Belief-based politics (UK edition)

3 October 2007

I was just watching the BBC News 24’s morning report on the Conservative party conference before I headed off for work, and what do I spy on the little graphical ticket at the foot of the tv screen?

[David] Cameron wants “politics based on belief”.

No. Nonono.

NONONONONONO.

We want politics based on reality, but let’s assume for a second that the quote has a wider context.

After a brief perusal of the BBC News web site:

“It wasn’t just that we have heard it all before - literally heard it all before - simplistic short-term pledges rehashed and reannounced, with absolutely no indication of how they would be delivered.

“It wasn’t just the cynicism of announcing things that Gordon Brown himself must know he can’t deliver.

“It was the carefully calculated pitch to the 4% of voters in the middle who might switch this way or that.”

He will say the Conservatives “had to do better than that” and reach out to disaffected ex-voters who “don’t believe a word of it any more”.

“We have to inspire them. We have to change from the old politics of easy promises and disappointment to politics you can believe in.

“That means politics based on belief.”

Politics you can believe in = politics based on belief?

NO!

I hope that this was just an equivocal faux pas from Cameron, but the fact that it can be so obviously soundbited (soundbitten?) makes me wonder if the statement wasn’t a deliberate non sequitur which he can, at some later point, use to appease either faithful voters, or turn it around and be equivocal for those of us who think he’s being an asshat.

Coming from an avowed highly political active christian, this concerns me mightily.

Either way, it was either a very clever, or very stupid, thing to say. I sincerely hope it was the latter.

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Tags: bad argument, BBC News, belief, christian, conservative, politics, reality check, UK, web

Comments

359CommentsBelief-based+politics+%28UK+edition%292007-10-03+08%3A24%3A04nullifidian to “Belief-based politics (UK edition)”

BP on October 3rd, 2007 12:22 pm

Think we are divided by a common language here. This has nothing to do with ‘belief’ in gods but he is referring to conviction of political principles, as opposed to his insinuation that Brown wants to be in power for powers sake.

Our politics are very different and there is no political power in religious groups. Time you chaps gave it a try!
nullifidian on October 6th, 2007 10:38 am

@BP:

I didn’t say that it was a belief in gods that he was talking about, I was simply reporting that Cameron claims to want politics to be grounded in “belief” (his word, not mine). The fact that he’s a christian is incidental, but does provide an insight into the levels of evidence that he requires to act on.

And, as I did say, I’d be more comfortable if his politics were based on reality, not belief. If his belief matched reality, that’s fine, but “belief” often has nothing to do with reality whatsoever.

Are you suggesting that Cameron is trying to express some kind of political altruism that Brown doesn’t share? If Cameron meant to say “principles”, he should have used that word. To assume that’s what he meant when he has deliberately used the equivocal term “belief” is wishful thinking at best.

And, if you are to suggest that there’s no political power in religious groups, I suggest you watch the proceedings of the House of Lords some time. And Ruth Kelly.