Don't be horrid!

David Cameron and the Cameroons have spent years trying to 'detoxify' the Conservative Party and make sure the people of Britain do not see it as the 'nasty party'. Unfortunately, some conservative bloggers (note the small 'c', I do not for a second believe they are in any way affiliated with the Conservative Party) are undermining all the hard work by making a number of very unpleasant allusions to the state of Gordon Brown's mental health. The best example is a cartoon over on Guido's blog which, along with a couple of other comments and cartoons, appears to be making fun of the rumour that Brown is on anti-depressants.

This makes me very angry indeed, both because it is nasty and also because it is incredibly stupid. Brown may or may not be on anti-depressants. Frankly, unless someone can show me it has affected his ability (and to be frank, I don't see that he is doing anything much worse now than he's been doing the whole time), I don't care. Winston Churchill fought World War Two while suffering from deep depression, and many other of the world's greats have suffered from it. Depression is a terrible and highly personal issue. The effects of it should not be taken lightly, and it certainly should never become a political issue or issue for humour.

But even worse are the possible political issues if this gets out of hand. As we stand now, Brown is so unbelievably unpopular that you might be hard pressed to find a majority of people in his own constituency who think he is doing a good job. Labour looks set to be utterly destroyed in the general election (whenever it may be), losing swaths of England to the Tories, and even half their Scottish seats to the SNP (according to recent polling). As it is, the Conservatives just need to avoid doing anything stupid (having Cameron appear on film killing kittens, while wearing a SS uniform and singing "I love bin Laden" comes to mind) and they will win the next election. However, the kind of nasty attacks now being seen on some blogs may just remind people why they have voted against the Tories all these year.

Let us not for a second forget, if the polls from most by-elections and European elections tell us anything, it is that the swing to the Tories is at least half down to Labour's vote collapsing and going to minor parties (or staying home altogether), and non-committed Tories seem not overly excited by the prospect of voting for David Cameron. While having the party leader being a figure of pity rather than dislike might not be the best election strategy in the world, the British people love an underdog, and if this 'Brown is Bonkers' campaign starts getting noticed by uncommitted voters and soft Tories, David Cameron could start to have a major problem.