Conservatives face test to prove change

Ten months after David Cameron, 39, took the Conservative helm following a third successive election defeat, he has repackaged the party as a modern, centre-right force with a social and environmental conscience.

Cameron must now convince those sceptical Britons who equate the Conservatives with economic incompetence and uncompromising, right-wing policies on crime, immigration and Europe that the transformation is more than skin-deep, analysts said.

He must also persuade angry Conservative traditionalists the party needs this new direction to win power in an expected 2009 election.

"They have rebranded themselves into a moderate, friendly, approachable, accessible, concerned and compassionate party. But in the late 90s and early 2000, Conservatives were offering some pretty harsh policies and they haven't yet reconciled that," said Mark Wickham-Jones, an analyst at Bristol University.

"There is still a sense they are an ideological right-wing party ... They've changed the packaging but they haven't changed the policies," he added.

Cameron has avoided policy details at his party's annual conference in Bournemouth this week, saying he has set a clear course towards the centre and will give specifics later.

As Labour changed in the 1980s and 1990s, it stole much of the middle ground -- where most British voters are found -- once held by the ruling Conservatives and stormed to victory in 1997.

Cameron wants it back, hence the pro-environment and family-friendly mood music and his avoidance of divisive issues associated with the Conservatives like Europe and immigration.

Many analysts say Britons are as anxious for change now as they were after 18 years of Conservative rule dominated by Margaret Thatcher.

POLLS COULD BE BETTER
Under Cameron, the Conservatives have posted their best poll ratings for more than a decade, giving them a new sense of hope.

They have a serious chance of at least depriving Labour of its parliamentary majority in the next election, analysts said. Cameron's opponent is expected to be Chancellor Gordon Brown, tipped to succeed Blair when he resigns within a year.

Many commentators are forecasting a hung parliament, with no single party in overall control.

But given Labour's troubles -- from squabbles over the leadership to sleaze to public anger over the Iraq war -- the Conservatives should be much further ahead, analysts added.

Cameron must develop policies showing that he can manage the economy and is in tune with voters on issues like immigration, public spending and crime, analysts said. He also has to extend the party's appeal to Scotland and northern English cities.

"He has to put substance into himself and into the party's image. Right now, both the party and Cameron are benefiting from an anti-Blair feeling," said Robert Worcester of pollster MORI. Continued...

Cameron's move to the centre means there will be little to differentiate the two main parties in 2009, analysts said.