Although at this point it is best not to make a mountain out of a molehill, the failure of this to create momentum is palpable and the opportunity wasted for making political capital. The Tories need to tread carefully; but I am not able to advise them directly so anything I say is not going to be taken seriously enough to avert spillage. Whether they can mop it up is another matter.
7. Outcome in the end. III SWORDS - "A human heart pierced by three swords. Heartbreak, unless you can communicate."
As indicated by the Four of Wands and The Sun, there is life in these tax proposals and poll to energise the Conservative Party and make sure it stays in the running and free from complacency. But, counter-intuitive to this, the end result doesn't appear to be good - why has yet to be revealed, but perhaps this policy is a damp squib, or the agenda is stolen by other crises elsewhere in the Party to turn things sour at the last moment. I would say I am happy with Cameron finally putting something forward, but the end result seems to be negative. How negative remains to be seen.
