Tory grassroots vent their anger at Cameron and Willetts
9:48pmConservativeHome’s regular survey of Tory activists, the same one that got the leadership result pretty much spot on, shows that David Cameron’s popularity with the grassroots has been badly dented by the grammar school debacle with his net satisfaction down from +49% to +22%. David Willetts is bearing the brunt of the party’s 
displeasure, though. His satisfaction rating has fallen 60 points to minus 24 percent; making him the most unpopular member of the shadow cabinet. No shadow minister has received such a low score since the survey started back at the beginning of Cameron’s tenure.
I expect that Willetts is not only being punished because most activists disagree with the policy but also because of a string of weak performances in the media in its defence, most notably on Newsnight last Thursday after Dominic Grieve had forced the leadership to backtrack. The only good news for Willetts is that Cameron is so personally associated with this episode thanks to his aggressive defence of the policy that it would be a humiliating climb down for him to move Willetts in the near future.
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Disraeli's Ghost
June 3rd, 2007 9:57pmThey won't move him now. But I'd bet you pretty much anything that he'll be a safe distance away from the frontlines before the next election
Socrates
June 3rd, 2007 11:10pmIt was said that David Davis lost the leadership election because he was seen as too autocratic and a poor media performer! It is difficult to see any sense in this vendetta against selective education. If it was true that selection "fails poor bright kids" then clearly Conservative policy should be to replace them with something that does! However they do work - actually very well. The main objection originally to selection was that it was too hard to get into grammars. The simple solution, then as now, - build more grammars. If comprehensives are so good, why is there still so much demand to improve education? Common sense would dictate that Conservative policy should support choice in the types of new schools including grammars for those who want them. Supporting non-selective City Academies just to embarrass Gordon Brown doesn't make for an effective education policy.