Review of Summer 2009

As the party political conference seasons creaks into life and party faithful get one last jolly before winter, it is important to review the summer and the issues that will no doubt dominate the news agenda until the end of September.

Labour – The Labour Party, and more specifically Gordon Brown, could not wait for the Parliamentary recess at the beginning of July. At the end of the last parliamentary session the Prime Minister and the whole of the Labour Party were close to cracking; Mr Brown must have been hoping that the magical powers of the summer time would heal some very deep and self inflicted wounds.

Instead the recess has reinforced the popular perception of the stricken Prime Minister, that of a weak leader that reacts only when constantly pursued and too often is seen to be behind the events instead of ahead of them. The failure of Mr Brown to envisage the public furore concern the release of Abdulbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, is more the rule than the exception. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

The only event which may have given the Prime Minister a wry smile was seeing Hazel Blears’ car vandalised. It might only be a small victory, but a victory nevertheless.

Conservative – A summer of missed opportunities has plagued the Conservative Party. Just as the Labour Party were dominating the headlines for all the wrong reasons, the Tories would march straight into the spotlight of public scrutiny with a series of incredibly ill judged gaffes.

David Cameron has worked hard to altered the public image of the Conservative Party; gone is the party divide over Europe, gone is the idea that the NHS is too big and needs to stripped back and gone is the public perception of wealth businessmen out of touch with reality. No, not really, Mr Cameron just hid them all along.

However, David Cameron, unlike the Prime Minister, reacted quickly and affirmatively to reassure the public that these MPs and MEPs are just mavericks and in no way representative of the Conservative Party. It is comforting to know that the party that is likely to be asked to form the next government is a party of mavericks and loose cannons.

Liberal Democrats – If the summer was a series of missed opportunities for the Conservative party, it was a summer of increasing toil for the Lib Dems. As much as Nick Clegg tried, the media coverage was sparse and inconsequential mainly due to the main party’s domination of the airwaves.

If the Lib Dems are to capitalise on the gains made due to the Credit Crunch, Nick Clegg must handover more of the limelight to Vince Cable and attack the apparent weaknesses of any future incarnation of the FSA. With both other main parties lacking the public’s support over economic matters, the Lib Dems could make highly significant inroads.

SNP – Whether through design or default, the SNP have dominated not just the local and national debate, but have demanded a fair portion of international attention over the summer. Regardless of the rights or the wrongs of the compassionate release of Abdulbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, the SNP have attempted to assert the concept of an independent Scotland with the claims that Scotland is ready to make the “tough” choices.

It is still unclear whether the decision of Kenny MacAskill was political or independent; what is clear is the success of the SNP to keep the debate concerning Scottish independence firmly in the public gaze.