Davis Building Up a Head of Steam

With the MPs looking set to have the decisive say over the next leader of our party- while riding roughshod over the views of the members that get them elected- it is hard to know how the runners stand in the race for the leadership. Late-night whiskies, secret assurances, and job promises have at least as much of a bearing as column inches and gushing newspaper profiles. Interested observers are forced to wait for our new figurehead as plotters plot and lieutenants hack their colleagues on behalf of their patrons.
So news of public declarations of support from MPs is like leaked information from the papal conclave- the small, secretive electorate are hard to read. So it was that this article certainly cheered the soul of every real Tory:

"The Davis campaign, boosted yesterday by support from two former Clarke lieutenants, Damian Green and Ian Taylor, has established real momentum – in marked contrast to everyone else."

The writer, Nick Wood, is very well placed in the Conservative party, and this column also appeared in the Evening (sub)Standard. While the modernisers and Left flail to find a poster boy, the conservative wing of the Conservative party are getting on with the job. 'The socialists can dream their dreams, the liberals can scheme their schemes, but we have work to do!!'

Modernisers with Nowhere to Go!!

A good post from my friends over at David Davis for Leader Blog, showing that the modernisers seem to not know where to turn. With Lansley, Yeo, Clarke, Cameron, Duncan, Green and others all considering a bid for glory, it is easy to be reminded of 'the Seven Dwarves' who ran for the Democratic nomination in 1988 and in 2005. Still, all to the benefit of serious candidates like David Davis and Liam Fox.

Davis' Support Confirmed

Majority of Conservative Party members back David Davis for leader. A YouGov poll for the Telegraph which asked both Party members and voters who they would rate as their first or second choice for leader shows 54 per cent of Conservative Party members support David Davis; 30 per cent backed the Shadow Education Secretary, David Cameron, 24 per cent supported Liam Fox, the Shadow Foreign Secretary and 19 per cent backed Kenneth Clarke the former Chancellor. A leader in the paper urged all potential candidates to begin to sell themselves now, rather than wait for the contest to be officially declared: “Potential candidates should not make personal attacks on each other, but that need not stop proper policy debate. It is no good waiting until the whistle blows for the official start of the leadership campaign. That may not be before September, when the party's National Convention meets to decide on the election rules. Meanwhile, public support for the Party is ebbing away. In these exceptional circumstances, members of the Shadow Cabinet should not feel bound by a collective responsibility for policies that nobody dares articulate, because nobody is quite sure what they are. The debate on the Conservatives’ future must start right now – and all party members should feel free to speak their minds openly.” In a letter to the paper, former Prime Minister, Sir John Major, clarified earlier comments made in an interview (see Reform Media Summary, 31 May 2005) and denied that he had ever “hinted” that he would support a challenge by Kenneth Clarke to stop David Davis – “I did no such thing”, he said (Telegraph, p.1, p.4, p.21 [leader]).



Kenneth Clarke faces backlash from right-wing Conservative MPs about his allies’ comments that the French ‘no’ vote means that he can now become leader (FT, p.4; Mail, p.20).

Time to Go!!

This Guardian article unsurprisingly has it completely arse over tit. It seems to me that it is time for Michael Howard to do the decent thing and go before this whole thing becomes a farce. Rather than gerrymander the leadership contest, remove the power from hard-working members like me and my colleagues, and try and desparately promote 'boy wonder' (aka the vacant David Cameron), Mr Howard should realise that his is a quixotic effort. The party is not for turning; we don't want to modernise into the right of the Liberal Democrats; and we want someone who will stand up for timeless Tory values- lowering taxes, shrinking the state, traditional values rather than fashionable relativism, and securing our borders. No matter how much time we are given, we are not going to be taken in by the patronising preaching of the 'Notting Hill set': people who think cultural elitism, soggy pro-state big spending and being 'nice' will connect with 'ordinary voters'. What an 'extra-ordinary' idea!!

Ken Clarke's 'Vanity Tour 2005' is playing to empty venues up and down the land. French-loving federasts are oh-so popular in Britain, and the man who stabbed Margaret in the back will get the loyalty that he deserves- none!!

Mr Howard, I am sorry. The party is not going to 'change' into something that betrays its values. Nobbling the rules STILL won't get you the result you want. It is time to go. Bye, and thanks for the memories.

David on Frost

DD set out a very seductive stall for the leadership on the Frost show. I also liked his clarity on the need for party democracy and the freedom for MPs to dissent from the leadership.

The Modernisers and Democracy

Good to see that people are getting justifiably angry about the power grab by the modernisers to stitch-up the party. This blog is not just about getting the right man to lead the party- and to further the values that have made the Conservative Party great- but also about safeguarding our right to pick who we stuff envelopes for. Thank God that we have [i]some[/i] members of the parliamentary party who don't think that we are all idiots.

More Declare for Davis

I am pleased to announce that a great new blog has announced for David Davis. It seems that cyberspace is reaching critical mass, and if DD is as good at courting his fellow MPs as he is party members then he should be a shoe-in.
From what I have been hearing from fellow party members, and from the amount of blogging support for Mr Davis, other potential conservative candidates should carefully weigh up their options.
This blog originally started in order to head off the conservative Cassandras, nay-sayers and lefties who said that our party had to renounce our heritage and beliefs. It is clear that we need one mainstream Conservative leadership candidate who can put our beliefs clearly and loudly. Personal vanity or petty rivalry should not get in the way of the pursuit of conservative values. Other candidates should weigh up how much public support they enjoy throughout the party- whether or not our democratic right to pick our leader is taken away from us- and unite behind the best-placed conservative to win- not just the bast-placed Conservative. If that is David Davis- as increasingly seems likely- the likes of Fox, Redwood and Rosindell should expect to be rewarded accordingly in the fullness of time. Our party used to put a premium on loyalty, and only when we get in line and stick to our mission will we be ready for government again.