Fury as Tory leader David Cameron tells poor: It's your own fault

The differences between the Labour and Conservative parties in the UK have become increasingly blurred in the last 15 years. But yesterday David Cameron, the Conservative leader who is leading the charge to bring the party further to the center, unleased some of the old class divisions that have historically defined the parties by saying that poor people have only themselves to blame for their poverty.

It's of course an old familiar assertion by the right, but it seems to run contrary to Cameron's attempts to redefine the party. It may be, however, that with Labour doing so poorly in the polls and with an election still likely a year off, Cameron is feeling confident enough to throw the older, more conservative members of the party a bone.

The fact that the comments were made in Glasgow East is significant. There is a by-election being held in the district, which is the poorest in Western Europe. The area is a traditional Labour stronghold and 'Conservative' is still a dirty word here after Margaret Thatcher's reforms did great damage to Glasgow in the 1980's. But Labour's low polls nationally mean that the Scottish National Party, the party that wants Scottish independence and recently won control of the Scottish parliament, could win the by-election. That would certainly be a disaster for Labour prime minister Gordon Brown, and analysts say that if that were to happen, he would have to step down.