Ali Miraj: Dave, where has the sunshine gone?

Ali Miraj, who has written controversially in the past, has been quoted on BBC Online accusing David Cameron of being obsessed with PR.  His intervention - in which he attacks those who want Cameron ousted - brought a swift response from a source close to the Conservative leader.  The source told ConservativeHome that Ali had asked for a peerage at a meeting with Cameron earlier today.  Miraj responded by saying that he would not discuss his private discussions with Cameron, accused CCHQ of "lowering the tone" of debate and of not taking his criticisms seriously - criticisms which he outlines here.

I write this piece with a heavy heart as someone who has become deeply disillusioned by the way the Conservative Party is being run having made these points in private for months but to no avail:

“Let sunshine win the day”, hailed David Cameron to the Party faithful at its Conference last October.  But far from rays of light beaming down, dark clouds are gathering over Mr Cameron’s leadership.

It was less than two years ago when I introduced him at the launch of his campaign to lead the party.  I saw him as a fresh face, a politician that, despite his privileged background, could connect with the British people and restore the fortunes of the Conservative party.  I have been disappointed.

A week is a long time in politics, and the past couple of weeks have been particularly painful with the Tories securing a humiliating third place in two Parliamentary by-elections.  That has been compounded this week by a poll putting the Conservative Party on 32%, its lowest level since Michael Howard was leader and six points behind Labour. To add to his woes 21% of voters say their opinion of him has dropped since Mr Brown took over.  But the rot began before that.

For me the key factor that has led to the current malaise is not a lack of “traditional” policies, as those on the right of the Party busily sharpening their knives would argue. It is a complete lack of judgement on the part of Mr Cameron himself.  The adage, “One is known by the company one keeps”, can be coupled with “a leader can be judged by those he appoints”.

The decision to impose a hand-picked poster boy on local members in the Ealing Southall by-election who had only been a member of the Conservative Party for a matter of days, was always bound to be viewed with disdain at best and lead to trouble at worst.  One cannot blame the opportunistic Mr Lit for wanting to jump on the “Dave bandwagon”. 

But Mr Cameron should have had more sense.  First, the Tories have still not realised that it takes more than picking an Asian candidate to reverse a scandalous neglect of engaging with people from ethnic minorities since the days of Enoch Powell.  Second, was the complete failure to conduct adequate checks on an unknown quantity. 

I do not know if Mr Lit was asked the question that all candidates are typically put, “Is there anything in your background that could potentially embarrass the Party”. This may have spared the embarrassment four days before polling day that he had donated money to the Labour party pictured next to a smiling Tony Blair. 

This is not the first case of Cameron’s obsession with PR.  The decision to approach Greg Dyke, a lifelong left-winger, to be the Conservative candidate for London Mayor was equally ridiculous.

The recent decision to appoint Sayeeda Warsi to the Shadow Cabinet as Minister for Community Cohesion was also short-sighted.  Ms Warsi, a young woman with a good heart, who has displayed potential and may well have made it to Cabinet in due course, has been catapulted into front line politics having only been active in the party for three years. 

This has been met by a barrage of harsh criticism targeted towards her ranging from her condemnation of the Government’s decision to abolish section 28 regarding the promotion of homosexuality in schools, to her call for the government to engage with extremist Muslim groups. 

Much of this stems from inexperience.  There is no substitute for hard work, commitment and tenure.  No doubt Mr Cameron was driven by his desire to appoint the first “Muslim woman” to trump Gordon Brown’s appointment of the first Muslim minister, Shahid Malik, only days before.  The problem is that this smacks of blatant gimmickry which the electorate sees through.

Whilst no one would question the importance of tackling poverty in the developing world, the decision to go to Rwanda to visit a social action project, when parts of Mr Cameron’s own constituency were suffering their worst floods for 150 years, was yet another piece of ammunition to his opponents and a cause for dismay to his supporters such as myself.   

Those in the party who have begun their campaign to oust Cameron and appoint their sixth leader in ten years are simply not serious about regaining power.  One does not wield the knife at the first sign of difficulty.  I hope that Mr Cameron heeds the warning signs.  If sense prevails a rainbow may yet emerge in the aftermath of the storm.

Ali Miraj has been a Councillor and stood as a Conservative Parliamentary Candidate at the last two general elections.  He is a Board Member of two of the Party’s Policy Groups.

Comments

[David Walsh]

Oh dear, Lord, sorry, Ali Miraj throwing his toys out of the pram.

[bluepatriot]

This Miraj is clearly finished and deservedly so. He asks for a peerage. Doesn't get one. Writes this article. He's pathetic.

[Nadim]

According to Ali Miraj, 'One does not wield the knife at the first sign of difficulty.'

What a hypocrite. What does he think is served by such an article? The BBC are already using it as a knife, and it smacks of jealousy, inferiority, and shows his own lack of judgment and political experience.

The likes of Ali Miraj do not speak for all Muslims in the Conservative Party, though he presumes to. And asking for a peerage? He is wrapped in his own ego. Now is a time for UNITY and COMMITMENT, whether he's got a safe seat or not.

I hope he doesn't get any seat after this. He has become a liability.

[Michael Davidson]

Fair points Ali Miraj, but you shouldn't have supported Cameron in the first place - then you could have done us all of favour.

[Ben Rogers]

Ali, do you not know the word 'modesty' or 'humility'? To ask for a peerage is, frankly, obscene. One waits to be offered one - and most people never are!! I would not in my wildest dreams imagine barging into the Leader's office and asking for a peerage!! Of course, if I was ever offered one I would not turn it down .... but to ask for one is bizarre. And then to throw a tantrum on conservativehome shows very poor political judgment.

[Cameron Watt]

Ali Miraj should be ashamed of himself. Yet again it appears that Ali's frustration at a lack of personal advancement has led him to make a damaging attack on the party he claims to care about and want to succeed. The Conservative Party is better off without such people.

[Andrew Lilico]

I have to say that to accuse the Conservatives of "a scandalous neglect of engaging with people from ethnic minorities since the days of Enoch Powell" is rather comical. What on earth is he referring to? Is he complaining about the period in which we emphasized that Britons of all races were to be engaged with equally - "Labour says he's black. We say he's British"? If "neglect" means treating people as individuals rather than stereotyping them as members of a tribe of victims, then give me neglect every time.

Otherwise he seems to make some points worth airing - though few I agree with...

[Lib Dem Member]

Why do you allow such a pesonally motivated hatchet job on a party website? Do you want to be in opposition for ever?

[Iain Lindley]

Miraj lost all credibility after the Witham debacle. File safely under "ignore".

[Andrew Lilico]

Lib Dem Member@23:16

Ali Miraj is a Conservative and has been a hard-working activist. Why shouldn't he have his say like others, just because he disagrees with the leadership? You can hardly claim, for example, that it's not worth putting up because it's uninteresting - it's already made the BBC!

[Afleitch]

This site is increasingly becoming the parties worst enemy, which is horribly unfortunate. Why? Because it's the perfect platform for disloyalty masked as dissent or 'concern' As a result theres a lack of balance.

It's becoming difficult to feel at 'home' anymore on here.

[john]

This story will be all over the newspapers tomorrow. Miraj deserves to be boiled in oil.
He is a cynical, ambitious little man who is quite prepared to use the race card to advance his cause. He obviously remembers that the Tories rewarded, with a peerage, a nonentity from Neasden, who failed to win a by-election in Cheltenham.
What follows is predictable: he will be universally despised by all Tories - even anti-Cameroons and he'll never be offered a parliamentary seat to fight for.
He'll then defect to New Labour and tell the world that he never liked Cameron anyway.

[Lib Dem Member]

I recall a few months ago when we had our big Ming Wobble Lib Dem Voice ran a pice calling for his resignation. It was what everyone was talking about so it seemed appropriate and the issue was aired.

What strikes me about this piece is it is clearly motivated by personal grievence. It reads like a press release with killer quote after killer quote.

[Benedict White]

"One does not wield the knife at the first sign of difficulty. "

Really? So why give this one to our party's enemies?

With regret Ali Miraj, I am not impressed. If your reservations were expressed in private they may have some merit, but the reality is that you are picking up on some of the flotsam that has been cast by shrill voices elsewhere.

[john]

I should have added to my earlier comments that this nasty little man should never have been given the chance to provide ammunition for our enemies at this time.
Sorry, editors, but it's not only the Tory leadership that can be accused of a lack of judgement.

[Ben Rogers]

John, as much as I passionately disagree with Miraj and what he has done, and I will be responding to it in more detail soon, and as much i find his request for a peerage deeply distasteful, I find even more distasteful your snide and racist reference to Lord Taylor. He is not a nonentity - he towers above Miraj in integrity, personality and political ability - and he did not lose a by-election in Cheltenham, to my knowledge, he lost a General Election .... due to the behaviour of some very nasty racist Tories in the association. Frankly, I despair of this bloody party sometimes - it is full of nasty, embittered, racist, snobbish, small-minded, bigoted, selfish and plain stupid characters on both left and right. It is only when I remember how many very good, moderate, committed, compassionate, able people there still are in the party that I summon the energy to continue the fight. So Miraj and John, both of you, shut up.

[Biodun]

How pathetic.

Isn't he the same one who was whining about how racist the Witham Association was? Yes, in the same selection where Priti Patel emerged winner and Miraj fell at the first hurdle.

What a joke.

Also, the policy review groups do not have board members. Just members, a chair and one or more vice-chairs. They are effectively research units, not mini-tory companies. Clearly Miraj fancies himself as being a bit more important than he really is.

Get a grip or even better a life. If you don't like the party, join labour like whatshisface did and leave us in peace -and feel free to take your DJing with you, it's truly awful and anyone who told you otherwise was just being polite!

[Robin Wiggs]

I really don’t think some in our party yet yearn to return to power strongly enough, or understand the sheer hard graft we need to undertake to get there. Until we do, we probably don’t deserve (nor are likely) to win again.

Ali Miraj says “Those in the party who have begun their campaign to oust Cameron and appoint their sixth leader in ten years are simply not serious about regaining power. One does not wield the knife at the first sign of difficulty.”

And he patently can’t see the irony of making that statement publicly on ConHome as the conclusion to his foregoing diatribe.

Those of us that do the footwork, get really pi**ed off at to**ers like this.

[Ben Rogers]

I think Lib Dem Member who posted here makes a very good point! I detest the Lib Dems, and was united with my Labour opponent in City of Durham in our mutual dislike of the Lib Dems, but on this occasion you make sense!!

[Ben Rogers]

Let's hope this bizarre outburst by Miraj fades into insignificance, like the man himself, and like every mirage ...

[Biodun]

Ben Rogers' comment at 23:28.

EXACTLY, Ben.
Small-minded is indeed the description that encapsulates it all.

Nonentity indeed. What next?

[Right wingery]

I really hope this clown Miraj reads the reaction to his pithy, cretinous article. If so he will see that, far from stirring a hornets nest within the party and garnering his 15 pathetic minutes of dubious fame, all he has succeeded in doing is uniting all factions of the party against his ludicrous claims.

He may consider what he wrote 'in tune' with current sentiments within the party, but I really hope he reads these responses and resolves to get out of politics altogther.

[Andrew Lilico]

It's just absurd for people to criticize the editors for giving Conservatives a platform from which to criticize the leadership! It's precisely to give Conservatives a platform to argue for or state whatever (worthwhile, interesting, or newsworthy, subject to space limitations) opinion they want to offer. There are lots of articles on this web-site that defend the Party's line on all kinds of issues.

I think that a number of Conservatives aren't used to proper debate. They think that the idea is that we go along to a garden party, drink Pimms, have a raffle and nod sagely whilst people say how wonderful our leaders are, except for during a leadership election when they suddenly feel entitled to say how useless [INSERT NAME OF LEADER HERE] was and how wonderful [INSERT NAME OF SOMEONE THAT DOESN'T STAND A SNOWBALL'S CHANCE IN HELL OF EVER BECOMING LEADER] is and wouldn't it be good if he won - because they just read a press report saying that he would win and they think it's loyal to agree.

Well, if that ever was the Conservative Party, it isn't any more. Political blogging is now active and vibrant and we have ongoing real-time debates on issues, in which we disagree and participate as the Party's line is debated and butressed or moved. This is a Good Thing, indicating a healthy political climate, and reflects the vitality of right-wing thought in this country, despite the difficulties our Party has suffered over many years.

ConservativeHome does not foster disunity. It fosters unity, by giving us a place to air and debate and resolve our grievances, rather than being forced to plot in secret or defect to other parties.

Now I think that Ali Miraj is mainly mistaken (though he does have a couple of worthwhile points), but he is perfectly entitled to offer his opinion here, understanding the consequences for his future prospects of gaining a seat. Equally he should expect the robust responses he is receiving. Live and die by the sword.

[Stand Up Throw Up]

A plague on both houses me thinks - what does Ali think he (or the party) has to gain from this silly little piece of bitch slapping?

As for Cameron, a dignified silence on his part would have been more sensible. Coulson/Eustice/Bertin (his spinners) won't have covered themselves in glory if this clearly hostile counter-leak takes over the news cycle.

[Lib Dem Member]

I think many on this site should go back and study the split in the Liberal Party in the 1920's. Once you loose the will to govern and replace it with a desire for purity you are doomed. While all advanced democracies have a substantial right of centre party it doesn't have to be the tories. If you destroy another leader you may go the same way.

[Chris Palmer]

'Stand Up Throw Up' - like the name!

As for Miraj, asking for a peerage is just plain arrogant beyond belief (if true.) He does make a couple of valid points, but I wonder whether they would have been made if he'd been given a peerage - probably not.

[Sucker]

YOU SUCK, MIRAJ!

[Ben Rogers]

I agree with both Andrew Lillico and Lib Dem Member, which is worrying! I agree with Andrew that we should be open to free debate and comment, but I think we need to learn discipline. We should be totally open to debate about ideas and policies. But we need to get away from the idiotic, unnecessary, destructive sniping at the leadership. It happened to Major, Hague and IDS, and it has been a major factor in holding us back electorally. Intelligent, thoughtful contributions about ideas, values, policy and substance - domestic and international - should always be welcome on this site. But gossip and moaning from discontented has-beens should not be tolerated. I am not saying the site shouldn't post them - Miraj and other prats like him are entitled to speak freely, and the site is entitled to publish. I believe in a free press and free speech. But I believe all of us, including twits like Miraj, should exercise some judgment and discipline. On both scores, he has badly failed. Don't blame the site - blame the author.

[Scotty]

I read this article and the attached caveat by the Editor with an increasing sense of disbelief. To be honest I found both extremely unedifying, as is the attempt to portray this platform piece in the terms of "Ali Miraj's intervention - in which he attacks those who want David Cameron ousted".

Tim may describe his views as controversial but that would be giving a legitimacy to something which is none other than an extremely poorly disguised personal hatchet job on more than one individual.

[Andrew Lilico]

Ben Rogers@23:28

>Frankly, I despair of this bloody party sometimes - it is full of nasty, embittered, racist, snobbish, small-minded, bigoted, selfish and plain stupid characters on both left and right.<

You are quite wrong. The Conservative Party is not "full" of such people. That is not to deny that some such people exist, but the vast majority of Conservative Party activists and supporters are excellent, kind, generous, pleasant people that are pillars of the community - when not working selflessly, giving their time for the Party to try to make the world a better place, with no hope of personal reward and often precious little chance of victory - they are acting as trustees of the local museum, or governors of the school, or they arrange flowers at the church; they raise their children well (at least, they do their best); they give money to charities when they feel they can afford it; they try harder than most people do to recycle and to buy dolphin-friendly dishwashing liquid. They are, on the whole, and barring the occasional oddball that turns up in any group, amongst the nicest groups of people you could hope to meet, and I for one find it very disappointing when senior people in our Party, who should know better, think it useful to exploit these nice people's willingness to take one for team by condemning them to the world as "nasty" or "bigoted" or all the nonsense smears that Socialists love.

Insult those that merit it. But leave Conservative Party members to their good deeds in peace.

[Benedict White]

Re Ben Rogers, yes the Lib Dem member was being helpful.

What is more many Labour people are looking on with shock and horror at the indiscipline in our ranks.

It appears that there are too many people in the party who just do not want to win.

[Ben Rogers]

Andrew,

can you not read more than a sentence? If you read the sentence following the one you quote, I said:

"It is only when I remember how many very good, moderate, committed, compassionate, able people there still are in the party that I summon the energy to continue the fight."

I agree with you - the nasty lot are a minority. But they are a very noisy and unpleasant minority and unfortunately they are the ones the public seems to see. When I fought the City of Durham in 2005 General Election, and I talked about compassionate conservatism (pre-Cameron), and it became known I work for an international human rights charity, not a single day went by without people saying either that they loved what I stood for but could never bring themselves to vote Tory, or that they could not believe I could possibly be a Tory and yet be normal, pleasant and compassionate ... and a handful - not many - said for the first time in their lives they would vote Tory because of my campaign. It saddened me, because I know that the vast majority of Tories are as you describe. My association in Durham was full of deeply committed, community-oriented, compassionate people. But it's the nutters that the public seems to associate with us, sadly.

[Benedict White]

Andrew Lilico at 23:38, the problem with your analysis is the kind of debate.

I have a blog and write about my own ideas. End of. However I generally do not go around attacking the leadership nor would I do so and then say we should not wield the knife.

Debate issues, fine, Leadership? No, we need discipline if we want to win. The electorate will not elect a party that appears divided.

[Ben Rogers]

Read my Platform piece "Benedict Rogers: David Cameron deserves loyalty and patience" written after Quentin Davies' defection. Contrast it to Miraj.

[Benedict White]

Ben Rogers 23:55, "But it's the nutters that the public seems to associate with us, sadly."

Hence David Cameron's re branding.

Sad but it needs doing because over the years the only nice party has been portrayed as the nasty party.

[Ben Rogers]

I notice Ali isn't replying to any of the blog responses to his outburst. I always respond to comments when I write a Platform piece. He's obviously self-combusted and disappeared like every mirage does! Good bye, Ali!

[simon]

Miraj is absolutely right.

Good on you for doing it. The points he makes are all valid.

I remember AM at David Cameron's launch. He beliwved in the man before anyone else.

[Ben Rogers]

I agree with Benedict White - and am pleased to share a name!

[Charles Bradbury]

Ali is too good for a peerage. His points should be addressed.

Cameron has scored a complete own goal.

He will never make PM at this rate.

[Andrew Lilico]

Ben Rogers@23:55

I can read - for example, I can read the word "full".

I think that you confuse the caricature of Conservatives that New Labour was able successfully to foist on us with the truth. Indeed, you are absolutely correct that, until recently and perhaps even now, many people identify Conservatives with being nasty selfish people who occasionally might unfortunately be useful and hence have to be voted for - albeit whilst holding one's nose. This was much worse in 2001 than in 2005, it seems to me.

But just because the public believed that don't make it so. Conservative members and activists were never the unpleasant people our MPs and the press and the non-political public believed.

I do think that at the core of what you say there is an important and right point. We needed (and we should have known after 1997 that we needed) to try something specific to get rid of our "nasty Tory" image. I would have recommended being classy - refusing to engage in smears, refusing to accuse our opponents of corruption or sleaze and presenting ourselves as above such pettiness; being generous in complimenting our opponents; deferring immediately to the Chairman in public debates; always being scrupulously polite; refusing to abuse our opponents when they abuse us, and so on. We didn't go down that route - we still engage in silly and non-credible suggestions that Brown is corrupt. We tried to become cuddly and trendy instead of classy. But either way we needed not to be nasty - you were quite right about that.

[Peter Ackroyd]

Cameron's team resorting to smear tactics is pathetic and evidence of just more spin and PR.

It is all true. I am completely disillusioned too. I applaud you Ali for having the guts to speak out.

It all began with "Dave" on his bike with his car behind him!

[Ben Rogers]

Charlie and Simon, you people just don't get it, do you? Sure, mistakes have been made. Lit was a bad choice, and associating Cameron's name too closely with the campaign in Ealing Southall by putting it on the ballot paper was bad judgment. But if we had a determination to win, we would be making these kind of comments privately to CCHQ and Cameron's staff, not on conservativehome and the BBC. People like you just love a leadership crisis, don't you? It's a bit like a village summer fete - happens once a year. I suppose you'd like a Midsummer Murder to go with it?!

[Benedict White]

re Ben Rogers at 00:04

Are you a Benedict?

[David Guetta]

I know Ali Miraj and he is one of the most talented and hard-working people I have met. He is too good for the Tory party.

Ali you arr better off without them.

Cameron is going to lose.

[Ben Rogers]

Benedict,

Yes, I am!

Benedict

[Bob Spink]

I know Ali. What a waste of a talent. Thoroughly decent bloke.

David Cameron has really screwed up this time. Miraj was one of his biggest supporters. He has squandered that support.

What a great advert for hard waork and dedication. The party does you over.

[Benedict White]

Ben, in which case why shorten it?

I am known generally as Ben to friends, but always as Benedict in writing!

You can drop me a line on my blog if you like. (There is an email me link and I would like to run an idea past you about party organisation)

[Ben Rogers]

I've had enough of all this drivel. I can't believe I have actually stayed up until gone midnight engaging in this kind of nonsense, when there are people in the jungles of Burma whose villages have been burned down, and are without food, shelter, medicine, hunted by a brutal military regime ... and Miraj has the arrogance to demand a peerage, and to have a public strop when he doesn't get what he wants.

Bob Spink should know better too!

[Ben Rogers]

I'm always Benedict in my journalist writing, but Ben to friends and on blogs!

[Raj]

Andrew Lilico

Why do the editors have to give a platform to people who appear quite sour because they haven't got on? Surely there are Tories out there who don't have a grudge of some sort/aren't bitter. I hadn't heard much of this guy until today, but having read up on him it appears he's being rather sour and selfish.

I think it's a mistake to give people like this guy a platform. As has been mentioned, it's already been picked up on by the BBC. ConservativeHome is fast becoming an anti-Cameron website and by default an anti-Conservative website because it generates such disproportionately bad coverage for the party.

Give voice to people who have constructive comments to make, not people who are throwing temper-tantrums to get noticed. Is this some sort of blackmail - "if you want me to shut up, give me a position"?