Star Comment: Not sure what David Cameron stands for

Yes, he says, he knows times are tough, but he is "on the side of people who work hard and want to get on with life".

Among the list of achievements Mr Cameron lists are over 6,000 people starting apprenticeships in the county since April 2010, and the opening at Barrow of the county's first school under the Free Schools programme.

The recovery won't happen overnight, he says, but his Government is delivering improvements which are making a difference.

This is all well and good. But Mr Cameron has a problem.

If you were to ask anybody to define Mr Cameron's premiership, you would probably get such a broad range of answers that, taken together, they amount to a big "don't know".

You get the impression that even his parliamentary colleagues are not really sure what he stands for.

Has he a grip on things and have a strong vision, or does he simply react to events?

He is very plausible and very slick. But when it comes to fight-to-the-death principles in which he believes, it is a struggle to come up with anything much.

He is the very essence of a modern presentational politician, as opposed to a conviction politician like Margaret Thatcher, where things were black and white.

Mr Cameron has broad brush policies – economic recovery, improving schools, improving the NHS, creating more jobs, and so on.

Alas, when you look at the detail and what he is actually doing, it is like trying to catch a cloud.

And that is the perception that threatens to define Mr Cameron's premiership – that he comes up with impressive and eye-catching clouds, but substance is lacking.

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