Wednesday, February 25, 2015
By James Forsyth for The Mail on Sunday
Published: 00:08 GMT, 19 October 2014 | Updated: 09:17 GMT, 19 October 2014
One of the biggest beasts in the Tory jungle beat out a warning to David Cameron this week.
On Tuesday, Cameron invited his MPs to a private meeting. With the help of his campaign supremo – the straight-talking Australian Lynton Crosby – he set out how the party planned to fight the Rochester by-election and his broader political strategy. He then invited questions.
With his jacket off, Cameron confidently responded to a host of suggestions. Then, the former chancellor Ken Clarke leant forward, not to ask a question but to deliver a stark warning.
Scroll down for video
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Challenge: Ken Clarke (left) told David Cameron (right) that he was playing into Nigel Farage’s hands
Clarke, who had been a fixture in every Tory government since Ted Heath’s until Cameron retired him in the last reshuffle, growled that by talking up immigration, Cameron was playing into Nigel Farage’s hands. He argued the Tories should not try to out-Ukip Ukip and attempt to satisfy the public’s ‘insatiable appetite’ for action on immigration. Instead, he said, the Tories should be concentrating on the economy.
Those present tell me that hackles were raised by the intervention. Those on the right thought it was Clarke – one of the last pro-Europeans in the party – being drippingly Wet. A surprisingly large number of Tory MPs, however, feel that the old stager has a point. They worry that the leadership is losing sight of its own agenda and they complain that the party has said almost nothing in the past fortnight about the popular tax cuts it unveiled at its conference earlier this month.
Cameron countered Clarke with a robust defence of his strategy. I’m informed that he rose to his feet and said ‘the people are our bosses’ and that if voters are concerned about immigration, their representatives should be too.
It is hard to imagine Cameron making this case nine years ago when he was elected leader of the party. But his time in charge has changed him. Cameron is now convinced public concern over immigration is a serious threat to his prospects of re-election. As one senior Downing Street figure puts it: ‘When you face a potent threat, you have to defang it.’
The Tories’ own research shows that unless Cameron can convince a key section of the electorate that he can regain control of immigration from Europe, they are likely to lose the election. This is why Cameron in recent weeks has ridden roughshod over Whitehall objections to make the principle of free movement part of his renegotiation plan.
The rise of Ukip means that Cameron is having to play electoral chess against two opponents simultaneously. One senior figure in the Tory high command says: ‘You’ve got to take the other guy’s pieces off the board as well as advancing your own.’
In other words, Cameron has to neutralise Ukip’s attempt to outflank him on immigration and block Labour’s NHS gambit so that he can try to checkmate Miliband on the economy.
The Ukip leadership is contemptuous of Cameron’s efforts on immigration. They believe that he is simply talking up an issue that only they have the answer to; leaving the EU and regaining control of the UK’s borders.
Worryingly for Cameron, some influential figures in his own party agree. One senior backbencher laments that: ‘It is not possible now to convince people we get immigration.’
Other campaign veterans argue that Cameron has made the right move with election day still months away. We won’t have that long to wait to see who is right. The Tory/Ukip showdown in Rochester is on November 20.
..........................................................................................................................................................................
Does David Cameron really want to put himself at Labour’s mercy just six months out from a General Election? For that is what his plan to opt back into the European Arrest Warrant is doing.
If Britain is to re-join this controversial EU agreement, which facilitates the arrest and extradition of British subjects at the request of any EU country, Parliament will have to vote to do so by December 1.
But Tory number crunchers are convinced that so many of their own backbenchers are opposed to it that Cameron will have to rely on Labour support.
For now, Labour says it will help Cameron out. One source close to Miliband declares: ‘We’re not playing politics with this. We’re not going to be soft on crime.’
But a Downing Street hand cautions: ‘If the principal party of Opposition have a chance to screw the Government, you have to think there’s a good chance they’ll take it.’
.............................................................................................................................................................................
Will Chuka do the business as gloves come off?
Chuka Umunna believes he can drive a wedge between the Tories and their business supporters
The Coalition gloves are coming off. Tory activists have been campaigning in Twickenham to oust the Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable.
Tomorrow, Cable himself will go up against his departmental junior Matt Hancock at the CBI as the main parties pitch for business support.
Hancock, a Tory MP, will take a shot at his boss, declaring ‘you can’t be pro-business if you use anti-business rhetoric’.
Cable is now up against two men half his age; he’s 71 and Hancock and Labour’s shadow business secretary, Chuka Umunna, are both 36.
Big business is worried about Labour’s economic agenda.
But Umunna, right, believes that he can drive a wedge between the Tories and their business supporters by warning of the economic uncertainty an EU referendum would create.
As politicians lose trust, what others say about them becomes more important.
The Tories will be hoping that business does to Labour what it did to Scottish independence.
..........................................................................................................................................................................
Dave’s on a sticky wicket at No 10
THE Yorkshire Cricket team had quite the tour of London to celebrate their county championship triumph. Accompanied by the much-loved former umpire Dickie Bird, they started with a visit to Buckingham Palace to see the Duke of Edinburgh, continued with drinks in the Cabinet Room with David Cameron at Downing Street and finished in the Speaker’s House at the Commons.
Cameron didn’t escape some sledging when he entertained the Yorkshire squad at No 10. The Selby MP Nigel Adams, who had organised the visit, urged Cameron to pose with the Championship chalice as being an ‘Oxfordshire MP this will be the nearest you get to a cricket trophy’.
.............................................................................................................................................................................
Quotes of the Week
‘The rape was not violent. He didn’t cause any bodily harm to the person. It was unpleasant and she was... she had far too much to drink.’
TV presenter Judy Finnigan sparks controversy talking about the release of rapist footballer Ched Evans.
‘Good grief! Did Blue Ivy get hold of the scissors? It has to be a wig, surely?’
An on-line commenter wonders whether Beyoncé’s new fringe was the work of her two-year-old daughter.
Surely this hairstyle is not the work of a two-year-old let loose with a pair of scissors on her mother's hair
‘If only you could tell me where I’ll be living in eight months...’
David Cameron on whether to send his daughter to a secondary school near Downing Street.
‘A hundred years ago, who could vote here? To have that so flippantly ignored in that ‘‘I take drugs and tell not very funny jokes’’ way, it’s very poor.’
Former Sex Pistol John Lydon lambastes comedian Russell Brand for telling young people not to vote.
‘There is absolutely no case for a £39,000-a-year member of staff in an important, valued profession to strike. You should be ashamed.’
Former Health Minister Edwina Currie, in a radio debate with a representative of midwives taking industrial action.
‘If he had walked into my studio 30 years ago I would not have been responsible for my actions.’
Miriam Gonzalez Durantez gives her advice
Kirsty Young, of Desert Island Discs, says she felt lucky she was interviewing Welsh crooner Tom Jones in his autumn years.
‘Harrison Ford or Robert De Niro will never represent their country at the Chatting Olympics.’
TV host Graham Norton reveals which of his A-list guests haven’t lived up to expectations.
‘It’s more exciting to see someone like Leona Lewis sing a fantastic song than look at a chocolate eclair.’
The X Factor’s Simon Cowell offers his views on reality TV rival The Great British Bake Off.
‘Women have been faking lots of things during history. No? So if you’re going to fake something, fake self-confidence.’
Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, the wife of Nick Clegg, tells timid young women to pretend to be confident until they are.
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Published: 00:08 GMT, 19 October 2014 | Updated: 09:17 GMT, 19 October 2014
One of the biggest beasts in the Tory jungle beat out a warning to David Cameron this week.
On Tuesday, Cameron invited his MPs to a private meeting. With the help of his campaign supremo – the straight-talking Australian Lynton Crosby – he set out how the party planned to fight the Rochester by-election and his broader political strategy. He then invited questions.
With his jacket off, Cameron confidently responded to a host of suggestions. Then, the former chancellor Ken Clarke leant forward, not to ask a question but to deliver a stark warning.
Scroll down for video
Clarke, who had been a fixture in every Tory government since Ted Heath’s until Cameron retired him in the last reshuffle, growled that by talking up immigration, Cameron was playing into Nigel Farage’s hands. He argued the Tories should not try to out-Ukip Ukip and attempt to satisfy the public’s ‘insatiable appetite’ for action on immigration. Instead, he said, the Tories should be concentrating on the economy.
Those present tell me that hackles were raised by the intervention. Those on the right thought it was Clarke – one of the last pro-Europeans in the party – being drippingly Wet. A surprisingly large number of Tory MPs, however, feel that the old stager has a point. They worry that the leadership is losing sight of its own agenda and they complain that the party has said almost nothing in the past fortnight about the popular tax cuts it unveiled at its conference earlier this month.
Cameron countered Clarke with a robust defence of his strategy. I’m informed that he rose to his feet and said ‘the people are our bosses’ and that if voters are concerned about immigration, their representatives should be too.
It is hard to imagine Cameron making this case nine years ago when he was elected leader of the party. But his time in charge has changed him. Cameron is now convinced public concern over immigration is a serious threat to his prospects of re-election. As one senior Downing Street figure puts it: ‘When you face a potent threat, you have to defang it.’
The Tories’ own research shows that unless Cameron can convince a key section of the electorate that he can regain control of immigration from Europe, they are likely to lose the election. This is why Cameron in recent weeks has ridden roughshod over Whitehall objections to make the principle of free movement part of his renegotiation plan.
The rise of Ukip means that Cameron is having to play electoral chess against two opponents simultaneously. One senior figure in the Tory high command says: ‘You’ve got to take the other guy’s pieces off the board as well as advancing your own.’
In other words, Cameron has to neutralise Ukip’s attempt to outflank him on immigration and block Labour’s NHS gambit so that he can try to checkmate Miliband on the economy.
The Ukip leadership is contemptuous of Cameron’s efforts on immigration. They believe that he is simply talking up an issue that only they have the answer to; leaving the EU and regaining control of the UK’s borders.
Worryingly for Cameron, some influential figures in his own party agree. One senior backbencher laments that: ‘It is not possible now to convince people we get immigration.’
Other campaign veterans argue that Cameron has made the right move with election day still months away. We won’t have that long to wait to see who is right. The Tory/Ukip showdown in Rochester is on November 20.
..........................................................................................................................................................................
Does David Cameron really want to put himself at Labour’s mercy just six months out from a General Election? For that is what his plan to opt back into the European Arrest Warrant is doing.
If Britain is to re-join this controversial EU agreement, which facilitates the arrest and extradition of British subjects at the request of any EU country, Parliament will have to vote to do so by December 1.
But Tory number crunchers are convinced that so many of their own backbenchers are opposed to it that Cameron will have to rely on Labour support.
For now, Labour says it will help Cameron out. One source close to Miliband declares: ‘We’re not playing politics with this. We’re not going to be soft on crime.’
But a Downing Street hand cautions: ‘If the principal party of Opposition have a chance to screw the Government, you have to think there’s a good chance they’ll take it.’
.............................................................................................................................................................................
Will Chuka do the business as gloves come off?
Chuka Umunna believes he can drive a wedge between the Tories and their business supportersThe Coalition gloves are coming off. Tory activists have been campaigning in Twickenham to oust the Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable.
Tomorrow, Cable himself will go up against his departmental junior Matt Hancock at the CBI as the main parties pitch for business support.
Hancock, a Tory MP, will take a shot at his boss, declaring ‘you can’t be pro-business if you use anti-business rhetoric’.
Cable is now up against two men half his age; he’s 71 and Hancock and Labour’s shadow business secretary, Chuka Umunna, are both 36.
Big business is worried about Labour’s economic agenda.
But Umunna, right, believes that he can drive a wedge between the Tories and their business supporters by warning of the economic uncertainty an EU referendum would create.
As politicians lose trust, what others say about them becomes more important.
The Tories will be hoping that business does to Labour what it did to Scottish independence.
..........................................................................................................................................................................
Dave’s on a sticky wicket at No 10
THE Yorkshire Cricket team had quite the tour of London to celebrate their county championship triumph. Accompanied by the much-loved former umpire Dickie Bird, they started with a visit to Buckingham Palace to see the Duke of Edinburgh, continued with drinks in the Cabinet Room with David Cameron at Downing Street and finished in the Speaker’s House at the Commons.
Cameron didn’t escape some sledging when he entertained the Yorkshire squad at No 10. The Selby MP Nigel Adams, who had organised the visit, urged Cameron to pose with the Championship chalice as being an ‘Oxfordshire MP this will be the nearest you get to a cricket trophy’.
.............................................................................................................................................................................
Quotes of the Week
‘The rape was not violent. He didn’t cause any bodily harm to the person. It was unpleasant and she was... she had far too much to drink.’
TV presenter Judy Finnigan sparks controversy talking about the release of rapist footballer Ched Evans.
‘Good grief! Did Blue Ivy get hold of the scissors? It has to be a wig, surely?’
An on-line commenter wonders whether Beyoncé’s new fringe was the work of her two-year-old daughter.
‘If only you could tell me where I’ll be living in eight months...’
David Cameron on whether to send his daughter to a secondary school near Downing Street.
‘A hundred years ago, who could vote here? To have that so flippantly ignored in that ‘‘I take drugs and tell not very funny jokes’’ way, it’s very poor.’
Former Sex Pistol John Lydon lambastes comedian Russell Brand for telling young people not to vote.
‘There is absolutely no case for a £39,000-a-year member of staff in an important, valued profession to strike. You should be ashamed.’
Former Health Minister Edwina Currie, in a radio debate with a representative of midwives taking industrial action.
‘If he had walked into my studio 30 years ago I would not have been responsible for my actions.’
Kirsty Young, of Desert Island Discs, says she felt lucky she was interviewing Welsh crooner Tom Jones in his autumn years.
‘Harrison Ford or Robert De Niro will never represent their country at the Chatting Olympics.’
TV host Graham Norton reveals which of his A-list guests haven’t lived up to expectations.
‘It’s more exciting to see someone like Leona Lewis sing a fantastic song than look at a chocolate eclair.’
The X Factor’s Simon Cowell offers his views on reality TV rival The Great British Bake Off.
‘Women have been faking lots of things during history. No? So if you’re going to fake something, fake self-confidence.’
Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, the wife of Nick Clegg, tells timid young women to pretend to be confident until they are.
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