How Cameron's only black adviser was 'frozen out,' by his 'friend'...

The Daily Telegraph has an interesting splash tomorrow. Its headline reads: ‘Shaun Bailey, the Prime Minister’s only black aide, was ‘frozen out by David Cameron’s clique’. It quotes a ‘friend of’ Mr Bailey, a Hammersmith candidate once given the prime warm-up slot to Cameron in the Tory conference. This friend says rather a lot, and below is a summary:

‘They just didn’t get what Shaun was saying. He kept challenging them saying, ‘Why are we not saying this?’ … He went into Downing Street and the first thing he said was, ‘The only political conversation you need to have publicly is about the cost of living’. He also gave plenty of warning that if they wanted to talk about being a diverse party, people have to see it. But they didn’t want to hear about it. Shaun was frozen out. Shaun always says that you can see from space that the place is dominated by those from Eton.

‘It was very difficult for Shaun. He was never included. He got the distinct impression they tried to keep him away from the Prime Minister. It got to a point where Shaun just stopped saying things because it was just getting him in trouble. There was even one week where he decided not to go into the office because he wanted to see if they would even notice. They didn’t. None of them.’

He is said to have been ‘horrified’ when Frank Luntz, an American polling expert, visited Downing Street and addressed a group of advisers. Here’s the ‘friend’ again:

‘The pollster asked them what kept them awake at night and they didn’t even have the wit to understand that he meant it was the electorate. When the pollster pointed that out to them, they literally said, ‘Nothing keeps us awake’. How can you be advising people and nothing keeps you awake? Then someone said ‘school fees’. Shaun believes that the bottom line is that him being of a different class is probably equally, if not more, important than him being black. For him being both of those things made him uniquely helpful.’

A Downing Street source is quoted by the Telegraph: ‘Shaun was a highly valued member of the No 10 team, and he is continuing that good work at the Cabinet Office.’

UPDATE Bailey had no comment for the Telegraph but has subsequently Tweeted thusly: