Slothful and slapdash: the housing bill tells us everything about the Tories | Helen Lewis
Politics is a Darwinian business, and failure can be cruelly punished. But so can success, as the Conservatives are now finding out. The party rode into the election with an enviably minimalist campaign message - you remember it, rhymes with "long-term economic flan" - and a laundry list of eyecatching policies that they would, oh so regretfully, ditch at the merest whiff of coalition negotiations.
And then they won an overall majority. Their backbenchers were thrilled; those pesky Liberal Democrats had been crushed, and now the country would see the full glorious might of a full-bore Conservative government. Sunlit uplands, good times, boogie.
'Well, I suppose Cameron kept the seat warm' is no one's idea of a great political epitaph
Related: David Cameron's mother has spoken out against cuts - will her son finally listen? | Patrick Butler
Related: Experts say housing bill signals end of the road for affordable housing
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