Sunday, December 12, 2010

Cameron the Coward – weak Prime Minister gives in to the Sun on sentencing

December 11, 2010
By Andromeda - theopinionsite.org
TheOpinionSite.org regrets to inform its many visitors that just a day after the Justice Secretary, Ken Clarke announced he would review the politically influenced minimum sentences for murder, a weak David Cameron caved in to the Sun and other tabloids and announced that any reforms will be ‘tiny’. He has run away at the first sign of trouble from the Sun newspaper and Rupert Murdoch.
In doing so Cameron has made clear that his advisor, former News of the World editor Andy Coulson has more authority than he does and that the Prime Minister is willing to have his policies decided by Rupert Murdoch and the tabloids rather than by the Coalition.
It is becoming clear that Cameron is no better than Blair and Clegg no more than a Cameron poodle .
It is now up to Ken Clarke to stand his ground and press ahead with his much needed reforms, despite the inevitable opposition they will draw.
His leader may have run away at the first sign of trouble from the Sun and Tory right-wingers but it is unlikely that Clarke will do the same. After all, he is a grown-up whereas Cameron and Clegg look and behave like spoilt children.
The entire period of New Labour was dominated by the Murdoch press interfering in policy decisions and blackmailing the government into submission with threats of prolonged, tabloid-led campaigns. If Cameron allows the same thing to happen to his administration then it will fall very quickly. Populist governments never do any good in the end and always leave countries in a worse mess than before.
If you need an example, just look at the last 13 years.
TheOpinionSite.org is saddened – though not surprised – that Cameron is so obviously a weak coward, particularly with regard to the tabloid press. It is clearly no accident that Coulson is his advisor and was put in place in return for support and to allow policies to be developed under the ‘guidance’ of the Sun and other Murdoch media. The Daily Mail meanwhile meekly follows on, desperately trying to maintain its position as the leading right wing paper.
The likes of John Redwood and Bill Cash often rant about the ‘unelected powers in Europe’ who supposedly force their will onto the UK.
The influence from Europe is as nothing compared with the regular batterings we are subjected to from Murdoch’s empire, especially the Sun newspaper which believes it rules the country – and apparently does so with Cameron’s blessing.
Regrettably, due to 30 years of declining educational standards, most UK citizens between the ages of 18 and 35 are too ignorant to realise what is going on. It is hardly surprising therefore that nothing ever changes and the UK continues to be a backward country which still pretends it has an Empire and that it rules the World.
TheOpinionSite.org has news of its own for Murdoch and those who run his various organisations:
There are many in this country who detest Rupert Murdoch and his determined efforts to prevent this country from moving forward. There are many who believe that an Australian newspaper owner is not the right man to shape policies that affect those who make him his money and there are many who will continue to suffer as he and his wealthy cronies continue to exploit their power over others without a care for those whose lives are affected for the worse.
But there are many more who detest a Prime Minister who is a coward, who is weak and gutless and who would rather preserve his own highly privileged position than help those that he supposedly leads.
Such a man does not deserve to be a Prime Minister, even one created by default. Cameron should remember that he does not lead a Conservative government and that he did not win the election.
We suffered for 13 years under what was a Conservative administration in all but name. We did not vote for another one, preferring instead to force a hung parliament and therefore a Coalition. Cameron therefore needs to realise that he is the leader of a Coalition government, not a Conservative government.
David Cameron does not have a mandate to force Conservative policies down the throats of those who did not vote for them; nor does Rupert Murdoch or Andy Coulson have such a mandate either.
As for the review of sentencing policy, TheOpinionSite.org urges Ken Clarke to push ahead with it and to introduce the necessary reforms.
Winston Churchill once said that the character of a nation could be judged by the way it treated its prisoners.
Well, that says it all really.

http://theopinionsite.org/?p=488