Cameron and Osborne must listen to their backbenchers — or face revolt

Wednesday, 27th January 2010

James Forsyth reviews the week in politics

When David Cameron and George Osborne move between their suite of offices at the eastern end of the parliamentary estate and the Commons chamber they do so with a pomp that would not embarrass a medieval monarch. A crowd of attendants accompanies them, constantly changing positions but never disrupting the order: staffer, Cameron, staffer, Osborne, staffer. The party moves through the corridors at breakneck speed, heads thrown back, staring into the middle distance rather than looking around at their colleagues. This display certainly succeeds in getting them noticed. But to the Tory MPs whom they march past without even a glance, the whole procession symbolises not power but the remoteness and arrogance of those who are running the party.

By rights, Tory MPs should adore the men who are about to end their 13 years in the political wilderness. Three successive leaders have led the Tories to defeat. Now, Mr Cameron is about to take them to victory in a campaign masterminded by his shadow chancellor, Mr Osborne. But talking to backbench MPs, one is struck by the lack of love for either of them. The reason for this is simple: the infantry feel underappreciated and ignored. As one backbencher told me in exasperation this week, ‘the Cameron machine doesn’t listen to anyone’ — and, worse, it doesn’t even pretend to listen. Even members of the shadow Cabinet can occasionally be found asking journalists for clues as to what the party leadership is up to.

For all his talk about devolving power, Mr Cameron has as Tory leader centralised power at every opportunity. It is a long-standing joke that anyone who works as one of Mr Cameron’s aides automatically outranks any shadow Cabinet member. But this joke is too close to the bone now for many members of the shadow Cabinet. Andrew Lansley was infuriated when his changes weren’t made to the Tories’ draft health manifesto, leading to a slew of stories about Tory splits and U-turns. Others have taken to firing off irate emails when policy is announced without their knowledge.

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quiet integrity

January 29th, 2010 9:35am Report this comment

Perhaps DC won't get his majority? As well as ignoring his own backbenchers, he has dismissed the concerns of Tory voters: lack of grammar schools, expensive membership of the EU that brings us only disadvantages, multiculturalism, the hard-pressed middle class bank-rolling both the bankers and the Underclass, to name but a few. It's highly likely that the Tory vote will be decimated by defections to UKIP and BNP. We can't afford another presidential-style government: Blair is too recent a memory.

The Man

January 29th, 2010 4:05pm Report this comment

Dave is making a bad fist of this. Does Tony Blair's apprearance before the Chilcott Committee today not make Cameron realise that emulating Blair is neither the way to win the trust of the electorate nor of governing the country?

Kirsty Richards

January 29th, 2010 4:38pm Report this comment

James, can you please explain the presence of Dominic Grieve in the shadow cabinet. Is he a friend of Cameron/Osborne? I do not understand why he is in a front bench job when there are others just as well qualified more signed up to the agenda.

Scary Biscuits

January 30th, 2010 10:44am Report this comment

The disillusion and unenthusiam of MPs is shared by party activists and the electorate (which is why he's now averaging under 40% in the polls). He is ambivalent or on the wrong side of the popular argument on a whole range of issues: bribing foreign countries ("international development"), crime, enthusiasm about europe (weakly accepting Lisbon and confirming his belief in the wider project), higher taxes 'for the environment', cuts to the army and - most of all - his luke warm at best support of a small state and the individual freedom and low taxation that this implies. He clung ridiculously to his unpopular mantra of 'sharing the proceeds of growth' long after it became untenable; he now repeats the mistake by suggesting he will proritise protecting Labour's unproductive client state over tax cuts. His supporters argue that Mrs T also increased taxes, conveniently forgetting that in 1979 she started from a much lower base of overall taxation.

In his speaches, like the one to Conference last year, he makes the right noises but these are unsupported by his actions making him seem shallow and opportunistic.

As this articule illustrates, he intends to govern from the sofa, like Blair, (or if he is less popular, the bunker, Brown-style) with PR men and unaccountalbe and often incompetent flunkies outranking government ministers and experienced Civil Servants. MPs such as Michael Fallon, whose long period in the wilderness has been justified by events are ignored.

No wonder there is no enthusiasm for Cameron. In fact, if you are a Tory you fear that like Heath or John Major, he will be yet another poor leader who, by calling himself a Conservative but governing like a high tax establishment socialist, undermines the ideals of the party he stands for.

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