The next time you see a Tory minister on television, count how long it is until they say that David Cameron is a leader with a long term plan for this country. This is the Tories’ new message.
In a presentation to Cameron’s political Cabinet on Tuesday morning, Lynton Crosby told the ministers present that the Tories would probably lose the election if it was held today or tomorrow. But, as I report in the Mail on Sunday, he stressed that the election was still 16 months away so the Tories had time to turn things round. He emphasised that they should play up that Cameron is a man with a plan and attack Ed Miliband and Labour foir being opportunistic, something that is already showing up in Crosby’s polling.
Strikingly, Crosby also told them that the ‘cost of living’ didn’t have the salience with voters that the Westminster Village thinks it does. He ordered them not to get dragged onto Ed Miliband’s turf and constantly spend their time trying to respond to Labour on this issue.
Cameron is clearly persuaded by this analysis. Just hours later, he warned a select group of Tory MPs that if the Tories got sucked into a bidding war on the cost of living they would lose the next election.
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