Who are ya..?
by Duncan O'Leary
Despite all the cliche's about 'lame ducks', i'd say Michael Howard has successfully prompted a genuine debate about the direction of the Tory party. He hasn't given his party the opportunity to simply adopt a default position, meaning that it really has to think through what it's all about.
So, public spending - is the question what you spend or how you spend it? What role for the market in public services? Are foundation hospitals such a bad idea after all? What about top-up fees? ID cards - a good idea or an infringement of our liberties? And what kind of international role should the country be playing?
Surely you can't win a leadership contest lasting over 6 months without staking out some kind of philosophical position that helps answer some of these questions, can you...?