Politics: The people Cameron should be shmoozing

David Cameron has just passed through his first full-blown crisis as Prime Minister. He may have been a bit-part player in this Murdoch drama, but he has remarked to those in No. 10 that the past
few weeks have been the most gruelling of his premiership so far.

He has seen the arrest of a former employee, Andy Coulson, and a close friend, Rebekah Brooks. Social relationships on which so much of his politics is based have had to be reassessed. Worst of
all, the deficiencies of the No. 10 machine have allowed a story about one poorly judged appointment to spiral dangerously out of control.

Take his treatment of Conservative MPs during the past two weeks. During any crisis, it is imperative that a leader keep his party with him. Last Wednesday, Cameron had the perfect chance to rally
the troops, the traditional end-of-term address to the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers. The normal form at these things is that the Prime Minister comes in, says a few rousing words and answers
some questions, and then Tory MPs bang their desks and go home happy.

Not this time. On Wednesday, word came that Cameron would have to postpone the appointment, because he was planning to speak in the BSkyB debate that afternoon. No. 10 offered up Monday at 4 p.m.
as a new time for a meeting. All was fine until Cameron decided not to speak in the debate after all. At a summer drinks party in the gardens of Westminster Abbey that night, several Tory MPs
stalked the lawns complaining about the ‘snub’.