David Cameron drafted in three showmen – Arnold Schwarzenegger, Boris Johnson and Michael Heseltine – to help to launch a “great Conservative fightback” yesterday.

Mr Cameron introduced the California Governor in Santa Monica via a live video link. The Hollywood star’s last-minute cancellation had threatened to cause serious embarrassment amid claims that he did not want to be associated with Mr Cameron.

In the event, Mr Schwarzenegger heaped praise on the Tory leader’s efforts to raise the issue of climate change and was too tactful to reprise either of his most famous lines. To the relief of Tory press officers he used a variation of his “I’ll be back” catch-phrase, saying: “I hope to be there in person next year” – not “Hasta la vista baby!”

The Tories’ newly-selected candidate for London Mayor was most enthusiastically received. Boris Johnson pledged to establish “common sense government for the first time in a generation” by beating the Labour incumbent next May: “Ken Livingstone and Gordon Brown have got to realise that they can’t keep taxing and bullying and delivering so little in return.”

His speech, which received a standing ovation, followed an address by Lord Heseltine, who proposed a “bonfire” of central government targets to free up local authorities.

The former deputy prime minister, head of the Tories’ Cities Taskforce, said that all cities should be run by a new form of mayor – a post that would combine the roles of council leader and chief executive. Invoking the spirit of Winston Churchill, he spoke of the “fight” for Britain’s cities.

The atmosphere was deflated by Michael Bloomberg, New York’s Mayor. A late replacement for Mr Schwarzenegger, he gave warning of a looming global recession.

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