Hug a Hoodie

Actually, I'd rather not. But I reckon that will come as something of a relief to those who do wear the hoodies.

David Cameron is at it again, chasing a touchy-feely media opportunity rather than coming up with any tangible policy. Shamelessly chasing the headlines and the zeitgeist, he states:

"We - the people in suits - often see hoodies as aggressive, the uniform of a rebel army of young gangsters."

I know several people who wear suits for the office, and hoodies outside. Wearing a suit does not preclude wearing a suit, and vice versa. Although I wouldn't wear a hoodie with a suit, mind. And talk of "rebel armies" reminds me of Star Wars.

"But hoodies are more defensive than offensive. They're a way to stay invisible in the street."

Hmmmm. Or they are a way to keep your head warm in the winter.

"In a dangerous environment the best thing to do is keep your head down, blend in."

Was Eton a particularly dangerous environment, David? Did you have to wear a hoodie to protect you from the teachers? An Oxbridge educated Old Etonian cannot appear credible when talking about the street and how to survive on it.

But this is just me being hyper-critical as I voted for the other David in the leadership election last year. Where the fundamental problem lies is in this:

"Let's try and understand what's gone wrong in these children's lives and we'll find it's about family breakdown, it's about drugs, it's about alcohol abuse, often it's young people who are brought up in care when they should be in loving homes."

Absolutely David! Could not agree more! Let us understand what is wrong with these kids, let's understand the family breakdowns, the drugs, the booze, the care homes. The problem is, David, you've identified the issues. But you are not telling us what you are going to do about them.

On July 15th, 1979, Jimmy Carter deliever the famous malaise speech and in doing so pretty much handed the 1980 Presidential Election to Ronald Reagan. He said that there were problems in the USA, but could not offer any solutions. And Cameron seems to suffer, if you pardon the pun, from the same malaise.

David, people don't need politicians to point out that there are problems. More often that not, we can work out that there are problems ourselves. What we want from politicians is solutions - and offering solutions is perhaps the best way for the new Conservative Party to differentiate itself from NuLabour.