Indiscipline should worry the Tories as much as complacency
James Forsyth 5:28pm
There has been a lot of talk about how the Tories must avoid becoming complacent. Indeed, one-half expects to find that champagne is only available under the counter in Birmingham. But just as great a danger is posed by indiscipline. Take today’s papers. Dominic Grieve, the shadow Home Secretary, has stepped on the Tory economic message by giving an interview to The Guardian in which he criticises multiculturalism and bemoans that "We've actually done something terrible to ourselves in Britain". The issue here is not what Grieve said but when he said it.
His predecessor, David Davis, has talked to the Telegraph about his new role on the backbenches. He hasn’t been disloyal but has said just enough for his comments to be presented as a Tories split story. The Telegraph.co.uk headline on the story is ‘David Davis: Conservatives do not have the right policy for financial crisis’
As Jonathan Freedland notes in The Guardian, “the press corps is making one of its periodic collective, if unspoken, decisions to change the narrative”. The Tories must be careful not to feed this new story-line.
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DB
September 27th, 2008 6:48pm Report this comment"The issue here is not what Grieve said but when he said it."
We're going to hear a great deal more of this sort of thing from bed-wetting Cameroons ahead of the next election. Immigration? Now is not the time. Europe? Now is not the time. A realistic energy policy as opposed to the fanciful notions of out-of-touch green toffs? Now is not the time. Tax cuts? Now is not the time. A Conservative Party with genuine conservative principles? Now is not the time.
Oscar
September 27th, 2008 6:58pm Report this commentThe BBC seem intent on burying Cameron altogether - never mind complacency and indiscipline. Is the public going to get any headline news from the conference? The Today programme this morning made not a single mention of it (apart from a very cursory reference in what the papers say). They are now blazoning the news of Paul Newman's death - banner headline on their website and lengthy report at the start of R4s 6pm news. This year marginalising conference will be much more subtle than Gordon grandstanding in Iraq. The hacks are changing the narrative and suddenly Cameron is out of fashion.
joeDC
September 27th, 2008 8:59pm Report this commentDavis hammering the financial response of cameron and osbourne is big news actually.
I suppose Davis also thinks its no time for a novice?
Austin Barry
September 27th, 2008 9:03pm Report this commentJames, this is nonsense. The Tories must appear to be lively and energised rather than, God forbid, on message. There is room for dissent and for a refracted view of conservatism -after all, didn't Boris win?
James J
September 27th, 2008 9:04pm Report this commentSo all those hordes of supporters of Multi-culturalism in the UK will now vote Labour? The Conservatives are only trying to stop a faction among their supporters voting BNP or UKIP.
Verity
September 28th, 2008 12:09am Report this commentCameron is going to be the death of the Conservatives. He's a patrician socialist like the Mitfords and Bertrand Russell and that lot. He doesn't have the shred of one conservative ethos in his body, and he doesn't relate to working people, except to patronise them. A bit like Boris, really.
James J
September 28th, 2008 10:46am Report this commentAnother issue, and one no doubt difficult for journalists to understand, is whether the media are as influential as they were a few elections back.
Labour has lost much of its Working Class support because it is now seen as a party that has little in common with their views or lifestyles. An analysis of Labour’s membership would almost certainly reveal most are from the middle ranks of the Public sector. The ‘Toff’ ‘Patrician’ debate must seem strange in Hull or Dagenham as they look at Cameron and Miliband and can’t remember which went to Eton and which is from the second or third generation political class.
Fergus Pickering
September 28th, 2008 10:55am Report this commentCome, come. Borispatronises no-one. He is what he is and he doesn't pretend to be someone else. I'm surprised at you, Verity. What do you MEAN by patronising?
Oscar
September 28th, 2008 10:59am Report this commentVerity I enjoy your posts but this is rot. You really don't get Cameron. He just gave a terrific interview on the Andrew Marr show. Marr, unlike the soft interview with Brown last week, tried to fling everything he had at Cameron but got absolutely nowhere. Cameron came across as anything but a novice. In fact he made Brown look like the bumbling incompetent he is. He swiftly established his convincing plans for fiscal responsibility, hammered home the catastrophic extent of public debt and also got in a masterly final line about our 'broken' PM. Excellent start to the week.
Tiberius
September 28th, 2008 3:23pm Report this commentThe encouraging thing, Oscar, is that the polls suggest Cameron is reaching over the heads of the naysayers and the biased media. I found Anthony King's piece in this week's mag quite convincing.
TGF UKIP
September 28th, 2008 6:59pm Report this commentBang on DB, very succinct.
Frank Pulley
September 30th, 2008 2:17am Report this commentI was hoping that this meltdown would at least provide an opportunity for the Tories to show some mettle at their conference, but it seems to have overshadowed them and the media are refusing to take the Birmingham bash seriously as they have a good excuse shore up their Obamamania. Don't think the undecideds will be able to make up there minds after this show. DC will have to wait until next year. If the meltdown continues, he may have to address street riots and soup kitchens by then. And the power cuts will put the mockers on us lot. I suppose we could post letters to the mag but no doubt the postmen will be on strike by then, too.
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