Old pals fall out as Mercer calls Cameron an "arse"

Hardly what the Prime Minister would want to hear from one of his backbenchers.

However Patrick Mercer predicted that David Cameron would be ousted in a backbench coup next spring and was said to have told a guest he would "rather take a beggar off the street" and put them in Downing Street than have his party leader in Number 10.



They have a little history of course.The former Army officer was sacked as a shadow minister by Mr Cameron in 2007 for making inappropriate comments about ethnic minority soldiers.

The criticisms were reported in yesterday's Sunday Mirror which said that Mercer said oif his boss“He’s a most ­despicable creature without any redeeming features.”

He called Mr Cameron “an arse”, adding: “I loathe him.”

According to PA

Mr Mercer repeatedly declined to discuss the alleged comments during a guest appearance on BBC Radio 5 Live's Pienaar's Politics programme.Pressed several times by host John Pienaar to state whether he had made the remarks, he said: "I am not going to discuss it."

The Conservative Party said it had no comment on the alleged outburst but added that such remarks did not necessarily merit disciplinary action. There was no comment from Downing Street.

Cameron's three point plan for recovery

David Cameron then on the offensive this morning in the FT accusing people of talking down the economy.

"I am confident that we can both resolve the crises at hand and come through them with an economy that is stronger and fundamentally fairer".he writes in the paper putting forward a three point proposal for recovery which includes tackling the debts,strengthening the competitiveness of our economy and unlocking global trade.

The Prime Minister writes ahead of what will certainly be quite awful growth figures to be released later this week.

He adds that strong growth alone is not the goal. For too long the British economy has been characterised by unfairness and imbalance; short-term thinking and short-term gains.

Cameron tackles the question nobody wants to talk about

Liam Fox may have taken taken centre stage today but it's worth focusing on our Prime Minister's speech at lunchtime where he outlined the government’s plans to get a grip on immigration into Britain.

The speech at the Institute for Government saw Mr Cameron outline a number of proposals including

stricter tests on the genuineness of a relationship for those wishing to bring partners to the UK

setting a minimum income level for those wishing to bring spouses and family here to ensure they are not placing a burden on the taxpayer

making spouses wait longer - five not two years - before they can apply to settle here, to help ensure their relationship is genuine

introducing new legislation to ensure registrars are able refuse to perform wedding ceremonies which they know to be a sham

rewriting the citizenship test to make sure British history and culture is at its heart and

rewriting the immigration rules to help prevent Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights being abused

It is of course the topic that nobody wants to talk about but it seems the PM's speech has been fairly well received in most quarters and like Europe will attract the pats on the back from his own party.

However the crux of the speech may well be floored.

Daniel Knowles writing in the Telegraph just prior to the speech claimed that there is no evidence at all that large numbers of migrants entering by the family route are living on welfare, or that current policy is failing to deal adequately with the problem of forced marriages

The big speech-the verdict-Bulldog or tired hound?

So what did we all make of the big speech this afternoon.

The consensus seems to be that it was a bit of a damp squib but here is some of the reaction.

Polly Toynbee

Most of this speech could be made by any party – same pieties, same promises to protect the vulnerable, promote enterprise and return Britain to greatness. How is anyone to tell parties apart, except by actions? The gap between Cameron's words and what's happening is growing

Martin Kettle

It may be clever, but it could also be too clever by half. It's the smartness of the political consultant and the professional adviser winning out over the reality and fear of the lives that most people live in potentially double-dip recessionary times.

Peter Hoskin

As for hard policy, there was little of that — but that's how it has been this week. In the end, Cameron's speech today was more about mood. It merged realism about the grey mire of the present with optimism about the future. It contained a healthy sprinkling of crowd-pleasers. It was celebratory and buoyant. Yes, this conference has been flat on the whole. But, so far as it matters, Cameron has just injected some bounce into its final step.

Tim Montgomorie

was this the time to remind people of Cameron's broader, gentler conservatism? A Belgian bank has gone bust. Italy's being downgraded. American politics is in gridlock. I hoped this Conference would give us much more on growth.

Samira Shackle

Cameron looked tired and sounded hoarse, which was unfortunate given his emphasis on "can-do optimism". There wasn't much here in the way of policy, simply an attempt to encourage positivity - a tough call in the face of inconvenient facts, such as the news today that growth figures are being revised down.

Ann Treneman

“This was the speech that put the Great back into Great Britain. It was a bulldog speech, a stand against sogginess and people who would rather sit down than stand up. It was a pep talk with so much energy that it was practically sprinting around the convention hall. It was marvellously upbeat and, probably, just a little bit bonkers.”

Rachel Sylvester

“This wasn’t a game changer speech but it didn’t have to be - the game will be won or lost in the eurozone, on the financial markets and on the shop floor. It was a successful balancing act - between optimism and pessimism, social and economic priorities, modernity and tradition, heart and head. No more “let sunshine win the day” the storm has broken and now the tory leader is promising to turn around the ship. That’s fine as rhetoric but what matters is reality. The fate of the prime minister and his party will be determined elsewhere.”

Peter Kirkup

The keynote of the speech is, of course, leadership. Mr Cameron is pitching himself as the man to lead us into the battle to come. Quietly, he’s recasting himself, changing his role from sunshine kid to economic war leader. As ever, Mr Cameron doesn’t want for self-belief. But he’s betting ever greater sums on himself. Voters first warmed to him and his optimism during sunnier days. Now, under darkening skies, will they think him tough enough for the struggle that lies ahead?

Christine Blower

"Yet again we see the myth being peddled that the academies and Free Schools programmes are the answer to a good education in this country. The Prime Minister knows just as well as his education secretary that it is good leadership, teaching and proper funding which makes a difference in schools, not its status.

James Forsyth

Cameron’s delivery wasn’t his best but it was still enough to best the other two leaders. He did, though, occasionally move up a gear, like when he explained why what the coalition was doing with the economy was the equivalent of laying foundations.
Overall, it wasn’t a great speech or a vintage performance. But it did, broadly, what it needed to do.

Whilst political scrapbook point out that

The only British company to be namechecked in David Cameron’s conference speech has donated more than £4 million pounds to the Conservative Party in the last ten years, figures reveal. After citing a string of American firms based in the UK and alluding to manufacturing sectors, the only UK company to be mentioned by name was heavy vehicle manufacturer JCB.

Cameron and his women problem

The Tories obviously believe that they have a problem in attracting the votes of women.

Over the weekend David Cameron sought out the press to explain that far from being the old fashioned Tory who told women their place,he was reaching out as a 21st century man rather than aping his recent conduct in the Commons towards fellow MP Nadine Dorries or opposition spokesman Angela Eagle.

Cameron told the Sunday Times that

What I find frustrating is that I'm not the kind of, I'm not sort of one of the lads. Actually, you know, most of my, I mean one of my best friends ... When I go out ... it's always ... oh, I'm not explaining this properly.

There is little doubt that the female vote probably cost the Tories any overall majority at the last election as polls around that time gave them a 10 point lead over Labour among men ,but only a 5 point lead among women.

According to Mary Ann Sieghart,writing in this morning's Independent,only 13 per cent of women say that the Conservatives are the party that best understands and reflects their views.

This reflects in part the coalition's deficit reduction strategy which seems unfairly weighted on the female sex.As Mary Ann continues

Cameron can't, for the moment, abandon his deficit-reduction strategy, though he could do more to encourage growth. But he could reverse the insane childcare cuts, which are pushing women out of jobs just when they should be working. And he could talk more cogently about what he is doing beyond the economy to make women's lives better

A point to which Polly Curtis agrees

Independent research suggests that women are feeling the impact of the cuts more keenly than men, offering another explanation of the trend in women's voting intentions. Cameron's apology may be welcomed, but it is misses the bigger target.

Over at Dale and Co, Deborah Mattinson

I have rarely experienced such anger in a discussion like this. These women were all working very hard. Several were juggling family and more than one job. They all feared losing those jobs in the coming months. Most had endured pay freezes while simultaneously coping with rising bills, especially on essentials like gas, electricity and food. Those with younger kids felt that their ambitions for university had been dashed. Those with older kids wondered if they would ever get a job. While the men were more tolerant of the government's economic strategy the women were personally affronted.

It's not going to go away for the Tories.They have to hope that in four years,the economy will have turned and women start to feel the benefit.Otherwise we are in for another hung Parliament

Miliband attacks Cameron over his handling of the economic crisis-meanwhile Stock markets continue to fall

Labour leader Ed Miliband has launched a scathing attack on the Prime Minister over his handling of the current economic crisis.

In an interview this morning Miliband said

"The Prime Minister may have woken up to the crisis, but he doesn’t have a plan to deal with it.”

The interview was in response to the Prime Minister's speech to the Canadian Parliament overnight in which he warned that the world is close to “staring down the barrel” of economic meltdown.

The Stock markets seem unimpressed with our leaders speech in which he talked of a lack of political will to fix the collective economies.

After opening with a mild recovery after yesterday's losses,the FTSE fell below the 5,000 barrier,down nearly 90 points,or a 1.7 per cent fall.

European markets have faired little better.Germany's Dax lost 2.4 per cent and France's Cac dropped 2.3 per cent.

Government's plan B-Turn the country into a tourist park

So the government has decided that as the country is incapable of producing growth through conventional means it has decided that the country will become a tourist park.

David Cameron is to announce later today in New York a new drive to maximise the economic potential of the London Olympic Games and use it to promote Britain abroad as a place to visit and do business.

According to the press release he will say that

the Government was determined to 'seize this unprecedented opportunity' to ensure that London 2012 delivered a 'lasting economic legacy' for the whole country, boosting investment, jobs and growth.



Tourism,adds the release, will be a key part of the campaign, with the Government aiming to attract an additional 4m visitors to the UK over the next four years. Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics.

Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt said: “With the eyes of the world on Britain in 2012, we have a fantastic opportunity to showcase everything that the country has to offer. The GREAT campaign will ensure that we make the most of London 2012 to boost tourism and business, leaving a lasting economic legacy from London’s Games.”

The early bird

Both leaders have been up bright and early this morning.

Gordon Brown getting a grilling from Jon Humphreys on the Today programme interestingly questioned about his record on the econony pre the banking crisis.

He insisted that he took responsibility for what occurred when he chancellor but said the primary problem had been keeping inflation and interest rates low.

He failed to acknowledge that his policy of creating a credit fueled consumer boom was at least partly responsible for the problems that occurred.

Meanwhile David Cameron was on the sofas of GMTV.He repeated the pledge to ringfence NHS spending whilst insisting that the Tory efficeincy savings could work.

Both leaders were questioned on their political futures.Brown insisting that if he wins he will stand for a full five years whilst Cameron refused to speculate either on what the Conservatives would do in a hung Parliament or whether he would step down if the Conservatives lost the election.

A Reaganesque performance?

Not sure whether James Forsyth over at Coffee House has quite got this right.

He describes David Cameron's performance this morning as Reaganesque

Standing on the terrace of County Hall with Parliament behind him, providing the snappers with some great images, Cameron spoke about the ‘modern Conservative alternative’ to five more years of Gordon Brown. The implicit message was youth and vigour. This was one of those occasions where the visuals matter more than what was actually said.

Bush enters the Northern Ireland fray

The front page of the Guardian this morning focuses on a truly remarkable intervention by former President Bush in Northern Ireland.

Pleading to David Cameron amid widespread concern in the US about the Tories' new electoral pact with the Ulster Unionists,the paper reveals that in a late night phone call last week.

George Bush has made a direct plea to David Cameron to support the Northern Ireland peace process,asking him to use his influence to press his unionist partners to endorse the final stages of the 15-year search for a settlement.

It is an extraordinary intervention,perhaps no more than it shows that George W has alreday decided who is going to win the next election but perhaps more importantly as the same paper's editorial says

The Conservative leader, David Cameron, also needs to face up to what is at stake here. Mr Cameron has put a lot of commitment into restoring the electoral pact between his party and the UUP. He has encouraged the Marquess of Salisbury's reactionary romantic attempt to bring the Tories and the two large unionist parties back under one political roof. As a result he now finds himself simultaneously the leader of a party which began and backs the Northern Ireland peace process and the partner of a party which seems determined to prevent the final cornerstone of that process from being put into place today. This is not a cost-free contradiction in terms, as the US government and bipartisan congressional groups have now made clear. American economic investment in Northern Ireland as well as security are at stake.

Quote of the day

David Cameron has a wider problem with novelty wearing off. For much of the time that he has been the Tory frontman, he has won plaudits simply by appearing to be a different kind of Conservative leader: telegenic and charming where Michael Howard was not, taken seriously as Iain Duncan Smith was not, looking like a winner in a way William Hague never could. He also prospered by not being Gordon Brown. For a long while, it looked like that would be enough to smoothly tide him into Downing Street.

Andrew Rawnsley in the Observer who believes that the Tories may have reached the limits of their strategy

Quote of the day

When you watch David Cameron speak without notes you wonder why they ever let him speak with a text. You can tell when Cameron is on form as he stops and sets himself before he delivers the bit that he hopes will be clipped for the news and he was back to doing that today

James Forsyth-Spectator Coffee House

"Aggressive and personal Cameron"says Clegg

I wonder whether war is breaking out between Nick Clegg and Cameron?

Clegg is in a strong position as

1.we could be heading for a hung parliament.

2.He could be pivotal in the PR debate

3.He will almost certainly put up a strong showing in the election leader debates.

In all these three it is the Tories who will have the most to lose.

Earlier today Clegg was openly critical of the Tory leader's attack on Labour's parliamentary reform calling it a con and adding that the party

had tried to block reform on several occasions, and Cameron was attempting to "hide" his party's failings by being "aggressive and personal

Now David-how committed are you to local government

An interesting piece from David Blackburn over at Coffee House.

He asks how deep is David Cameron’s commitment top empowering local government,arguing that the opposition leaders response to New Local Government Network’s latest report will be an indication.

The main driver to the report is that elected mayors should raise or cut business rates and council tax, and spend the proceeds on local services.

According to Blackburn,

Cameron is determined to extend mayoral representation, so it makes sense for him to adopt the report’s recommendations and augment mayoral power – there is no point in electing a flock of municipal lame ducks.

Cameron says move PMQ's

A little snippet of information from Sky's Jon Craig

David Cameron wants to move PMQs from Wednesday to Thursday if he becomes Prime Minister, adding that

The Tory leader also wants "substantive business" in the Commons on a Thursday, rather than the dross (my word, not his) that fills the order paper on Thursdays these days.

The truth about the 96p tax rate

Jim Pickard unpicks David Cameron's story about the working single mother paying 96p of tax for every £1 earned.

He sets the record straight

Labour has just pointed out that in 1998 (a year after the Tories were removed from power) there were 130,000 families facing marginal deduction rates (the technical definition) of over 90 per cent.
That has fallen to 60,000 thanks to the minimum wage, tax credits and lower income tax.
In fact, in 1998 there were 5,000 families facing 100 per cent deduction rates. Every £1 they earned was then taken in tax. The number is now more or less zero. (See page 90 of the Red Book for full details).

The blogosphere's thoughts on the Cameron speech

Mixed reviews of David Cameron's speech in Manchester this afternoon from the commentators.

Nick Robinson described it as

a speech designed to answer those who say they don't know what he really believes. His answer - a traditional Conservative one - family... community... country.
It was a speech designed too to show what makes him angry - that was Labour's belief that "big government" was the cure rather than the problem.

According to Iain Dale

David Cameron's speech this afternoon was in stark contrast to Osborne's. There was some tough talk but he shared a vision of the kind of Britain he wanted to see and used some very optimistic language. His attacks on Gordon Brown worked well and he showed a real passion. It was a speech seeking to seal a deal with the concerns of those who are not yet convinced by Cameron as a person or his own brand of politics. It was light on policy details, but so it should have been. Other members of his team provided enough meaty proposals during the course of the week. What I wanted from Cameron was what I got - a total contrast to Gordon Brown's machine gun speech last week.

John Rentoul was underwelmed

David Cameron took my advice after all. That was a "just come to Manchester, keep your head down and let Labour lose the next election" speech.

In contrast Frazer Nelson says

This was one of the best speeches I have heard David Cameron give. It may not have been a masterpiece of oratory, he may have read from notes, left too make lulls lulls inspiring only a few standing ovations. But it was packed with mission, seriousness, vision, principles – and, most of all, a real agenda

Jon Craig was rather intrigued by the seeming announcements of who will be in a future conservative cabinet particually that

it was revealing that when Cameron pledged to "ring-fence" the budget for international development, there was no mention of spokesman Andrew Mitchell. A significant omission?
Other omissions? Eric Pickles, Caroline Spelman, Theresa Villiers, Nick Herbert and Jeremy Hunt will all have left Manchester a bit jittery after listening to their leader's speech.

Just before David Cameron came on stage they played a video looking back at his four years in charge of the party. It concentrated on the modernising moments — the huskie hugging, the efforts to get more women into Parliament and the rest. When Cameron did these things, some critics mocked them, claimed that they showed he was all style and no substance. But today we saw what those moments have made possible. Cameron devoted his pre-election conference speech to a classic conservative message, that the big state is the problem. Crucially, this message is getting a hearing. It is not being dismissed as those ideological Tories banging on again. Modernisation has achieved one of its principal purposes

.says James Forsyth

Bagehot says that

it was definitely a good speech, even very good, and a better one in Mr Cameron’s delivery than it read on paper. He was strong on Afghanistan and on the indirect social costs of the deficit and debt, both foolishly downplayed at the Labour conference last week. There were three or four extremely resonant passages, on the NHS, on the need to address the welfare trap, on giving parents more choice and power over schools, and on not treating children like adults and adults like children. That is above all what a leader’s speech needs to achieve. I expect it will look very good on the news this evening.

And if you are really looking for a different angle check out Ruth Gledhill who writes that it was

full of Biblical allusion, according to Paul Woolley of the think tank Theos. His reasoning is below. Archbishop Cranmer considers it 'mildly theological'. The Rev Rob Marshall, one of his clergy in Kensington, has also analysed David Cameron's social theology for Articles of Faith.

Quangos may not be under attack after all

David Cameron assault on quangos may not be all it seems.

The BBC's Nick Robinson explains after he took a call from Central Office

They have called to say that Mr Cameron's speech was not, as I reported, called "Bonfire of the Quangos" but called instead "People Power - Reforming Quangos".
What's more they point to their leader saying: "it would be far too simplistic for me to stand here and announce some kind of 'Bonfire of the Quangos.' People have heard that kind of talk many times before, and seen little to show for it."

Cameron-faling out with Europe

Besides upsetting most of Europe when imitating a German accent whilst explaining why he is against ID cards,he has also upset Mr Sarkozy.

The FT reports that

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, was asked this week about the pledge of David Cameron, the UK opposition Conservatives’ leader, to hold a referendum on the treaty if he comes to power before it is fully ratified. The French leader’s response was ­telling.
“I am watching the debate in that country,” Mr Sarkozy said. “I simply want to say that we have been happy to have Gordon Brown round the table with us because he has assumed his responsibilities and he has acted with courage by bringing his country with him on the path of European integration.”

Good ideas but once in power?

It is an easy thing to say when you are not in office and I agree with many of the sentiments of David Cameron's constitutional ideas in the Guardian this morning.

However how easy would it be for a new Prime Minister to take office and set in motion measures to effectively diminish his powers.

Cameron's piece contains measures that those who believe that our constitutional system is flawed will welcome.

I believe the central objective of the new politics we need should be a massive, sweeping, radical redistribution of power: from the state to citizens; from the government to parliament; from Whitehall to communities; from the EU to Britain; from judges to the people; from bureaucracy to democracy. Through decentralisation, transparency and accountability we must take power from the elite and hand it to the man and woman in the street.

he writes

His main thrust being the move from executive to Parliamentary power which swung radically the other way first under Mrs Thatcher and then under Tony Blair.

His choice of medium is interesting.The Guardian has been running a new politics for the last week or so opening a discussion on a new constitution and it is the chattering political classes that Cameron will need to win over.

Hats off for taking the initiative.Tony Blair tried to do the same in 1997 but quickly New Labour's constitutional reforms were lost in the mists of bureaucratic wranglings.

As I started the article,I shall finish it.Good ideas but once in power?