David Cracknell Political Editor
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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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It is amazing that Cameron has not cottonned on to this fundamental point. On the social scale, the A's, B's will invariably vote Tory.
The D's, E's & F's will invariably vote Labour. So we have the C1's & C2's who will decide the next election. Blair recognised this as he went for the "Mondeo Man" in 1997 and succeeded.
Cameron has gone for the green, beards-and-sandals vote which he will never persuade - only amuse.
The C1's & C2's (the thinking minority) want small government with associated lower tax, less interference from Brussels, tight immigration controls, punishment to fit the crime and GRAMMAR SCHOOLS! Maybe this is too complicated for dear David to comprehend. If Cameron is Tory leader at the next election, I will not vote Conservative which will be for the first time in my 63 years.
Raymond Lundquist, Walton on Thames, England
Perhaps Mr Cameron is the best example of a current 'leader' who has done nothing productive nationally outside politics in his life and expects to carry the nation's confidence based soley on spin and popularist promises. How could anyone speak for the nation unless they have experienced the effects of good and bad government in the management of their (and their familie's) daily lives.
There are too many of them in the House of Commons.
Tony Murphy, Dorchester, UK
When Cameron gets round to presenting policies rather than PR and stunts then he may do better in the polls. Unfortunately i dont feel he has any ideas of his own so he relies on his spin doctors and the media.Comparing him with Sarkozy in France who set out his policies clearly to the public Cameron is not in the same league.It may be to late for the Tories if Brown call an election in the spring.
Bill Rees, Pieusse, France
I don't trust a former PR man. Stop the spin and stop making policies on the hoof. We want substance. The sad thing is that I might be forced to vote Labour come the election.
la, London,
So all of the recent council election successes were in London and not the rest of the U.K.? Would some Conservatives rather see a Gordon Brown election victory than exercise some party discipline. Have they forgotten that not too long ago Labour Party internal wars almost brought them to ruin. It was discipline and belated self interest that brought them to power and keeps their M.P.s in line.
Is the plan to give every Conservative M.P. a few months as leader. Perhaps we have stopped voting Conservative because we haven't a clue what the Party is playing at.
Richard, Newcastle,
It's no accident that both Rory Bremner and Dead Ringers' impersonations of David Cameron sound exactly like their versions of Peter Mandelson. It's obcession with Notting Hill style and spin, rather than middle English substance. It's a straneg world where a Scottish Labour Prime Minister is a better voice for middle England than a London-based Conservative Leader.
John, Hounslow,
If the conservative party is to survive, Conservatives must conftont the fact that a growing number of voters are rejecting their leader David Cameron and the fact that core party support is draining away.
Conservatives need to ask themselves, what will they do when the Liberal Democrats change their leader, which of course they will.
David Cameron has not moved the party to the center ground, he has moved it so far to the left that Gordon Brown of all people has outflanked it to the right.
At the moment the party has a disaster on its hands,
If Conservatives don't change both their direction and leader they will have a catastrophe to deal with.
Humpty Dumpty can not be put back together again.
Richard Beddall, Newcastle U Lyme., UK