Peter Bills: This gentleman is for turning, turning and turning

Cameron's image of a leader about as strong as a wobbling jelly contrasts vividly with one of his mentors, Margaret Thatcher. If he was a contortionist, you'd applaud him for his flexibility.

If he were a car driver, you'd suggest he needed a sat-nav to get him home safely.

Truth is, British Prime Minister David Cameron has made so many U-turns in policy since heading up the Coalition Government that runs the UK, observers have started to wonder whether the guy has a single idea in his head he'd seriously defend.

There have been U-turns on the NHS and the emptying of rubbish bins all within the same week. Policies that formed a central part of Cameron's Conservative party election manifesto have been dumped.

Other policies, not included in the manifesto, have been inserted into national policy. Oh yes, this is a Prime Minister who can perform U-turns from any angle. No one-trick pony this guy, not at all.

Church leaders rarely intrude into the murky world of politics so when the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, launched into a fierce criticism of Cameron and his Coalition Government partners recently, accusing them of instigating policies for which no voter had ever signed up, he uncorked a storm of debate.

Some suggested the "Bish" ought to keep his nose out of government affairs and concentrate on the many problems in his own business while others dismissed him as a left lunatic.

But maybe the Archbishop, while undoubtedly keen to make a political point or two at the Prime Minister's expense, hit a nail uncomfortably on the head. For no one quite knows any more what they signed up for last year and what those policies are.

Cameron seems to change his policies like he changes his socks. One day, cuts must be made to the National Health Service (NHS) to save it. The next week, after "consultations" (protests), the proposals reappear, greatly watered down. To what effect? A fudge or the long-term demise of Britain's health service?

Prison sentences also got the U-turn treatment. Offenders were to get a 50 per cent reduction in their sentence if they pleaded guilty except for those committing the most heinous of crimes. Community service sentences were suddenly the flavour of the month - or they were until senior Conservative politicians publicly warned Cameron their party's traditional reputation as the upholder of law and order was in danger of coming apart at the seams. The result? Justice Minister Ken Clarke's widely promulgated reforms were watered down too.

Whether it is fair or not, the impression is that of a UK Government that governs in a knee-jerk manner if its policies are poorly received by the public. Once floated, they survive only if they are received well.

However, if a storm of criticism is unleashed, this particular Government seems to panic.

With the many worrying problems facing the UK, not least its disastrous financial deficit and the lack of strong growth in the private sector to take up the slack in the trimmed down public service, no government of whatever hue can afford to give the impression of timidity. Especially now the unions are flexing their muscles and calling strikes in all manner of sectors.

Strong hands are needed on the tiller and are likely to be so for a long time to come. Teachers in Britain voted this week for strike action in protest at cuts to their generous pension arrangements; civil servants are to follow and militant train drivers leaders urge anarchy among their members almost daily.

Confronting this growing social unrest among workers is a Prime Minister who doesn't appear to know whether he's standing on his head or his feet. Even worse, once he's made a decision, he is just as likely to change his mind the next week.

Cameron's image of a leader about as strong as a wobbling jelly contrasts vividly with one of his mentors, former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Love her or loathe her, at least once she had made up her mind, she stuck to the decision.

Not for nothing was the phrase coined "The Lady is not for turning". Cameron is the complete opposite. If he was in charge of a vehicle on the road, he would be a danger to everyone.