PRESSURE is growing on David Cameron to embark on a shake-up at his party headquarters amid plunging opinion poll ratings.

Members of the Tory leader’s inner circle clashed over the lack of “political drive” at Conservative Central Office ahead of a possible general election in the spring and the perception that Cameron is being “run by his party” rather than leading it. George Bridges, a senior aide, has offered his resignation amid the fallout.

After a disastrous few weeks when the Tories have squabbled over grammar schools, come third in two by-elections and seen Labour widen its lead in the opinion polls after Gordon Brown’s accession, recriminations are starting to fly.

“Nothing is going right at the moment and it is difficult to see a way out of it,” said one insider. “The feeling is that Cameron is now being run by his party, not the other way around.”

Today Cameron faces renewed criticism from his own party for failing to reach out to voters in the north and the Midlands.

Graham Brady, who quit as a shadow minister in the row over grammar schools, said the Conservative leader was failing to make sufficient headway in the key battlegrounds which will decide the next general election and that his appeal was largely restricted to liberal, metropolitan circles.

“The changes David Cameron has made in the Conservative party have been very successful in some places, and have been better at reaching out to a more small ‘l’ liberal, metropolitan mindset, but have not been making the same impact further away from London,” Brady has said.

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