Politics

25 February 2009

Fraser Nelson reviews the week in politics

When Labour last went to the country in 2005, Lord Ashcroft had broken away from the Tory leadership, dismayed at Michael Howard’s decision to classify 164 constituencies as target seats when all polling suggested no more than 25 were winnable. Rather than retire to Nice in a huff, he decamped to his private office and started funding his own freelance Tory target seats campaign. After the election was lost he wrote what he thought would be a farewell note to the party, a pamphlet called Smell the Coffee. The official Tory campaign had been a vote-losing disaster, he argued, the cry of a party without purpose or direction.

To his amazement, Mr Cameron subsequently asked him to come back and to bring his renegade operation with him as a legitimate force in Conservatives headquarters — this time, with party money. There he has been granted almost complete autonomy. Since his return, he has built a network of 50 full-time campaigners, replacing the old system where almost all Tory agents were sheltering in the safest seats. Ashcroft brought with him two lieutenants, Gavin Barwell and Stephen Gilbert. His fiefdom has come to be widely recognised as the best-run part of Conservative central office (which is not, alas, saying much).

The Ashcroft strategy has been to find candidates for marginal seats immediately, rather than six months before an election, as had been the case previously. Successful applicants had to provide a business plan, and start campaigning at once. If they wanted more money, they had to prove to Lord Ashcroft personally that it would be put to good use. He checked up on them, commissioning secret polls asking voters how much they have heard from their local Tory. In this way, he had them all dancing a jig.

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Alan Carcas

February 26th, 2009 11:29am Report this comment

Hope to God the Tory heirarchy have got their relationship with Lord Ashcroft right..... To find that he isn't a bona fide donor after all this time would surely destroy any credibility Cameron has generated - for himself as well as the Party.

Stephen Walkley

February 27th, 2009 11:32am Report this comment

The money given by Bearwood to the Conservative did not come from profits earned by the company but by people subscribing for share at a premium of £4.6m. If the subscribers were not UK resident then Bearwood was acting as a conduit for illegal donations.

It should not take long to establish who subscribed for the shares.

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