Cameron strong on party funding, vulnerable on dinner party etiquette

David

Sorry, but the Mirror story is pathetic, and you do yourself an injustice by giving it legs.

GS

Sad to see the Mirror these days...

G

I heard a very similar story to the Mirror one over dinner a couple of nights ago... Cameron lacks the common touch when it comes to dealing with the lower orders. I get the feeling that he is very much a creature of the class system as it last really existed about 30 years ago. "County" upbringing and all that...

CS

Why is that Mirror story "well worth reading"? From the moment you see the complainants describing the people asked to stay as "those who suited his upper class background", you can dismiss it as a bit of prejudiced bile.

Tiberius

Let he who does not discriminate about his dinner guests cast the first stone.

The Splund

The Mirror story really is beyond parody. All it needs is for Cameron to have laughed evilly and swept out with a swirl of his black cape. Remind me again which (private) school Harriet Harperson attended....

Oscar Miller

Fraser - I've just watched the whole of Cameron's press conference on the BBC video. I don't recognise your description of it. Cameron despatched the Daily Mirror story with a full and convincing description of the evening. He made it clear that the Mirror was scraping the barrel trying to drum up a spot of class warfare. Please don't assist the Mirror muck rakers - you only discredit yourself. Cameron also dealt with the Ashcroft question in full - entirely unruffled showing no "unease" whatsoever. I noticed you didn't ask a question yourself. Were you really there?

grammarnazi

re CS @4.40 the Mirror story was required reading in order to clear up the ambiguities in Mr. Nelson' thouroughly un-subbed post, unclosed parenthesis and all.

ChrisD

Why is the Mirror story worth reading?
If it is of the same lowly standard as the bin rummaging incident whereby they tried to undermine Cameron using his children's nappy habits, or even worse, the bile laden political editorials of Kevin McGuire I will pass thanks. It all sounds quite petty, nasty and desperate stuff from the Mirror.
Does it make me a snob if I don't include the class based prejudice of that rag in my daily on line round up of the political news and commentary?

DK

Cameron must be kicking himself when HE made the decision aged 7 to go to a good prep school and then Eton. His parents saying "But son if you go to a state school you will have the chance of one day being the leader of the Labour party". Hypocritical journos. It's all right to be working class but not upper class despite having no choice into which class you are born. Criticise his interpersonal skills just like Brown's awful skills but don't use it as excuse for your class prejudice.

Fraser Nelson

Why is it worth reading? Because this is how the left will come for Cameron. It's the "snob" line and a huge amount rests on whether it can be pulled off or not. Anyone interested in Cameron's future, or the dynamics of the next campaign, should study how he is attacked on this front and how he defends himself. It's as important as his defence on the drugs line two years ago.

Tanuki

"Newsnight’s Michael Crick asked when Lord Ashcroft registered for income tax. None of my business, said Cameron." He could actually have played this for laughs - saying something like "I don't know: Labour's HMRC seem to have lost that particular data".

Maggie Thatcher fan

This Mirror story IS worth reading...;) http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/columnists/maguire/2007/12/03/brown-loses-trust-after-3-fiascos-89520-20194808/

Caroline

No. Cameron can't be held responsible for his class and education, any more than Brown can't be held responsible for losing the sight in one eye as a boy, the way his mouth works, the shape of his jaw, and other physical characteristics - but in our democratic free speech society, many feel it is justified and acceptable to point out these gross 'failings'. Don't they?

ChrisD

The class war was so 70's and most people just don't care anymore. I blame this disintegration of the class prejudice that Kevin McGuire and his pals at the Mirror so love solely at the feet of Maggie Thatcher and the last Conservative government so hated by them.
No generation of parents have aspired more to give their kids a good education and as privileged an upbringing as possible than those of today whatever their background or income.
The whole attack on Cameron's upbringing has been done to death with the tags of toff, Eton and Bullingdon thrown around regularly by the Labour party and left wing columnists to little avail.
One thing is clear, David Cameron seems relaxed, finding it easy to communicate with *people* in all situations.
I thought he came across very well in today's regular press conference, he is crafting and building up an image of a political statesman in waiting as a future PM while leading the main opposition party.
Looking at the poor communication and debating skills displayed by Gordon Brown in recent months, what matters is not the form the attack takes, but more the ability of the politician to deal with it. Cameron can think on his feet and is confident of his ability to make decisive decisions.
The Labour party must rue the day they elected Gordon Brown unopposed, he spent 10 years hidden away plotting and planning his strategy grid rather than honing his own skills in that department...

Gordon Hetherington

Cameron is a spiv and not at home with the lower classes. Oops sorry I gave the game away.

perdix

Fraser - disappointed you wanted to give legs to the rubbish Mirror story.This kind of thing made me stop buying the Spectator.

john sheppard

I suspect that Fraser was never at this press conference and has written his piece in advance to reflect his prejudice His account bears no resemblance to what actually occured It certinly does not

TGF UKIP

The story is nasty and typical of a paper which has the BBC's favourite Press political commentator as its Political Editor. However, I agree with Fraser that it is absolutely relevant not only as a demonstration of where Labour perceive Cameron to be weak but because it chimes in with Cameron's identification with primarily AB policy priorities and an almost complete failure to address or identify with C2 concerns. I am looking forward to seeing a poll with a geographical and socio-economic breakdown and I'd bet a fair few bob that Cameron will be shown to be especially weak in the North and among C2's.

Fraser Nelson

John, if I wrote this piece in advance and had such powers of prediction my life would be a lot easier. I also would be a stockbroker, rather than a journalist. Of course I was at the press conference - but am quite prepared to accept Cameron looked better on TV. He usually does.

Patrick Harrington

I think that Cameron is making some very interesting points regarding Party Funding. His suggestions regarding Union Political Funds have opened a debate. I don't think that his suggestions on this are right though. Instead I think that he should consider advocating an opt-in to such funds. This is a legal requirement in Northern Ireland but not the rest of the UK. The consequence of an opt-out (which is the model adopted by most Unions) is that members contribute to Parties and causes with which they differ. This system relies on inertia so that money can be allocated by Union bureaucrats who often have their own poltical axes to grind. There is also a feeling amongst some Union members that their card will be marked if they exercise their right to opt-out. If an opt-in system was adopted there would also be no need for the time-consuming and expensive ballots Unions are currently obliged to hold every ten years to maintain a Political Fund. Patrick Harrington General Secretary Solidarity Trade Union www.solidaritytradeunion.org