In the end it was just too steep a hill to climb in order to completely recover the Conservative majority lost in the Labour landslide of 1997. However, now is not the time for a blame game on what might have been achieved with an aggressive approach to the election based on more traditional Conservative policies. As demonstrated by all three major parties in Westminster, the electorate in general was not judged ready for all the necessary tax rises and associated cuts in public spending required after the election to reduce the budget deficit within a time period acceptable to the financial markets. Having, therefore, retreated from their original more aggressive position on cuts the Conservatives were still able to differentiate their position somewhat and gain some traction particularly with the business world, in support of their proposed reduction in the national insurance increase of Labour. However, they failed in launching their one big idea of the Big Society which had apparently been untested on the public by focus groups and candidates also found difficult to understand, accept and, therefore, sell to voters on their doorsteps. On the other hand, the prime minister was forced on the defensive and reverted to the politics of fear and the old class warrior of the Left to shore up the traditional Labour vote. Despite surprisingly losing some seats the Liberal Democrats have emerged as the king makers and also demonstrated the power of a more simple concept with the electorate i.e. for no income tax on the first £10,000 of earned income, which also has the added benefit of attracting people off welfare support. How the Liberal Democrats proposed to pay for this was debatable but as a small example my son and daughter were sufficiently attracted to vote Liberal Democrat in their two Labour-dominated London boroughs.
Now is, therefore, also not the time for tribalism politics as the Conservative party obviously wants power and David Cameron has shown true leadership in putting the state of the British economy first in reaching out to the Liberal Democrats to secure a working majority in the Commons.