Policy should be based on principle not focus groups

Its looking like a bad 24 hrs for the Conservative party.

First there was George Osborne telling us the government should tell banks what to do ( popular right now - but where the philosophical underpinning ? It also means Labour are off the hook with what ever ham fisted attempt they use to apply socialism wealth destruction principles to the newly captured banks.)

Next Labour finally win a by-election in a safe Labour seat. This suggests to me that we have reached high tide for the SNP. Scots confidence has been fatally undermined by the fall of RBS and HBOS, and Labour will soon be viewed again as the guarantor of English money delivered north of the boarder.

Now David Cameron is suggesting that people who take out loans underwritten by their property should not have that property reposed if the sum is less than £25k. ( Again very popular with those in debt in the short term - but unhinged in the medium term and completely at odds with sound financial principles. What this will do, if it was ever in acted, is make the risk of issuing loans sky high - interest rates will go up and availability down . Now were told that those are just the things that we don't want. It is also 180 degr away from the personal responsibility that I thought Conservatism stood for. )

Finally, maybe - just maybe - , Barack Obama will turn out to be very left wing. Its going to be hard to object to his policies - which Brown may mirror - having 'sounded' so supporting.

Is the Conservative opposition to be a house built on the rock of philosophical underpinning and sound principles or the sand of populism, marketing and focus groups ? Because a storm is coming and we are going to be tested.