The Conservative PEB No.2 - Immediate v Strategic?

I was more impressed with the second Conservative PEB than the first one. It seemed to flow much better and provide a better insight into the 'Big Society' idea. However, it was a frank admission that the mantle of being the change candidate has been lost to Clegg with the broadcast pitching to reclaim it. This will be no easy task and more likely to happen in the debates than by a PEB.



The difficulty the Conservatives may find themselves in with the Lib Dems is that part of their long-term strategy relied on cosying up to their regular voters. For Tories toachieve their target of a majority they need to take Lib Dem marginals and attract Lib Dem votes in Labour marginals. However, to undermine the new Lib Dem surge they have had to start attacking their more unpopular policies with the broader public. The Lib Dems more unpopular policies tends to be their more 'liberal' ones.

So while this may attract back some of the surge it may undermine the cause of attracting regular Lib Dem voters and undermine the narrative of a new Liberal Conservatism. Essentially the solution to the immediate problem (the surge) could undermine the work to deal with the strategic problem (attracting Lib dem voters in marginals).