Cameron goes from hot seat to center stage

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Prime Minister David Cameron delivers his conference speech on Wednesday, capping off a string of appearances by those who may or may not be auditioning for his job down the road. Stephen Castle at the New York Times writes:

Even before his speech, Mr. Cameron gave several broadcast interviews, perhaps trying to eliminate any notion of him as a King Lear figure within his own party, with the next election not due until 2020.

But according to the British news media, as many as 18 Conservative lawmakers aspire to the leadership of their party. The prospect of succeeding Mr. Cameron is particularly enticing because of the dismal fortunes of the other political parties after the May election.

And, well, here he is by the numbers …

Meanwhile, one of the possible contenders to succeed Cameron, Home Secretary Theresa May, yesterday delivered a somewhat incendiary speech on immigration. Alex Massie writes at The Spectator:

I suggest that there is a certain tension between bemoaning ‘runaway’ immigration and saluting the great, equally ‘runaway’, success of London. You cannot have it both ways. London, in particular, is great because [of], not despite, its diversity. The problem of London exceptionalism is that the rest of the country is not more like London.

Unless, of course, you’re a Home Secretary pandering to the basest elements of the Tory party. A Home Secretary basing her pitch to lead her party on a stale and noxious concoction of tawdry nativism. In that case, in those circumstances, you are licensed to present a picture of Britain as a country on the brink of an abyss, in which hordes – or swarms – of migrants are undermining the British way of life, threatening social cohesion and tearing up whatever remains of whatever you mean by our ‘social fabric’. A country that is failing, in other words.

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Major League Baseball’s post-season is under way, with the Houston Astros eliminating the New York Yankees in last night’s AL wildcard playoff. In tonight’s NL game, the Chicago Cubs travel to Pittsburgh to face the Pirates.

https://twitter.com/GhostHarryCaray/status/651570940946550784

 

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