Lord Derby described Benjamin Disraeli's management of the 1867 Reform Bill as "a leap in the dark". That is how many Tories regard David Cameron's latest manoeuvres. A lot of Tories are afraid of the dark.
There are two possible interpretations of the English results (for Scotland, see below). The first is that David Cameron missed an historic opportunity. England is a broadly conservative country, just waiting to respond to a traditional Tory appeal. But instead of giving the voters hot gospel on Europe and immigration, Mr Cameron burbled on about the Big Society and greenery. As a result, he sounded green in the old-fashioned sense of the word, which is why he polled below his natural support.
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