The great and the good of the Conservative Party stare down from the walls of Haltemprice and Howden Conservative Association.

Margaret Thatcher, of course, has a slot. William Hague too. But pride of place, exactly where one would expect to see a beaming portrait of the current Tory leader, sits the other David — Davis, instead of Cameron.

It is 16 months since David Cameron saw off his namesake to become leader of the Party. But, in Mr Davis’s East Yorkshire constituency office, where preparations for the May local council elections are in full swing, Mr Cameron’s picture is strangely absent.

“He was up there,” one volunteer said, “but he fell down and we haven’t found him since then, but we haven’t really been bothered.” Another said that an unframed, crumpled portrait existed. “Then we stacked boxes in front of it.”

It is not just Mr Cameron’s picture that is missing. None of the council campaign literature given to The Times features his name. Eight candidates in wards within the Shadow Home Secretary’s constituency borders are standing pointedly as “Local Conservatives”.

The East Riding of Yorkshire, the nation’s largest unitary authority, covers almost 1,000 square miles (2,600sq km). Nearly 23 per cent of the population are pensioners and the largest age group is 55 to 59. Here the “southern softie” Cameron has been forced into the back seat.

Polling by local Tories has shown that the most important national issues here are crime and immigration. Not many will “vote blue to go green” — only 8 per cent of local voters rated the environment as the issue that most concerned them.

Local Tory councillors insist that Mr Cameron has made it easier for them to talk to nonConservative voters. But the Tory faithful — half of the region’s population live in rural communities — have made it clear that here they are still backing DD over DC.

“David Davis is a man’s man,” said Ros Jump, 59, also standing in the ward. “Cameron is seen as a southern softie. I don’t go out of my way to talk about David Cameron. As far as everyone around here is concerned, David Davis is the leader.”

Doreen Engall, a Tory councillor for 32 years, said: “We would have seen David Davis, our local lad, at the helm. I think he’s closer to the grass-roots. He’s the man for all people, rather than a man for all seasons.”

In Gilberdyke, in the centre of Mr Davis’s consituency, Councillor Bernard Darley is more forthright. “I think we’ve to be more hard line,” he said. “Not all this bloomin’ hug a hoody and softly, softly.”

Mr Darley, 60, a retired factory worker with his forename tatooed on his forearm, has been a Tory councillor in Howdenshire for 30 years. But he was deselected by the Tories after a local spat, and is standing as an independent.

Paul Robinson, a company director who was selected in his place, has raised some eyebrows.At 45 he is somewhat younger and more dynamic than most of the local Tories, and in an attempt to bolster support for Mr Cameron is telling local voters that the Tory leadership is a broad coalition.

“We’re reassuring people that it’s David Cameron with David Davis and William Hague all working together,” Mr Robinson said, “We tell them that they meet together every morning.”

East Riding of Yorkshire

Unitary Authority
Population 327,400
Electorate 261,626
Budget 2007-08 £212.7 million
Black and minority ethnic population 1.5 per cent. The largest group are Indian, numbering 1,400
Wards 26

Present council 67 councillors under no overall control
Conservative 29
Liberal Democrat 22
Labour 8
Independent 6
SDP 2

Candidates for 2007 election
68 Conservative
66 Liberal Democrat
61 Labour
24 Independent
5 SDP
4 BNP
3 Green
3 Other

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