A reader writes:
Basically the exact same thing played itself out in Canada a couple of years ago. You have a conservative party banished to the woods for over a decade due to a combination of charismatic and dynamic opponents and internal incompetence. Then the leader on whose back the party rose to power (Blair and Jean Chrétien) gives way to their wonkish but dithering deputy (Brown and Paul Martin).
Combined with the standard stories of overreach and incompetence that come from being in party so long sullying the good name of the government party, the conservative party out of power long enough for everyone to forget what made them so obnoxious in the first place and replacing the old conservative leaders with newer, younger faces, add water and – bingo! – instant "conservative mandate".
It’s not that complicated, sure Cameron’s green noises help soften the party image a bit, but this is a story of complacency in the left of centre leading towards overhaul. You can hear in it Brown’s voice in question time, rambling about results as the opposition harasses him on the bumblings of the party. He sees it coming, it’s happened before, it’ll happen again, and there aren’t really earth shatteringly deep reasons for the move.
The Dish 