History repeating itself
- 16 Feb 07, 05:54 PM
Compare and contrast.
A single crime horrifies the nation and captures the imagination - it is the death of a child. A young leader of the opposition declares that this crime typifies what is wrong with British values. His message is clear - only his election can bring about the necessary change.
The killing - Politician A says - is 'a hammer-blow against the sleeping conscience of the country'. It is time, he went on, that we accepted we 'couldn't have rights without responsibilities'.
Listen now to Politician B talking about another crime. He called for a "complete change in our values" declaring that "we have got to sit up and realise we are running things by the wrong values".
Politician A was Tony Blair speaking about the murder of James Bulger in 1993.
Politician B is David Cameron speaking about the murder of Billy Cox in 2007.
In response, no wonder Prime Minister Tony Blair said the killings were not "a metaphor for the state of British society". He knows the power of a single speech. It transformed his image as shadow home secretary and catapulted him towards Number 10. David Cameron knows that too.
