A less biased analysis of Cameron`s leadership
would almost certainly include mention of his austerity policies, with, at least
once, a description of his decision to hold an EU referendum as "arrogant" (A
fatal insouciance,26th August,2016). The whole Brexit calamity he brought on
himself, not merely the initial go-ahead, but the very nature of the debate.
Sandbrook`s verdict that posterity will "not remember him at all" ignores
both the millions of lives Cameron damaged with the most callous austerity
measures seen in modern times, and also the fact that his governments`
legislation was based on false premises.
Financial institutions did not need to
change their practices, or be forced to endure external regulation, because the
whole economic crisis had been caused by Labour`s profligacy; the next
generation should not be faced with the unpaid debts of this one; only by
shrinking the state to unprecedented levels could the books be balanced; a
wholesale reform of the assessment system was the only way for education
standards to rise. More recently, we were expected to believe that the Tories
were intending to spend billions on a "northern powerhouse", even though
government grants to northern councils had been halved! Aided by the tabloid
press and the Tory propaganda machine, the British public was, to put it simply,
conned.
With the political-truth bar set so low, is
it any wonder that, not only did Johnson and fellow Brexiteers fuel their
campaign with outrageous lies, but Remain`s retaliation was also based on a
complete disregard for evidence and facts.
Cameron will be remembered for more than his
"Brexit bungle", provided, of course, the historians are a little less selective
with their evidence than Mr Sandbrook.
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