David Cameron : the luckiest politician ever ?

[Manlinose]

To quote Rocky Horror, "you're lucky, he's lucky, I'm lucky - we're all lucky"

 

All successful politicians have to be lucky - but they have to be able to identify an opportunity created by luck and take advantage of it - and that is a skill/ability.

 

Mrs Thatcher was lucky that the Argentines invaded when they did, it enabled her to mobilise a force capable of successfully recovering The Falklands and rescued her Premiership. Prior to the invasion she was one of the most unpopular PMs ever (based on opinion poll ratings at the time) - her skill/ability was in using it to her personal advantage to get re-elected

 

As an aside, we were lucky that the Argentines invaded when they did - if they'd waited a few years we would have struggled to mobilise enough warships

 

Cameron is lucky in that he was Conservative leader at the fag end of an unpopular Labour Government (in the same way that William Hague was unlucky to be leader at the time that the Labour Government still managed to be popular and the Conservatives as a party were still electorally unpopular) - Cameron's luck has extended to Labour spending more time opposing themselves than the Government - but, as I said at the start, being lucky isn't enough

 

The coalition Government would not have survived 5 years without him - he has been very good at making the most of the opportunities presented to him by luck - and that is a skill/ability

[sgtkate]

To quote Rocky Horror, "you're lucky, he's lucky, I'm lucky - we're all lucky"

 

All successful politicians have to be lucky - but they have to be able to identify an opportunity created by luck and take advantage of it - and that is a skill/ability.

 

Mrs Thatcher was lucky that the Argentines invaded when they did, it enabled her to mobilise a force capable of successfully recovering The Falklands and rescued her Premiership. Prior to the invasion she was one of the most unpopular PMs ever (based on opinion poll ratings at the time) - her skill/ability was in using it to her personal advantage to get re-elected

 

As an aside, we were lucky that the Argentines invaded when they did - if they'd waited a few years we would have struggled to mobilise enough warships

 

Cameron is lucky in that he was Conservative leader at the fag end of an unpopular Labour Government (in the same way that William Hague was unlucky to be leader at the time that the Labour Government still managed to be popular and the Conservatives as a party were still electorally unpopular) - Cameron's luck has extended to Labour spending more time opposing themselves than the Government - but, as I said at the start, being lucky isn't enough

 

The coalition Government would not have survived 5 years without him - he has been very good at making the most of the opportunities presented to him by luck - and that is a skill/ability

 

This. More eloquent than I had put

[Justin Smith]

Cameron is lucky in that he was Conservative leader at the fag end of an unpopular Labour Government (in the same way that William Hague was unlucky to be leader at the time that the Labour Government still managed to be popular and the Conservatives as a party were still electorally unpopular) - Cameron's luck has extended to Labour spending more time opposing themselves than the Government - but, as I said at the start, being lucky isn't enough

 

I agree with that, I liked William Hague. I doubt very much I`d ever have voted for him, but I liked him. His joke about Ken Livingstone being Blair`s "night mayor" was the funniest thing I ever heard in parliament.

[Flanker7]

3 general elections and won them all. That's not a bad record. Blair did the same. Cameron will do 2 without losing any.

 

Now Brown, Miliband and Corbyn are amongst the ranks of the "never won an general election, never will" set. There's quite a few of those.

 

Hague, I.D.S. and Howard were all tried by the Tory's before Cameron. I can't believe all 6 were pants. But the timing of world events and national events combine to make some of them unlucky.

 

Corbyn may join the ranks of 'never lost an election' if a lot on here are to be believed ;0)

[Alan Ladd]

Hague, I.D.S. and Howard were all tried by the Tory's before Cameron. I can't believe all 6 were pants. But the timing of world events and national events combine to make some of them unlucky.

 

Corbyn may join the ranks of 'never lost an election' if a lot on here are to be believed ;0)

 

 

The men you name are all competent and could have been decent PMs. The Tory party at the time they were leader was unelectable due to its divisions over Europe. Blair, when he was elected, came in with huge popular support and a massive majority. It took him three elections to lose that support and personally i think if he had not resigned may have won a fourth.

 

It is only since he resigned that we have become fully aware of the level of his criminality and how deeply we were conned.

[foxy lady]

 

Corbyn may join the ranks of 'never lost an election' if a lot on here are to be believed ;0)

 

You and I have never lost an election either. The difficult bit is to lead your party to victory.

[Alan Ladd]

You and I have never lost an election either. The difficult bit is to lead your party to victory.

 

Madam you are absolutely right, Corbyn will never receive the backing of the majority of the traditional Labour voters, he is a divisive personality who is seen by most as espousing crackpot ideas.

 

His performance yesterday in PMQs was risible.

 

If Cameron and Osborne continue to appeal to the "working" classes, build houses, create jobs and protect the NHS they will walk the next election and will take northern seats traditionally

with Labour.

[Eric Arthur]

If we're comparing, since WW2:

 

Labour have had 13 Leaders. 4 of them won a general election. 30% success rate.

 

Conservatives have had 11 Leaders. 8 of them won a general election. 72% success rate.

 

Either the Conservatives are consistently brilliant at picking leaders and winning elections, or Labour are consistently useless at picking leaders and winning elections. Choosing Corbyn seems to suggest that at the very least, Labour are useless and not a party filled with the sharpest knives.

[Anna B]

If we're comparing, since WW2:

 

Labour have had 13 Leaders. 4 of them won a general election. 30% success rate.

 

Conservatives have had 11 Leaders. 8 of them won a general election. 72% success rate.

Either the Conservatives are consistently brilliant at picking leaders and winning elections, or Labour are consistently useless at picking leaders and winning elections. Choosing Corbyn seems to suggest that at the very least, Labour are useless and not a party filled with the sharpest knives.

 

And just look at the state we're in.

 

I'd like to know what your criteria for success are, cos from where I'm looking this country is in serious decline and has been for some time.

Continual bad governance (from both parties,) bad decisions, lack of cohesion and lack of vision, over the past 50 years have done for us. It's now terminal. I can't see any chance of major improvement any time soon, and with all the cuts it's going to get a lot worse for most people.

Much as I love my country we are no longer Great Britain, but divided Britain.

 

Politicians should be ashamed.

[Alan Ladd]

And just look at the state we're in.

 

I'd like to know what your criteria for success are, cos from where I'm looking this country is in serious decline and has been for some time.

Continual bad governance (from both parties,) bad decisions, lack of cohesion and lack of vision, over the past 50 years have done for us. It's now terminal. I can't see any chance of major improvement any time soon, and with all the cuts it's going to get a lot worse for most people.

Much as I love my country we are no longer Great Britain, but divided Britain.

 

Politicians should be ashamed.

 

Tory politicians should be proud. They have brought the country back from the brink of disaster, they have facilitated more jobs than ever before in the history of the country, they have the fastest growing economy in the developed world.

 

I agree with you about Labour, who after disastrously managing the economy have now made a Worzel Gummidge impersonator into their leader.

 

BTW cheer up its Xmas.