Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

‘The manifesto is what we believe in, that is what matters’

As election day approaches, David Cameron talks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth about Tory principles, where his campaign went wrong, and what might happen if he doesn’t win

As election day approaches, David Cameron talks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth about Tory principles, where his campaign went wrong, and what might happen if he doesn’t win

To gauge how much trouble David Cameron is in, one need only check his smile. In the days when he enjoyed a seemingly impregnable lead over Labour, he appeared fretful and inactive. But when he meets The Spectator on a train to Southampton, he is wearing a grin. This can only mean one thing: he is, once again, fighting for his political life. The polls are no longer predicting a Tory victory but a hung parliament — and senior Conservatives wonder if their leader will have to do a deal with the Lib Dems. Defeat seems to have been snatched from the jaws of victory.

The television debates, of course, changed everything. A couple of years back, Mr Cameron was asked to name his favourite political joke. ‘Nick Clegg,’ he replied. Now that a Lib Dem surge looks likely to deprive the Tories of a majority, is he is still laughing? ‘I can’t remember saying that,’ he says. ‘Look, clearly it’s a challenge but this is one we can meet.’ There’s still time, he says, to win outright. ‘One of the key tests of an election campaign is: can you adapt to changing circumstances? And we have. Not least in terms of changing our battleground.’

We are bound for Southampton because the collapse in the Labour vote has opened up new marginal constituencies. But his problem — nationwide — is simple. The Tory campaign message has not succeeded. Voters who turned away from Gordon Brown are not turning to Mr Cameron. As he starts to talk about this, a ticket collector asks him to pose with her for a picture. Cameron, who has remembered her name from earlier, gets up instantly.

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