At the weekend, my fellow editor Tim Montgomerie posted a piece stating that "The Tories are heading for a landslide victory". He went on to predict a Conservative majority in the Commons of 100 after the next general election. Whilst this outcome would be desirable, I am going to assert my prerogative as co-editor of […]
Yesterday I spoke at Labour’s Progress conference. I accepted the invitation before I knew my slot would clash with Arsenal V Man Utd and I had to reject the offer of a ticket for the game. Never mind! The invitation to address the workshop came in mid-August. The topic: "Is the Cameron effect wearing thin?" […]
Praise for David Cameron’s immigration policy from an unexpected source this morning; former Labour GLA member and the new chief of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Trevor Phillips: "For the first time in my adult life I heard a party leader clearly attempting to deracialise the issue of immigration and to treat it like […]
David Cameron has just addressed a conference of the CDU/CSU in Berlin. He has used the speech to distance himself from the liberal interventionism of Bush and Blair. The speech should not come as a surprise. David Cameron has not visited Washington since becoming Tory leader and has ridiculed the idea that “you can drop […]
The Gummer-Goldsmith report has, as ConservativeHome feared, done the party a lot of damage. It risks making us look like a high-tax party out of touch with ordinary families. And for what benefit? Nothing Britain does on its own will make a difference to climate change. As the Copenhagen Consensus powerfully argues: there are many […]
Oliver Letwin’s sixth policy group will report later this week and it’s an interesting question as to what David Cameron’s head of policy will do then? It is Francis Maude, I understand, who has the job of converting all policy ideas into usable form. The sixth policy group – on the environment and the broader […]
Michael Ancram’s warning to David Cameron dominates this morning’s headlines. His warning for the party not to lose its soul is the main story on BBC Online. I woke up to it at 6am when his Still A Conservative pamphlet led the Today programme. He gets the main headline story in The Telegraph. I like […]
Earlier today I noted an important interview that David Cameron gave to the Yorkshire Post. In that interview he promised to emphasise social breakdown in a likely autumn General Election. Although the party must have strong and coherent policies on economic issues I think Mr Cameron may be judging things about right. It’s not quite […]
Fraser Nelson authors an article in this week’s Spectator (not yet online) that speculates about the possibility of a fourth Tory defeat and who might then succeed a defeated David Cameron. His hook for the article is the string of recent bad news stories for the party and Trevor Kavanagh’s widely-reported prediction that ‘Brown will […]
Bruce Anderson criticises David Cameron today for failing to deliver the grittier Conservatism promised at the new year. The failure to deliver that grit means, he writes, the party has lost momentum. When Fleet Street’s leading defender of Project Cameron – Daniel Finkelstein excepted – becomes critical, Team Cameron should take notice. Mr Anderson’s critique […]
In an article for The Observer the shadow housing minister Michael Gove argues that David Cameron is setting the political agenda. Mr Gove, expected to join the shadow cabinet in the imminent reshuffle, points to (1) leadership on the environment and the family, (2) opposition to top-down control of the public services and (3) preference […]
Earlier today I highlighted Oliver Letwin’s socio-centric article in The Times and worried about his opaque choice of phrases. In the speech he made at Policy Exchange he admitted that it was all part of a grand plan: "There is a reason why I have been using this ridiculous, high-falutin language. I want to make […]
Perhaps I should be more worried than I am but I do not sense that Scotland voted for independence last Thursday. Those votes that were counted were largely cast for Unionist parties and all democrats can welcome the end of Labour’s fifty year dominance north of the border. The main worry is that a nationalistic […]
An overnight email from the Direct Democracy campaigning group to its subscribers warns the Conservative Party against diluting members’ right to select candidates at the next European elections: "The Conservative Party has in recent years taken the lead in opening itself up to democracy – in contrast to Labour, party members have the decisive vote […]
As today’s YouGov poll shows – Wednesday’s Budget has not fooled the British people. The Conservative lead is higher since Gordon Brown got to his feet than it was before. Wednesday’s Budget has done nothing to alter the course of the British economy or the growth of the British state. Under Gordon Brown, Britain has […]