The Tories need an attack dog

Simon

That's a good idea. She would be more rthan a match for mandy.

Peter From Maidstone

Not appealing to me I am afraid. I expect the leaders of the party, those who are putting themselves forward as potential Ministers and Prime Ministers to have sufficient grasp of their briefs, and sufficient ability to demolish this feeble Government that they do not need some specialist angry woman to do so for them.

I am sick to the teeth with 'media skills', is that supposed to stand in for actual ability? If Hague cannot demolish Harman then there is something very wrong at the heart of the Conservative Party, and if the Conservative Party are still unable to come up with a motivating narrative (not concrete policies) then I do not see how they can avoid a hung parliament.

At the moment they are indeed the 'Do Nothing Party' and pretending that a more or less unknown woman is going to turn things around shows that they still think it is all about PR.

What we need is for David Cameron to tell the truth in PMQs. To stand there and say, 'You are a lying, marxist traitor who has destroyed our country. You have plunged every family into thousands of pounds of debt. You have sold us out to Europe which now runs our country. You have swamped our nation with immigrants without ever asking people what they thought. You have made us a haven for terrorists. Go. Go Now! Only an idiot would vote for you!'.

paul holdstock

tis' said that you cannot make an ommelette without breaking some eggs.
so one has to expect some serious ommelettes from this lady, as she has more egg-sperience than most.

Fergus Pickering

I love the Baroness. She is my favourite Tory lady and should be in the cabinet instead of one of those limp wristed Etonians. Actually I've forgotten who the Etonians are, if I ever knew. How do you TELL a public schoolboy from a grammar oik? Which kind is Andrew Lansley, for instance? Or Grayling, for that matter. Aanyway, either of them could go. Anyway, cheers for the Baroness and more power to her dusky elbow.

Verity

Peter from Maidstone - Applause!

Dean

This post reminded me of the American academics who, sensitive to charges that they were "too white, too male and too posh", provided grants to radical feminists to run "womyn's studies" courses on the campus. Before they knew it, the well organised feminists had taken over the campus administration and forced most of the white males into retirement.

Lesson: if you allow people who hate you to define who you are, you concede the argument and any power you may have had.

Jeremy

Peter from Maidstone:

"You are a lying, marxist traitor who has destroyed our country. You have plunged every family into thousands of pounds of debt. You have sold us out to Europe which now runs our country. You have swamped our nation with immigrants without ever asking people what they thought. You have made us a haven for terrorists. Go. Go Now! Only an idiot would vote for you!"

...and therein lies the sickness which afflicts us all. What party - or leader - is offering us the remedy to all of that?

Tron

Give the job to Peter from Maidstone. He is so right. William Hague could not get the better of Hattie Harperson for God's sake! Unemployment, debt, crime, schools ....open goals just sitting there. Hague talks about the Christmas Holidays !
The Tory Party should spend Christmas on an inner-city council estate. I mean it. They would finally wake up.

Michael Booth

Once again Peter from Maidstone sums it up. This government provides Cameron with all the bullets but he just won't fire them. How bad do things have to get before we get rid of these truly appalling and dangerous people?

Austin Barry

PFM is correct, the attack dog should be Cameron.

The Tories seem to fading away like some attentuated, moribund patient in a nursing home: there's no energy, no conviction, just the languid, polite public school persona they should be trying to shed. We look on in dismay.

The Labour party is down but, unbelievably, recovering. It's time to put the boot in - and not by proxy.

JohnAnt

"the idea of having a Muslim Yorkshire woman act as one of the party’s main spokesmen is particularly appealing."
Her media skills haven't so far extended to saying anything striking or memorable.
Or maybe that is the skill?

davefromluton

It is time to bring back David Davies.
I am not sure if he is sulking in his tent or has been banished. However we need him - fast.
So please sort out your differences Dave/David and get on the attack

EyeSee

You do need someone who has a personality and that people 'connect' with, to use that awful phrase. However, what is most sorely needed is that very succesfull weapon, the truth. When you stuff up, say so and then say what you intend to do about it. It separates you from the liars too (New Labour) without any sophistry. Difficult concept for modern politicians though, the truth. Being honest and doing a good job for the people you are paid to serve; can't see it catching on.

jon dee

Thank goodness Andy Coulson spots the talent in Sayeeda Warsi.

Apparently underappreciated by Party members, she is a convincing communicator with an appealing personality.

If an attack-dog can also be charismatic, then Warsi fits the bill.

Would be barking not to use her more.

John David Barnett

it's as though Cameron has given up trying.

Tanuki

I'd suggest John Redwood. At least he's got experience of government, and isn't a wishy-washy nobody like the majority of the shadow-frontbenchers.

Rachael

This woman?

How many more votes do they want to lose?

Verity

I don't like, or approve of, quotas. David Cameron doesn't seem to understand the issues, and I mean that sincerely. He is remote from the voters. They are not worried that the Tories don't seem "inclusive" enough. This is a social issue that probably takes up a lot of time over the dinner tables in Notting Hill and no one gives a stuff about outside Westminster Village. He has absolutely no connection with the voters. He "tackles" non-issues. He is 100% the wrong person to be the Leader of the Conservatives.

David Davis is liked by the average Tory voter. I've never heard anyone say they like David Cameron. I would be equally happy, though, with Daniel Hannan or John Redwood ... or, indeed, William Hague, if I didn't suspect that he has already decided to take his bows and leave the political stage.

Sam ARMSTRONG

I don't trust that woman.

General Zod

What a surprise - PfM and Verity don't like the idea of a spokesman for the Tories who is a Muslim woman.

She's probably an Al Quaeda plant.

She's not a quota filler. If you could ever lose your blinkers, you'd see she's a smart, driven woman with good, Tory political beliefs.

John Levett

"The Tories need an attack dog".

What they actually need are some policies.

Dean

The central problem is that the Tories have relied heavily on Cameron, his political skills and image, but voters are now starting to have doubts about Cameron as he has somersaulted on a number of issues and his presentational style reminds people of Tony Blair. Over the past year, he has also sent conflicting signals about whether he is a one-nation Tory or a traditional Thatcherite. This is very offputting to voters in areas of the country that suffered heavy manufacturing job losses in the 1980s.

There is still plenty of time for the Tories to arrest Labour's so far very modest recovery, but they need to seize the initiative and start coming out with clear policies that are forward looking and positive. Focusing on the deficit and spending cuts, however necessary these may be, simply reminds voters of Tory rhetoric in the 80s and 90s which is what ultimately led to their massive defeat in 1997.

It would be better to take the risk of publishing policies, and then have Labour steal them, than to appear vacuous. If Labour borrow Tory ideas, it shows that the Tories hold the intellectual initiative and strengthens their authority to govern.

lawrence greek

What the Tories need is a powerful, succinct and standard response to every lie the Labour perpetrate. They all seem so weak, even I could rebut Labour's lies more effectively than some of these Tories. Every lie should be instantly slapped down, there shouold be a string response to every lie and untruth as soon as it leaves a Labour minister's mouth.

JohnBUK

PfM - agreed wholeheartedly. Coincidentally I had left a comment on the "Ashcroft" piece above bemoaning the fact "Cameron et al had given Liebor a smooth ride" for some reason and "why?". Is this a deliberate policy or is it lack of talent? I'm getting fed up of hearing Liebor complaining about Tory policies when they have bloody bankrupted the country and hosed all our savings liberally around the State urinal in the guise of "investment". Utter bollocks! I do hope there's a cunning plan under all of this!!

lawrence greek

JohnBUK

That's exactly my complaint - why is no one from the Tories capable of destroying these Labour liars? It should be happening on a daily, no hourly basis. I saw today Labour complaining of Cameron making 'unfunded spending commitments'... and this from the government that gave us an annual £242 billion black hole! Staggering.

Jez

What a load of rubbish.

Lady Warsi- a nice person. Hague- not a 'bad man'. Cuddly Dave- nice but dim.....

etc, etc, etc... Same sh*t, different a4sehole.

The problem is that they'll not say *anything* that'll deviate from what their very powerful donars want, this whilst on their weekend jollies at 'this massive estate' or that 'luxury yacht'.

It's a fact.

You can't polish a turd- and that is what the BlueLabour / NuLab politics have become.... and by the looks of it, the whole stagnant game has become that rotten that even the previously brilliant orator 'Hague' has now found it impossible even to roll that hypothetical turd in glitter.

Absolute scandal.

zonked

I thought Ms Warsi gave a very impressive performance on question time and the Tory's would be wise to make more use of her talents.
The fact that she is mulsim and a woman is not relevant; on her own merits she is clearly highly tallented. Only a mindless bigot would see her religion or gender as a problem.

Alic

I like Cameron and I'm a very average [Tory] voter.

it's up to US as much as Cameron or any of the opposition; argue with idiots around you, present the facts, fight the fight for your country, don't assume anyone else can do it all for you.

Jez

exactly zonked.

Muslim's (as the one's in luton) see her as comlicit in the Afghan / Iraq conflict's as she is part of the establishment AND a woman at that. Also- unfortunately in Dewsbury she attempted to undermine Malik's Muslim vote-base by leaning toward the rather more 'Islamic friendly' policies of anti-Gay sentiment in her leaflet's and subvert the BNP vote by being more born n' bred than my Grandparent's.

She's been adopted by the establishment- and that is what she has become.

Only a mindless bigot can now see her as anything else- maybe.

Snowman

Getting an attack dog? Nope. How about reading few blogs from the Guardian through the Spectator to the Daily Mail, picking on the issues that bother the great unwashed, digesting them, and then molding few policies around them.

Even a lame, one-eyed poodle with torn tail and missing teeth answering to the name Lucky could then do better than the Etonised lot, or Ms Warsi, or whoever.

Yelling at Labour ‘go’ may not be enough. Why should anyone vote for the Tories when the gap between them and Labour on Europe, crime, global burning, immigration and virtually everything else that irks is Rizzla paper thin, ha?

PAUL GILBOY

Baroness Warsi is bang on the money capable confident and strident with her arguments. For those people who say it should be David Cameron have they forgot that he is the leader of the party with plenty of things to occupy him. Do they want him to clean their windows as well!

zonked

Jez

I would not agree she has been 'adopted' by the establishment; I see a highly intelligent woman who has earnt her position through merit. If her positions put her at odds with some sections of the Muslim community, perhaps that just emphasis her creditials as an independant thinker? She strikes me as intelligent, articulate and politically savy.

On a broader note, we need a Conservate victory. I have no doubt that put her on the telly against someone like, say, Ben Bradshaw and she would cut him to shreds.

There will always be small minded bigots who will find an asian woman speaking for the Conservatives as objectionable - I hope Cameron ignores them.

Colin

The tories don't need an attack dog. They need policies that set them apart from labour and give the electorate some real choice.

Baroness Warsi? Don't make me piss myself laughing...

Boudicca

They need more than one attack dog. Baroness Warsi was good on QT; David Davis should be brought back and John Redwood should be used more to demolish Labour's financial shenanigans. Best of all - get Dan Hannan out and about a bit more.

John Richardson

Unfortunately Mr Forsyth,
the amount of intelligence and insight you display is no longer an unpleasant surprise.
Surly your proper role would be as one of 'Cameron's cuties' ?
You'd be happier, and the excellent 'Peter from Maidstone' could concentrate on more than just exposing your facile drivel lings As he is reluctantly obliged to above.

Think of the money James.

TGF UKIP

Tanuki and Boudicca get it bang on. Davies is keeping well away and his powder dry for Dave's now entirely predictable failure at the ballot box. Redwood is extremely well briefed and takes no prisoners, Paxman & co will think twice before fucking about with him.

As for Warsi, the jihadi apologist, I'm not too sure who will be enjoying that joke most - Brown, Balls, Campbell, Mandelson or myself.

Peter From Maidstone

zonked, I don't find it objectionable that there should be Asians in the Conservative Party. But I find it odd that out of all the members of the Shadow Cabinet NONE of them seen capable of taking on the traitors.

And if David Cameron should not be concentrating on attacking Labour at every turn then I am not sure what he should be doing. He may be very busy as Conservative leader but frankly he is wasting his time if he is not ensuring that at every opportunity Labour are exposed for the creatures they are.

Almost everything can be done by someone else, but if David Cameron cannot inspire the people - not someone else who is not the potential Prime Minister - then there will be a hung Parliament.

Where is the anger? Why does it seem like the Conservative Party doesn't care? It really does seem like that. Baroness Warsi may be a lovely and capable person, but she is not the man for the moment. David Cameron has put himself forward to be that person. Now he must show that he is.

He hasn't yet!

Peter From Maidstone

An extra note. I would expect that before PMQs Hague had been in a room with a group of Conservative activists and they had been abusing him to prepare him for today's outing.

If those of us here had been asked to conduct such an exercise we would have had the Non-Dom issue as a top Labour weapon. Why then did Hague have nothing to say? Why did he not then launch into an overwhelming assault that exposed Labour hypocrisy? But there was nothing!

Bermondsey Bertram

The Tories don't need an attack dog for Today. They need an attack dog for Tomorrow.

zonked

Peter from Maidstone

You make valid points. As an armchair general I too was yelling at Hague to put the boot in. But then again, I would vote Conservative anyway. I'm grateful to Cameron for repositioning the party into a winning position and I guess he has to balance any attack against the danger of appearing 'nasty' or not 'Prime Ministerial'.

Perhaps the thinking is to hold fire until Labour don’t have time to blunt any attack, rebound, or worse, change leader. My hope is that after xmas Cameron will come out swinging.

Verity

Independent blogger blocked by the Stockholm Syndrome!

Once again, I sent in a comment, explaining clearly and rationally why I do not want to see a Muslim in the cabinet, and once again, it has been spiked by the multicultis whose knees turn to jelly at a whiff of criticism of Islam.

There is absolutely no point in posting something one knows the Coffee Shop hall monitors won't approve of, no matter how rationally and unemotionally argued. They have surrendered to the Westminster/MSM MultiCulti Sect. They seem to regard criticism of Islam as a personal assault on Islam rather than rational commentary.

Oddly enough, I feel they might be more benign about negative comments about the CofE, Roman Catholocism and Judaism.

Hysteria

Warsi's ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation have absolutely no imprt in my mind.

Can she do the job of attacking labour? Simples.

I echo many other here though - where the hell are the Tories? I hope they have a plan somewhat more advanced than "we are not labour, vote for us"

Rob Twickenham

Could it be that Tory top brass have decided that this is not the election to win. Imagine if Knnock had scraped home in 92 we would still have had the ERM debacle but we wouldn't have had 12 years of New Labour.
Maybe they're looking at the long long game.

Peter From Maidstone

Is there a reason why there are hardly any recent posts? I thought this was an automatic system?

james murohy

sadly, the Tories still lack the will to win or the killer instinct. they labour (sorry!)under the misconception that political parties don't get elected--incumbents are simply thrown out. unfortunaely the electoral system doesn't work in the Tories favour.
There is no doubt that the Labour electoral machine is instilling fear in its supports and of course the electorate. And, the Tories have no response. Sad, really.

Ben

If the Tories cannot be tough on a completely inept Labour Government, how can they be tough enough to take the big decisions necessary if they get into government? I think the public can sense this.

strapworld

I do support Peter from Maidstone.

None of the 'front bench team' (loosely called a team) are considered capable. Now what does that tell us about Cameron and his leadership style? Square pegs in every round hole?

I am sorry. I appreciate that I am totally unconvinced about Cameron. But I have been demanding that he and his ''team'' put the boot in.

Remember Mrs T did not win the elction by saying nothing but agreeing with every green nonsense the other commie crowd came out with. NO She fought. She had people who joined her in that attack. Norman Tebbit. Heseltine grabbing the mace? Willie Whitelaw, trusted by all was superb and the list went on.

Now Cameron ignores the excellence on economic matters that Redwood would bring to the cause. He ignores David Davies on Home Office policies. Cameron cannot create a fighting team and thus,` in my opinion, is in real danger of losing it all.

IF he cannot use this Christmas Break to revitalise his party. Bring in fighters and not PR picked individuals. People who have done it and can really put the boot in day in day out the Conservatives will rue the day.

If Cameron cannot do it, I say again he must step aside.

Vulture

@ Mr Barnett, Last week you told me off for criticising Dave. This week you too have joined the chorus ( as has every other poster apart from Alic) of Cameron critics. Something is clearly seriously wrong when on a supposedly Conservative site not one person can be found to stick up for the custard-faced jellyfish and his pathetic 'team'.

I truly say this more in sorrow than anger since we really, really need to defeat the appalling Bruin and there is now little hope that the Cam clique can do it. As I have said many times, the modest turnaround in Tory fortunes since 2005 has nothing whatever to do with Dave and everything to do with hated of Bruin and
Liebour. Dave, Osbers and that sinister baldie from Hungary who calls himself Hilton are not a credible alternative Govt because they aren't really Tories - just PR puffballs a la Bliar. It might have worked in 2005 when the false economy was booming, it sure as hell won't cut it now.

What we need is a new generation of Tebbits and Thatchers - but they ain't in sight. Its beginning to look a lot like four more years of Bruin.

DavidDP

Warsi is excellent, and was magnificent against Griffin.

The only problem is that she's a life peer. She would be such an asset to the Commons.

Rachael

"Andy Coulson is very impressed by her media skills."

So if they're so good, why couldn't she use them to become an MP?

Oh, I remember now what happened when she ran for Parliament now:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1557596/Cohesion-Tory-criticised.html

http://conservativehome.blogs.com/platform/2007/07/statement-by-th.html

peter

The attack dog they actually need is their Leader. Unless Cameron starts to get tough he will lose the election by default. And the Redwoods of this world should be brought in from the cold to tell it like it is. That is what the electorate want - they do not want want another simpering Blair-clone.

Keith D

Peter from Maidstone@4;39 Final paragraph should be mandatory reading for David Cameron every hour of the day till he gets it.

He cant hit the target if he wont fire a shot.

Frank P

Who removed my Grrrr! Ruff. Ruff. "Down Rover, she may be a bitch in heat, but she's the wrong pedigree" comment. If you open the door with 'attack dog' you shouldn't complain when I correct the gender.

Christopher

Forgive me, but why on earth is Baroness Warsi even near the higher echelons of the Conservative party. This may be naive of me, but I've always thought that in order to be a public figure in a democracy one should either be elected, or have done something sufficiently august and commendable to merit elevation to the peerage. Baroness Warsi has done neither.

Patricia Shaw

Ooh - Don't tell Mel - she cant stand the sight of the woman!

logdon

Peter From Maidstone
December 16th, 2009 4:39pm

Bravo. The last para should be printed and stuck on every Tory MP's wall.

egh

My comment was blocked as well, even though it stated fact.

The fact remains, that phizog would make me run a mile .... spinal fusion notwithstanding. Her media skills would have to be good to make up for that.

And since when were aggressive females with franco-german sounding titles the right way to beat Yorkshire people into submission?

Amanda in America

If we're talking about what the Tories need, it's above all these two things:

1) The Knowledge -- kind of like London taxi driver 'Knowledge' but pertaining to the essence of conservatism rather than street layouts. If you don't have The Knowledge, or don't like it, you have no business calling yourself a Conservative M. P. or advisor.

Another word for this might be 'platform', though platforms, such as the American Republican one, are founded on The Knowledge, not the other way around.

2) A coherent message for the public, conveying The Knowledge and The Platform. If you can't communicate what you stand for and what you believe in, it doesn't really matter what you believe, since few will vote for you. And even if you do win power, governing will be a hellish and short experience, since you will be easy prey for the opposition, honourable or otherwise.

UK Fred

Thank goodness we have some constructive commentators like Amanda. Until we know what the Conservative party stands for, how does anyone know what battles to fight? Once people know what battles to fight, then the right people can be put in the right position. Would Ferguson play Rio Ferdinand as striker and leave Rooney on the bench? I still can't understand why CMD has refusede to give any position to either Redwood or Davies, unless he's scared that they'll show up his toff friends for the nonentities they are.