OpEd: David Cameron 25-03-15

The commentators 25-03-15

...on David Cameron's exit strategy

We should have a term limit for prime ministers. Two terms and that’s your lot. And if you quit half way through your term, your successor should require an election within months. David Cameron’s answer should be compulsory.
- Daniel Finkelstein, The Times

Gordon Brown at his lunatic worst would not have done this. In one brief exchange, possibly chillaxed to destruction because his Eton contemporary James Landale of the BBC is so absolutely PLU (People Like Us), the PM did worse than jettison his central campaign message of solid stability, and replace it with the promise of ceaseless internecine warfare between the challengers he named.
- Matthew Norman, The Independent

Stop patronising us, Dave. Cease these silly PR stunts and get on with the hard work of winning our support. After all, you are a man of considerable ability. More pertinently, your party’s success in rolling back the State, turning round the economy and getting the feckless back to work is nothing less than magnificent. That’s what you should have been talking about to your fellow Old Etonian. It’s time to get out of your kitchen, Dave, and onto your soapbox. - Amanda Platell, Daily Mail

There is one thing David Cameron’s announcement has certainly done. It has robbed him of the ability to chart the future course of the Conservative party. His ability to drive through the internal reforms required if the Tories are to stand a chance of winning an election in 2020 has been completely extinguished.
- Dan Hodges, Daily Telegraph

It may not turn against him before the election but it will be his eventual undoing. If he survives the election, destructive speculation about when he plans to go will begin immediately. The problem with looking too cavalier about power is that people start to think you don’t deserve it.
- Rafael Behr, The Guardian

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The acquittal of four senior Sun journalists who paid contacts for tips is a cause for celebration in our community. We are appalled at what they and their families were put through for doing their jobs – but we should not forget that the evidence against them came from the employer they sought to serve.
- Whistle-blowing and the Press