ConservativeHome's ToryDiary

Eric Pickles for Party Chairman

A new YouGov poll for The Sunday Times gives the Conservatives a whopping 22% lead.  The temptation for David Cameron will be to take no major risks with policy and personnel.  The likeliest personnel change is, however, a change of Party Chairman.

The Mail on Sunday is reporting anger amongst unnamed female MPs at a "whispering campaign" against Mrs Spelman.  Mrs Spelman's defenders attack private briefings in which her axeing is said to be "certain".  In the current environment where voter tolerance of political sleaze is at breaking point, even the slightest criticism of Mrs Spelman in the forthcoming report into the employment of her nanny will result in her resignation.  A ConservativeHome poll of 1,470 party members carried out on 30th June to 5th July shows overwhelming support for Eric Pickles to replace her by the time of the Party Conference:

The Mail on Sunday quotes a defender of Mrs Spelman as saying that appointing Eric to the top job at CCHQ would be "a major setback to Mr Cameron’s attempt to change the party’s ‘white male’ image."  But, it could equally be argued, that Mr Pickles does much more to tackle perceptions that the Tories are too southern and too elitist.   Promotions for Maria Miller and Justine Greening - who has performed a first class task on VED - would also show that Mr Cameron remains committed to promoting female talent.

Mr Pickles has come under fire from some CCHQ insiders for being too willing to take the glory for the victory in Crewe and Nantwich but the overwhelming view of colleagues and staffers is admiration.  Not an easy man to categorise politically, Mr Pickles is not 'of the right' in the way that David Davis is but his appointment would restore some of the balance that was lost when Mr Davis left David Cameron's top team.  Mr Pickles would be a superb, campaigning Party Chairman for the Conservatives in a run-up to the General Election.  We hope he gets the nod.

Candidates for a reshuffle

Iain Dale suggested five names for inclusion in the shadow cabinet yesterday: Greg Clark, Damian Green, Ed Vaizey, Maria Miller and David Burrowes.  We agree with all of those suggestions although Justine Greening is a more likely bet than Damian Green.  Greg Clark is certainly one of the party's most outstanding talents (we tipped him for the top on 3rd January).  Alongside Michael Gove, Nick Herbert and Jeremy Hunt (our three to watch) he will be one of the party's biggest guns in the years to come.  David Burrowes is another excellent tip and it would be good to see him go to a post like international development.  David has believed for a long time that international development should be central to Conservatism and he would lift its status enormously.

More difficult for David Cameron is who to remove from the top table.  He may make one or two demotions but is unlikely to drop five shadow cabinet members.  Caroline Spelman - regardless of the outcome of the inquiry into her employment of her nanny/ secretary - is very vulnerable.  Most party members would like to see her replaced by Eric Pickles.

Away from the shadow cabinet, who would you like to see promoted from the backbench to the frontbench?

Top of our list would be another Greg, Greg Hands.  Greg is hugely industrious and played an important behind-the-scenes role in Boris Johnson's campaign and has also been part of the extraordinary Tory revival in Hammersmith & Fulham.  Stephen Crabb is another MP deserving of the frontbench.  A role consistent with his interest in human rights, international development and foreign affairs would be a particularly good match.

We'd also like to see rehabilitation for some of the talent that has left the frontbench for different reasons during David Cameron's leadership.  We think of Graham Brady (who left on a matter of principle), Mark Field and, of course, Patrick Mercer.  Restoring one or more of this group to the frontbench - Mark Field would be excellent on economic and legal issues, for example - would show that there was a way back into Team Cameron even if there had been a difference in the past.

The Telegraph makes mischief

"Every morning at nine, Mr Cameron meets key aides and shadow ministers including William Hague, Michael Gove and George Osborne. Mr Davis has always been put out that he is not invited."

Those two sentences appeared in yesterday's Telegraph, from Robert Winnett.  Quite damaging on the face of it but not true.  We happen to know that David Davis attended the morning meeting as often as George Osborne.  When David Cameron and William Hague are both away David Davis actually chaired the meeting. 

Not content with getting it wrong once the Telegraph's Political Editor Andy Porter repeats the idea again this morning:

"Davis was irked that despite his seniority, he was rarely asked to attend the Tories' regular 9am strategy meetings. Instead, the close cabal is made up of George Osborne, Michael Gove and William Hague; chiefs of staff Ed Llewellyn and Catherine Fall; and communications chief Andy Coulson. Steve Hilton, the Svengali figure credited with rebranding the Tories, used to attend, but recently his appearances have been limited, as he prepares to move to California."

The Telegraph would be on stronger ground if it wrote about the closeness of David Cameron and George Osborne, for example.  (Only natural given Mr Osborne's chairmanship of Cameron's leadership bid).  They didn't do that but have made very specific and more troubling accusations about David Davis being sidelined from this key meeting.  We know that The Telegraph is not writing the truth.  We can't believe that CCHQ hasn't told The Telegraph that it's untrue.  Why The Telegraph persists in writing it is the real question.

10am, Sunday 15th June: David Davis, interviewed by Andrew Marr, confirmed that he did attend the 9.15am strategy meeting.

3pm, Sunday: Andrew Porter has now blogged on these morning meetings.

Five reflections on an incredible day

Every politician and journalist and blogger has been bowled over by today's events.

Here are a few thoughts on what has happened:

(1) There is a gulf between the reactions of the Westminster village and the general public.  The villagers are interested in David Davis throwing away the chance to be Home Secretary and what this means for Project Cameron.  Most of the public is simply applauding a politician who has resigned his seat on an issue of principle.  They're impressed.  DD might soon have the status of his chum, Tony Benn and others like Frank Field, Clare Short and Ann Widdecombe.  Big hitting, principled people but not entirely comfortable with conventional politics.

(2) David Cameron called the decision "courageous" but, in many ways, David Davis isn't taking much of a risk.  He's certain to be re-elected but, on the other hand, he risks not being part of the first Conservative government of the 21st century.

(3) David Cameron's decision not to appoint an Acting SHS but a permanent replacement in Dominic Grieve shows a ruthlessness from the Conservative leader.  David Cameron could have kept the position open.  He didn't.  By appointing Dominic Grieve the Tory leader signalled that there'll be no retreat from the stance that DD has taken on civil liberties.  Mr Grieve's support for the Human Rights Act may mean trouble ahead, however.

(4) What will David Davis do when he returns to Parliament?  Accept a more junior shadow cabinet position?  Unlikely.  He'll probably go to the backbenches and champion certain causes.  David Davis is also a tax cutter.  Will he make the case for small government conservatism when he's back?

(5) How will David Davis keep his campaign in the news?  It's been a massive story today and will lead tomorrow's newspapers.  But, but...  Will the campaign stay in the news if DD doesn't have serious opponents in the by-election?  Will he win his contest but on a low turnout?  Will this story still be alive on Monday?

Dominic Grieve: Tories will repeal 42 days

In his first announcement as the new Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve confirmed that the Conservatives will repeal 42 days pre-charge detention if it is passed.

Our congratulations to Dominic Grieve.  He is a true gentleman and has been passed over for too long.

He was Conservative members' top choice for the shadow cabinet in our turn-of-the-year poll.

Liam Fox is leader of the Right within shadow cabinet

Earlier this week we published the results of our survey of leading 'voices of the parliamentary Right' from outside the frontbench.  John Redwood, then Norman Tebbit, then IDS were the voices most recognised by Tory members.  We also ran a separate question for the frontbench: "Who is the single most effective voice of 'the Right' on the Conservative frontbench, including the shadow cabinet and the House of Lords?"

Unlike with the question for the non-frontbench we asked people to 'write in' answers.  In other words, they didn't have a list to choose from.  94% of the 1,159 people who volunteered an answer identified just three people: Liam Fox, David Davis and William Hague:

The survey shows that 44% of members regard Dr Liam Fox, Shadow Defence Secretary as the most effective voice of the Right on the frontbench.  In many ways Dr Fox fits the popular idea of a 'right-winger'.  He is strongly pro-American and Eurosceptic.   He is pro-marriage and supports a much lower time limit on abortion.  He favours lower taxation and advocated much more patient choice when he was the party's health spokesman.  Like IDS, however, he is also at the forefront of the party's social justice agenda.  The language of 'broken society' agenda was first employed by Dr Fox during his leadership bid.  Writing for ConservativeHome in November 2005, Michael Gove drew parallels with the Fox and Cameron agendas.  Michael Gove's article makes even more interesting reading in retrospect.

Is David Cameron planning a summer clear-out of the shadow cabinet?

Ben Brogan writes that he is in The Daily Mail.  Only a "Magnificent Seven" are definitely safe apparently.  That all-male magnificent seven are "George Osborne, William Hague, Chris Grayling, David Davis, Michael Gove, Andrew Lansley and Patrick McLaughlin."  That should be McLoughlin, Daily Mail!

But if those who are the M7 there are others that are also pretty safe:

• Philip Hammond, Osborne's deputy.  Mr Hammond is regarded as a safe, competent pair of hands.
• Nick Herbert and Jeremy Hunt - newly promoted last year and both are thought to be doing good jobs.
• Sayeeda Warsi and Pauline Neville-Jones - both installed as peers last year and it would be far too early to end their new careers.  By all accounts David Cameron is pleased with their work.
• Caroline Spelman MP - although not a powerful party chairman she has done a good job in keeping CCHQ out of the news and the operation has ticked over nicely during her tenure.  Not every chairman has managed that.  Candidate selection issues are set to become tricky again, however, but that's another story for after 1st May.
• Lord Strathclyde, loved by the grassroots and a master of the Upper House.  Unless Tom is moving on for personal reasons it is difficult to see him not going into Government with David Cameron.  We expect the popular Baroness Anelay to stay as Opposition Chief Whip too.
• Oliver Letwin, still an important influence on the leader - just outside the inner quartet of Cameron, Osborne, Hilton and Coulson.
• Owen Paterson, only promoted to shadow cabinet last year and has handled his Northern Ireland brief very effectively.
• Alan Duncan, has done important outreach work to the business community and is one of the party's most effective media operators.

That takes us up to eighteen as the number of shadow cabinet ministers that are pretty safe.

Shadow cabinet satisfaction ratings for March

No great movements in the latest rankings of the shadow cabinet, as voted by the grassroots.  William Hague and David Davis continue to trade places as the most rated member of the shadow cabinet with William Hague finishing top this month. Sayeeda Warsi, Andrew Lansley, Patrick McLoughlin and David Willetts all continue to rise up the table.  Francis Maude takes a tumble this month - probably because of his remarks about tax.

Listed below are the shadow cabinet ratings for the last six months with the most recent on the right.  The ratings represent the percentage of Conservative members satisfied minus those dissatisfied.   

1. William Hague +84% | +88% | +87% | +85% | +84% | +87%
2. David Davis +83% | +88% | +88% | +80% | +85% | +83%
3. George Osborne +79% | +85% | +81% | +76% | +70% | +66%
4. Liam Fox +65% | +69% | +71% | +64% | +65% | +64%
5. Chris Grayling +47% | +59% | +58% | +69% | +66% | +62%
6. Alan Duncan +47% | +51% | +55% | +55% | +57% | +57%
7. Michael Gove +53% | +61% | +58% | +52% | +50% | +55%
8. Lord Strathclyde +48% | +54% | +54% | +53% | +49% | +51%
9. Nick Herbert +38% | +41% | +44% | +40% | +44% | +44%
10. Eric Pickles +38% | +41% | +45% | +39% | +39% | +42%
11. Pauline Neville-Jones +25% | +38% | +38% | +30% | +35% | +38%
12. Philip Hammond +36% | +42% | +42% | +38% | +40% | +35%
13. Andrew Lansley +43% | +45% | +46% | +49% | +26% | +32%
14. Caroline Spelman +24% | +30% | +32% | +32% | +31% | +30%
15. Sayeeda Warsi -4% | -2% | +18% | +16% | +19% | +27%
16. Jeremy Hunt +19% | +20% | +21% | +24% | +26% | +26%
17. David Willetts +3% | +7% | +13% | +17% | +20% | +22%
18. Peter Ainsworth +16% | +22% | +23% | +18% | +22% | +20%
19. Oliver Letwin +17% | +23% | +21% | +20% | +21% | +20%
20. Patrick McLoughlin +27% | +28% | +29% | +10% | +14% | +20%
21. Owen Paterson +16% | +17% | +18% | +15% | +15% | +19%
22. Andrew Mitchell +19% | +20% | +19% | +17% | +20% | +18%
23. Cheryl Gillan +10% | +14% | +16% | +13% | +15% | +13%
24. Theresa Villers +9% | +14% | +14% | +11% | +14% | +10%
25. Theresa May +6% | +20% | +15% | +10% | +12% | +10%
26. David Mundell -3% | +3% | +2% | -2% | -1% | -2%
27. Francis Maude -2% | +5% | +4% | +1% | +3% | -9%

The shadow cabinet versus the cabinet in parliament

Daily Mail sketchwriter Quentin Letts has scored the shadow cabinet against their opposite numbers in parliamentary debates:

Tory winners: Hague V Miliband; Davis V Smith; Duncan V Hutton; Gove V Balls; Hammond V Cooper; Hunt V Burnham; Strathclyde V Ashton.

Tory losers: Ainsworth V Benn; Herbert V Straw; Lansley V Johnson; Villiers V Kelly.

Most surprising Letts' verdict: "George Osborne v. Alistair Darling, Chancellor. For all Darling's troubles he has not yet been comprehensively bettered in the Commons by his shadow. Osborne found it easier to score against Gordon Brown. It's never easier playing an underdog. Score draw."

Meanest Letts verdict: "Theresa May v. Harriet Harman, Leader of Commons. Kitten-heeled May is no Cicero and makes far harder work of Harman than she should. If it's possible for both teams to lose a match, this is it."

The full article is here.

Grayling up and McLoughlin down in latest ratings of shadow cabinet

Listed below are the latest ratings for members of the shadow cabinet - as voted by more than 1,600 Tory members.  The most recent monthly rating is on the right.

The two most interesting moves since the previous month are a big increase in satisfaction with Chris Grayling and a significant drop in approval of Chief Whip Patrick McLoughlin's performance.  Our guess is that Mr Grayling is benefiting from his launch of radical welfare reform ideas and Mr McLoughlin is suffering from the first 24 hours' mishandling of Derek Conway's censure by the Standards and Privileges Committee.

1. William Hague +76% | +71% | +84% | +88% | +87% | +85%
2. David Davis +79% | +78% | +83% | +88% | +88% | +80%
3. George Osborne +24% | +7% | +79% | +85% | +81% | +76%
4. Chris Grayling +36% | +29% | +47% | +59% | +58% | +69%
5. Liam Fox +49% | +46% | +65% | +69% | +71% | +64%
6. Alan Duncan +40% | +28% | +47% | +51% | +55% | +55%
7. Lord Strathclyde +43% | +40% | +48% | +54% | +54% | +53%
8. Michael Gove +40% | +30% | +53% | +61% | +58% | +52%
9. Andrew Lansley +20% | +24% | +43% | +45% | +46% | +49%
10. Nick Herbert +19% | +19% | +38% | +41% | +44% | +40%
11. Eric Pickles +31% | +27% | +38% | +41% | +45% | +39%
12. Philip Hammond +17% | +14% | +36% | +42% | +42% | +38%
13. Caroline Spelman +34% | +27% | +24% | +30% | +32% | +32%
14. Pauline Neville-Jones +15% | +11% | +25% | +38% | +38% | +30%
15. Jeremy Hunt +10% | +7% | +19% | +20% | +21% | +24%
16. Oliver Letwin -6% | -14% | +17% | +23% | +21% | +20%
17. Peter Ainsworth +8% | +3% | +16% | +22% | +23% | +18%
18. Andrew Mitchell +10% | +5% | +19% | +20% | +19% | +17%
19. David Willetts -1% | -14% | +3% | +7% | +13% | +17%
20. Sayeeda Warsi -20% | -14% | -4% | -2% | +18% | +16%
21. Owen Paterson +10% | +9% | +16% | +17% | +18% | +15%
22. Cheryl Gillan +3% | +3% | +10% | +14% | +16% | +13%
23. Theresa Villers +7% | +5% | +9% | +14% | +14% | +11%
24. Theresa May +8% | +2% | +6% | +20% | +15% | +10%
25. Patrick McLoughlin +9% | +2% | +27% | +28% | +29% | +10%
26. Francis Maude -10% | -16% | -2% | +5% | +4% | +1%
27. David Mundell -6% | -11% | -3% | +3% | +2% | -2%.

Cameron makes fresh demands of Conservative MPs on who they employ and for how much

Last week David Cameron ordered frontbenchers to declare if they employed relatives.  Within hours the Prime Minister was making similar noises.

The Tory leader is setting the pace again today - announcing fresh requirements for frontbenchers.  This is what Sky is reporting as 'breaking news':

"All front bench Tory MPs must name their staff, reveal the number of staff they employ, the position they fulfil and whether they work in Westminster or the constituency. If a Member of Parliament employs a member of their family, they should be separately declared, within a salary band which should also be declared."

Ben Brogan describes Mr Cameron's pace as "hare-like".  Indeed it is.  If the Conservative Party has a Clause IV issue then it concerns the behaviour of its MPs.  On Saturday Charles Moore talked about a problem of men, not measures.  In the last week David Cameron has shown he understands that voters are now unwilling to tolerate MPs with, as the Daily Mail delicately put it, 'snouts in the trough'.

3.45pm: Over at CentreRight.com Douglas Carswell MP argues that politics will only be restored with radical reform of parliament and accountability structures: "If we want a legislature with fewer vacuous soundbites and which actually holds the executive to account, we need to elect MPs willing to be more than cheerleaders."

7pm: Guido does not think that David Cameron is doing enough: "Why not list every item? Businesses don't put in VAT returns missing receipts for items under £250."

Alistair Burt joins Whip's Office with important development role

One of the weaknesses of the Cameron operation has been inadequate attempts to involve the whole parliamentary party in the project.  MPs have often felt left out and uninformed about key developments in the party.  There has also been a lack of career development of the kind that characterises most modern businesses.

This week David Cameron has taken an important step to address that problem.  Alistair Burt MP has been moved from his job at Local Government (his regeneration position will be filled shortly) to a new position inside the Whip's Office.  Mr Burt will have responsibility for ensuring that all talents are matched with needs.  Mr Burt who was well-regarded by colleagues when he was PPS to Iain Duncan Smith and then Michael Howard also aims to ensure that the party in Westminster works more closely with council leaders, MEPs and other elected Conservatives.  He will be writing for ConservativeHome about his new role in the not-too-distant-future.

George Eustice has also returned from his break (which included running a marathon in Hawaii!) and is beginning his work of building stronger relations between the party leadership and third party groups, particularly within the conservative movement.  George has also agreed to write for us about what he will be doing.

Two very good appointments.

Another angle to George Osborne's £500,000

Ben Brogan notes that Labour is doing its best to big up the Osborne donations story but there really is no comparison with Peter Hain's undeclared £103,000.  George Osborne told the Electoral Commission about the money channeled via CCHQ to his Shadow Chancellor's office.  Perhaps he should also have made a declaration to Commons' authorities but he clearly wasn't trying to hide it.  The best two observations on the Hain money were made by...

1. The Mirror's Kevin Macguire who blogged that Mr Orange spent £23.32 for every vote that helped him come fifth in the Labour deputy leadership battle... and
2. Former Tory MP Neil Hamilton who, in his Sunday Express column, notes that Hain was one of his most "censorious and unforgiving critics" when he didn't declare £667 back in 1990.  Mr Christine Hamilton concludes: "If Hain thought £667 a resigning matter, he should commit hari-kari for £103,000".

But if there is nothing dodgy about the £487,000 received by George Osborne there is some real shock and anger amongst his shadow cabinet colleagues.  We have spoken to three of them tonight and they are staggered that Mr Osborne has been in receipt of such "largesse" while they have been constantly refused money by CCHQ.  One senior member of Mr Cameron's top team put it this way:

"George has the biggest job after DC and he should get the biggest share of the Treasurers' pie but there's no fairness here. I can hardly afford to undertake any long-term project. The shadow cabinet knew nothing of this.  It's further evidence that the shadow cabinet is little more than a rubber stamp for the decisions taken by Cameron's kitchen cabinet."

Tory members warm to Sayeeda Warsi

Not much change from end-November to end-December ratings for most of the shadow cabinet but one notable movement is the accelerated rise of Sayeeda Warsi.  When we first rated the Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion and Social Action members were very unimpressed.  19% were satisfied with her and 39% dissatisfied.  People were surprised at her rapid elevation to the Lords and concerned at her loose talk about extremists.

Steadily she is improving her standing.  In the end-December rating the proportion of members satisfied with Baroness Warsi has risen to 47% and the dissatisfieds has dropped to 29%.

In the last month Baroness Warsi captured the headlines with her high profile visit to Khartoum to help free the 'Teddy Bear Teacher'.  She also gave a well-received speech that challenged Muslim groups to integrate more effectively and also wrote for The Telegraph, arguring that "Christmas is for everyone to celebrate".

The numbers below are for the final weeks of August, September, October, November and December:

1. David Davis +79% | +78% | +83% | +88% | +88%
2. William Hague +76% | +71% | +84% | +88% | +87%
3. George Osborne +24% | +7% | +79% | +85% | +81%
4. Liam Fox +49% | +46% | +65% | +69% | +71%
5. Michael Gove +40% | +30% | +53% | +61% | +58%
6. Chris Grayling +36% | +29% | +47% | +59% | +58%
7. Alan Duncan +40% | +28% | +47% | +51% | +55%
8. Lord Strathclyde +43% | +40% | +48% | +54% | +54%
9. Andrew Lansley +20% | +24% | +43% | +45% | +46%
10. Eric Pickles +31% | +27% | +38% | +41% | +45%
11. Nick Herbert +19% | +19% | +38% | +41% | +44%
12. Philip Hammond +17% | +14% | +36% | +42% | +42%
13. Pauline Neville-Jones +15% | +11% | +25% | +38% | +38%
14. Caroline Spelman +34% | +27% | +24% | +30% | +32%
15. Patrick McLoughlin +9% | +2% | +27% | +28% | +29%
16. Peter Ainsworth +8% | +3% | +16% | +22% | +23%
17. Oliver Letwin -6% | -14% | +17% | +23% | +21%
18. Jeremy Hunt +10% | +7% | +19% | +20% | +21%
19. Andrew Mitchell +10% | +5% | +19% | +20% | +19%
20. Owen Paterson +10% | +9% | +16% | +17% | +18%
21. Sayeeda Warsi -20% | -14% | -4% | -2% | +18%
22. Cheryl Gillan +3% | +3% | +10% | +14% |+16%
23. Theresa May +8% | +2% | +6% | +20% | +15%
24. Theresa Villers +7% | +5% | +9% | +14% | +14%
25. David Willetts -1% | -14% | +3% | +7% | +13%
26. Francis Maude -10% | -16% | -2% | +5% | +4%
27. David Mundell -6% | -11% | -3% | +3% | +2%

Dominic Grieve is the MP you would most like to see promoted to the shadow cabinet

We're spending this week thinking about the talent that David Cameron has at his disposal.  On New Year's Day we looked at the Tory leader's number one ally, George Osborne and the challenges facing him in 2008.  Yesterday we profiled the nine people, including the Shadow Chancellor, who, we guess, are featuring most prominently in Cameron's plans.  Today we turn to the individuals you - and we - would most like to see join the Conservative Party's top table.

[In the December ConservativeHome Members' Panel survey we asked who you would like to see in the shadow cabinet (you could choose any number of MPs from a given list) and who you would most like to see in the shadow cabinet.]

Top of the league table that resulted is Shadow Attorney General, Dominic Grieve.  18% of the people who took part in the poll chose Mr Grieve as the person that they'd like to see promoted.  43.6% agreed that they he was one of the MPs they'd like promoted.  Insiders were very surprised that he was passed over by David Cameron at the last reshuffle.  Well-liked by his colleagues he may have been damaged by his support for more grammar schools in Buckinghamshire and by his reported opposition to draft plans to terminate the authority of the European Court of Human Rights.

Patrick Mercer is the choice of 11.7% of Panel members as the MP most deserving of a shadow cabinet place.  25.4% included the former homeland security spokesman on their list of desirable members of the top team.  Most members thought Mercer was hard done by when he was forced to resign over remarks that were seen as racially insensitive but he won little sympathy from members for choosing to advise Gordon Brown at a time of maximum difficulty for David Cameron.  His rehabilitation is now underway, however, through an advisory role he is fulfilling on service families' welfare.

10.9% of you picked Ed Vaizey as your man (31.4% put him on their list).  He is having a third go at regular blogging btw.  On New Year's Day he made his third commitment to blog regularly.  He didn't quite manage yesterday!  He's not as bad as the FT Westminster bloggers, however.   The readers of that blog are stuck on 4th December.

Fourth in the league is Damian Green.  Like Dominic Grieve he was seriously considered for the Justice slot that Nick Herbert eventually received but remains in charge of the hugely important immigration brief.  10.5% of Panel members had the Kent MP as their top choice.  31.6% had him on their list.

Fifth is Mr Sleepover, Grant Shapps.  Although the Shadow Housing Minister attends shadow cabinet he is not yet a full member.  Expect that to change soon.  His Panel scores were 8.2% and 22.8%.

A PDF of Your views on all of the MPs in the vote is here,

Now, our turn.  These are the top choices of th Editors:

Tim: "As the Conservatives look to convince the British people that we are ready for government again we need more people of real intellectual weight around the shadow cabinet table.  We need practical people who will be able to run major departments of state and thinkers who are willing to challenge conventional wisdom.  Step forward Dr Greg Clark.  Currently a shadow minister in the Cabinet Office, Greg Clark became the MP for Tunbridge Wells at the last General Election.  He saw government from the inside during the Major years.  He was Controller of Commercial Policy at the BBC before becoming Head of Policy for Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard.  Today he is one of the party's truest compassionate conservatives.  Both in policy and personal integrity.  He worked on welfare policy for the social justice policy group and is the co-author of a recent forward-thinking paper on progressive politics.  When men like Greg are sat around the Conservative Party's top table we will communicate our seriousness as a Government-in-waiting."

Samuel: "For many of the reasons given by Tim above, and because the Party doesn't seem to be too interested in foreign policy, I'd like to see David Lidington given Shadow Cabinet status. He has a good knowledge of Education and Home Affairs (and a good general knowledge having captained two champion University Challenge teams), but his real expertise is on foreign affairs. After having the Northern Ireland brief which he handled very well he was moved up to be Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs in the summer - Hague's number two. David certainly keeps his ear to the ground about what goes on not just in international politics but in the Westminster village, where he is widely considered to be one of the most genuinely nice MPs. I was particularly impressed with his character a couple of months ago when without really being asked to he twice came over to the tents in Parliament Square (see above pic of him putting the world to rights with Mark Wallace) in which I was staying the night, to help wave placards about Burma and to chat to the Burmese protesters for an hour and a half."

Tomorrow we publish the December satisfaction ratings for the shadow cabinet.  One member's rating has moved quite significantly...

Andrew Lansley will be Cameron's Secretary of State for (Public) Health

Louise Bagshawe will be pleased: David Cameron, interviewed on Today, stated that Andrew Lansley would be Health Secretary if he becomes Prime Minister at the next General Election.

The Tory leader was interviewed 24 hours after he promised to make the Conservatives the party of the NHS.  Asked if the wider Conservative Party was as committed to the NHS as he was, David Cameron replied that Mr Lansley was respected throughout the NHS, partly because he had held the portfolio for a number of years and that he would be Health Secretary in his first Cabinet.  Mr Cameron also paid tribute to the Conservative MPs and candidates across the nation who were campaigning to save local hospitals and A&E services.  The commitment to the NHS was "extremely great," he insisted.

As far as ConservativeHome is aware Mr Lansley joins George Osborne as the only other frontbencher who has been given a public guarantee of becoming the Cabinet minister for the job they currently hold.  Mr Cameron's tactics are unusual.  Party leaders normally like to keep their options open on appointments but Mr Cameron does not like reshuffles and strongly believes that frontbenchers should have time to master their briefs.  He attacked the frequency with which Labour has changed Health Secretaries.

Today presenter Sarah Montague's interviewing of Mr Cameron was typically lazy. It was all of the 'how can we sure that you've become centrist on the NHS?' variety.  There was no pressing of Mr Cameron from a reformist perspective - putting the hard questions to him on the need for more radical policy moves that would address the poor healthcare that Britons receive compared to most other advanced nations.  Not unfairly, Radio 4's Norman Smith said that there was now little to choose between Labour and the Tories on healthcare.

PlayPolitical one minute video: Cameron promises more choice to NHS patients and payment by results

11am: Iain Dale wonders if David Cameron has made a rod for his own back by giving this guarantee

The Government-in-waiting

"David Cameron has meanwhile been going back to his constituency and preparing for government. This has involved a fairly sober assessment of how many genuinely Cabinet-grade people he has on his team (he struggled to get into double digits). Ideally, his next reshuffle should be the last. It is vital for his prospects that the Tory frontbench look and sound like a competent government-in-waiting in comparison to the disintegrating Brown Cabinet."

Fraser Nelson wrote those words for The Spectator a few weeks ago.  Our emphasis.

So... Who are the people that David Cameron really rates in his top team?  Three groups of three stand out.

THE THREE BIGGEST BEASTS

David Cameron's three leading shadow cabinet ministers also top the league that measures grassroots approval of frontbenchers.  That's not just because they hold the most important positions.  Before the inheritance tax announcement George Osborne was sliding down the ratings.  At the end of September the Shadow Eric Pickles, Chancellor had dropped below Eric Pickles, Owen Paterson and Dame Pauline Neville-Jones.

George Osborne is certainly the most important member of the shadow cabinet to David Cameron.  We discussed the Shadow Chancellor's position at some length yesterday.

William Hague remains the darling of the grassroots as was proved by the reception he received for his two Party Conference speeches.  He also has responsibility for the party's northern revival through his chairmanship of Campaign North.  Can he discharge these tasks adequately given the scale of his outside interests?  That question isn't likely to go away in 2008.

Since becoming Shadow Home Secretary at the end of 2003 David Davis has moved the Conservative Party in a decidedly more civil libertarian direction.  He has also won the internal argument on drugs.  The more liberal approach signalled by David Cameron during the leadership election has been quietly ditched.  But has David Davis used his tenure to develop a hard-hitting Tory approach to crime?  Team Cameron are now pleased that the law and order issue is no longer monopolised by Mr Davis.  They have high hopes that Nick Herbert will deliver some more electorally potent policies on crime over the next two years.

THE THREE TO WATCH

Nick Herbert is one of three members of the shadow cabinet who are most likely to be the big beasts of the future.  Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt are the other two of this trio that only entered the Commons in 2005.

Most significant of the group is Michael Gove.  As clever as he is courteous, when Shadow Housing spokesman he demolished Government credibility on HIPS.  He is now restoring credibility to Tory education policy after the grammar schools fiasco - although some of the more striking of his policy announcements owe much to the under-acknowledged work of David Willetts.  He regularly helps with the Tory leader's most important speeches and gave 2007's definitive speech on the intellectual weaknesses of Gordon Brown.  His neoconservative outlook has not prevented his rapid rise but will probably stop David Cameron from giving him a foreign affairs brief in the near future.  He recently ditched his glasses and appears to be adopting a snappier dressing style.  Mr Gove is not without ambition.

Gove is assisted by one of the party's brightest thinkers, Dominic Cummings.  Nick Herbert also has a powerhouse adviser in his Chief of Staff, Blair Gibbs.  Herbert ran the Reform think tank before entering Parliament and was the principal beneficiary of Michael Howard's mistreatment of Howard Flight.  Having impressed David Cameron with his work on police reform he now has responsibility for one of the biggest briefs in the shadow cabinet and is opposing Jack Straw, arguably Gordon Brown's most able Cabinet Minister.  If he succeeds in this brief he is set fair for a big future.

Jeremy Hunt, Shadow Culture Secretary, is the most untested of the 'three to watch' and probably over-reacted to the James Purnell's fake photos row.  Nonetheless, his recent policy announcement on the licence fee is one of the most strategically important initiatives by the Conservatives since the 2005 General Election.  His rise has been slower than Gove and Herbert - and he leap-frogged Ed Vaizey because of the latter's complicity in the museums-charging row - but one of the most senior advisers at CCHQ describes Hunt as "our very best communicator".

THE THREE INDISPENSABLES

David Cameron and Liam Fox have not had an easy relationship.  Dr Fox did not think there was enough 'balance' to the first eighteen months of Project Cameron and his judgment was right.  He has nonetheless worked hard on the defence brief and his thinking on energy security is particularly impressive.  High points for Dr Fox included bringing Giuliani to London and leading the charge against Brown's Iraq troops withdrawal.  One of the most popular members on the right of the party he was also one of the first to understand the importance of a broader Conservatism, founding the Conservative Party's Human Rights Group and coining the 'broken society' term.

Oliver Letwin will be writing for ConservativeHome soon about the policy review process.  His fingerprints are all over Project Cameron and the West Dorset MP can probably be described as the leading frontbench representative of über-modernisation.  The first senior shadow cabinet minister to endorse David Cameron's leadership bid he was also the first senior advocate of the green agenda, of co-operation with the Liberal Democrats, of a rejection of supply-side tax cuts, of an emphasis on relative poverty and a downplaying of issues like immigration.  Martin Bright famously, and fairly, called Letwin the Gandalf of Camp Cameron.  Letwin has now struck up an unlikely alliance with Andy Coulson.  The party's director of communications is thought to regard Mr Letwin as indispensable.  He regards Mr Letwin's intellectual skills and hard work as central to earthing the hyperactivity of some of the Cameroons and their eagerness to announce things that haven't always been thought through.

The final member of our group of nine is our Leader in the Lords, Lord Strathclyde.  Very popular with the grassroots Tom Strathclyde has the enormous task of overseeing Tory operations in the one chamber where the party often enjoys a good chance of defeating or amending Government legislation.  He is 99% certain to be Leader of the Lords should Cameron become Prime Minister at the next General Election.  He is thought to believe that the party will need forty to fifty extra peers if it is to be able to conduct Government business adequately.  His considerable diplomatic skills might yet be stretched to breaking point if the party leadership's support for a more democratic Upper House comes up against the Tory peers' opposition to any big change.

***
If you were looking for people of Cabinet grade it wouldn't be difficult to grow the list but the above nine are, in our opinion, those most valued by the party leader.  Tomorrow we'll identify the MPs that the ConservativeHome Members' Panel most want to see in the shadow cabinet.  Then we'll look at the women in the shadow cabinet and which are likeliest to break into the inner core.

George Osborne is Politician of the Year

The dramatic political effect of Shadow Chancellor George Osborne's inheritance tax announcement has been recognised today by The Spectator's annual parliamentary awards.  Mr Osborne has been made politician of the year for what Fraser Nelson, the magazine's Political Editor, believes was "the single most effective policy ever announced by the Conservatives in Opposition".

William Hague is also recognised.  His speech on the anniversary of the abolition of slavery wins him the speech of the year award.  BritainAndAmerica covered it at the time.  It was a great speech.

Baroness Thatcher is Peer of the Year.  The Spectator have recognised the year in which everyone wanted to be seen with the Iron Lady... most notably Gordon Brown but also Rudy Giuliani.  Her impact on Britain still recognised as profound.

Iain Duncan Smith's remarkable political rehabilitation has also been recognised by The Spectator.  The former Tory leader is the magazine's Campaigner of the year for his success at putting social justice at the heart of the public debate.  I'm in Washington DC with Philippa Stroud and Cameron Watt of the Centre for Social Justice for a conference on poverty-fighting.  We'll raise a glass of bubbly to Iain later.

Other award winners:

• Nick Clegg, newcomer
• Liam Byrne, minister to watch
• Alex Salmond, parliamentarian of the year
• Tony Blair, resignation of the year
• Ian Paisley, "marathon man"!

Related link: Last year's Spectator awards

Hague back at top of shadow cabinet league table

Listed below are the net satisfaction ratings for 27 members of the shadow cabinet.  The numbers are calculated by subtracting the number of dissatisfied Tory members from the number of satisfied members.  The numbers shown are for end-August, end-September and, in bold, end-October:

1. William Hague +76% | +71% | +84%
2. David Davis +79% | +78% | +83%
3. George Osborne +24% | +7% | +79%
4. Liam Fox +49% | +46% | +65%
5. Michael Gove +40% | +30% | +53%
6. Lord Strathclyde +43% | +40% | +48%
7. Alan Duncan +40% | +28% | +47%
8. Chris Grayling +36% | +29% | +47%
9. Andrew Lansley +20% | +24% | +43%
10. Nick Herbert +19% | +19% | +38%
11. Eric Pickles +31% | +27% | +38%
12. Philip Hammond +17% | +14% | +36%
13. Patrick McLoughlin +9% | +2% | +27%
14. Pauline Neville-Jones +15% | +11% | +25%
15. Caroline Spelman +34% | +27% | +24%
16. Jeremy Hunt +10% | +7% | +19%
17. Andrew Mitchell +10% | +5% | +19%
18. Oliver Letwin -6% | -14% | +17%
19. Peter Ainsworth +8% | +3% | +16%
20. Owen Paterson +10% | +9% | +16%
21. Cheryl Gillan +3% | +3% | +10%
22. Theresa Villers +7% | +5% | +9%
23. Theresa May +8% | +2% | +6%
24. David Willetts -1% | -14% | +3%
25. Francis Maude -10% | -16% | -2%
26. David Mundell -6% | -11% | -3%
27. Sayeeda Warsi -20% | -14% | -4%

A few observations:

• Despite some concerns over the EU Treaty and what to do if it is ratified, William Hague is back at the top of the shadow cabinet league.  His 1% net advantage over David Davis actually understates his advantage.  Of those that are satisfied with William Hague, 63% are very satisfied, 28% fairly satisfied, 4% fairly dissatisfied and 3% very dissatisfied.  For David Davis there are fewer "very satisfieds"; 49% are very satisfied, 41% fairly satisfied, 5% fairly dissatisfied and 2% very dissatisfied.
• During the gloomy end-September period those shadow cabinet ministers most associated with David Cameron fell furthest: George Osborne, Michael Gove, Alan Duncan, Oliver Letwin and David Willetts.  They have also recovered the most in the end-October survey.  Oliver Letwin and George Osborne most noticeably.
• Sayeeda Warsi may still be at the bottom of the table but she is showing signs of turning that round.  Her support grew even in the September doldrums and she is steadily converting some dissatisfieds.
• The only shadow cabinet minister to see their rating fall from the end of September to the end of October was Caroline Spelman.  Her rating is more positive than that of her predecessor, Francis Maude, when he was Party Chairman, but Caroline Spelman's standing is slowly eroding.

Related link: David Cameron's ratings bounceback to new high

Restore the standing of the shadow cabinet and other frontbenchers

• Invite all frontbenchers to propose new policies for their portfolios in preparation for presenting them to a new and formal policy approval process.
• Ensure that all frontbenchers have one bilateral meeting with the party leader at least once a year.
• Use Francis Maude's new implementation office to give every frontbencher full access to the training and support they need to be confident ministers-in-waiting.

A constant complaint of Conservative activists is that the shadow cabinet and frontbench are pretty anonymous.  Only five shadow cabinet ministers registered more than a 0.5% showing in our recent survey of party conference performers.  There are all sorts of reasons for this problem.  British politics is increasingly presidential and the media are not much interested in anyone other than the leader and a small handful of others.  Some of the problem also has much to do with the scale of frontbenchers' outside interests... but that's a subject we've addressed enough already.

Media coverage is not, of course, the only way of judging the impact of frontbenchers although Iain Dale's 'Media Tarts Lists' are always worth a scan.   Shadow cabinet ministers can also make a difference by providing the party with cut-through policies and breakthrough scrutiny of their opposite numbers' performance.  Nick Herbert, for example, has been terrific in recent days.  He's been all over the media; first attacking Labour on early prisoner release and then for failing to deport foreign convicts.

At Tuesday's press conference, David Cameron confirmed that the policy groups were being wound up.  This is an excellent opportunity to give shadow cabinet ministers some real opportunities to develop policies in their portfolio areas.  For the first two years of Project Cameron the existence of the policy groups process made it hard for them to be creative.  That has all changed.  Mr Cameron should issue a direct instruction to all frontbench teams to develop new policies - particularly micro policies that can be marketed via the internet.

Osborne for Chairman

George Osborne was on Channel 4 News a little earlier.  He launched an effective attack on Douglas Alexander's mishandling of the voting procedures for the last Scottish elections.  A report today has recommended sweeping changes to the ways in which Scotland's elections were managed.  The report's independent Canadian author accused the Scottish Office and Scottish Executive of being "frequently focused on partisan political interests".  This, of course, fits the pattern we have seen since the Brownites took charge of all Whitehall - politics comes first, second and third.

Scottish Secretary at the time of the Scottish voting fiasco was Douglas Alexander.  He was also Transport Secretary.  Mr Alexander still has two jobs today - he's International Development Secretary but also Labour's General Election coordinator.

Mr Osborne fairly questioned whether Mr Alexander should be undertaking two roles at the same time.

Hmmm.  The small problem is that Mr Osborne is hardly Mr Focused.  He's not only Shadow Chancellor.  He's also the Tories' own General Election coordinator.  He's often undertaking the political combat roles that would normally be undertaken by the party chairman.  Our party chairman was pretty absent from the airwaves in the aftermath of Chicken Saturday (Mr Osborne led the Tory charge at the time and very effectively).  Yesterday, when the Today programme, wanted a defence of Lord Ashcroft's funding of the target seats campaign, they turned to our former chairman, Francis Maude.

So, where am I going with all of this?  George Osborne is undoubtedly very able and worth multiple Douglas Alexanders but he shouldn't be trying to be Shadow Chancellor and also be Chairman.  David Cameron should put him in sole charge of CCHQ.  Mr Cameron currently has three Chairmen.  He has Osborne managing big picture preparations for the General Election.  He has Lord Ashcroft overseeing marginal seats and polling.  He has Caroline Spelman as the official Chairman.  Many insiders tell me that this is unworkable in the medium term.  Reporting lines are unclear.  One person should be in charge of the Tory campaigning machine and Lord Ashcroft should report to that person.  Caroline Spelman was excellent in the local government post and should be moved to a similar shadow cabinet position.

I don't know about the other replacement moves but in my fantasy new shadow cabinet I'd like to see William Hague become Shadow Chancellor.  David Lidington could move from being Hague's number two to become Shadow Foreign Secretary.  He certainly has the ability.

My guess is that this won't happen but David Cameron has probably never been stronger as Tory leader.  He should be taking these tough decisions.  After George's recent IHT triumph it wouldn't look like he was being moved because he hadn't been a good Shadow Chancellor.  In Opposition the party needs a brilliant Chairman and it doesn't need a confused structure.  CCHQ isn't as innovative with the web as it should be.  George understands the internet and could change that.  He has the confidence of the leader.  He enjoys politics and opposition.  He should become Chairman.

Idea #2 in this series: David Cameron should not renew George Osborne's spending pledge

Davis tops shadow cabinet league table again with Warsi at bottom

Listed below are the rankings given by 1,274 Tory members for twenty-seven shadow cabinet ministers.  The respondents supplied their answers from August 24th to August 28th with more than 80% of answers in by the close of business on the 25th.

David Davis reclaims the top spot with marginally more grassroots members satisfied with his performance than with William Hague.  His advantage may even grow if crime continues to be front-and-centre of the Conservative pitch to the electorate.

George Osborne's net satisfaction rating is now just +24%.  When the series began in January 2006 his net rating was +68%.  This is despite the underlying improvement in the party's standing on economic issues.  Last week's ICM survey found that Labour were now behind the Tories on a number of key indicators.  More people think that "the economy will deteriorate" under Labour.  The Conservatives also lead on interest rates, inflation and particularly taxes.

Members are more dissatisfied than satisfied with five of the 27 shadow cabinet ministers: David Willetts (-1%), Oliver Letwin (-6%), David Mundell (-6%), Francis Maude (-10%) and bottom-of-the-league Sayeeda Warsi (-20%).  David Willetts' position is improving from the -24% rating that he scored in the immediate aftermath of grammarsgate.  A lot of the members that were dissatisfied with him two months ago have become 'don't knows'.

1. David Davis: +79% | 88% satisfied, 9% dissatisfied
2. William Hague: +76% | 87% satisfied, 11% dissatisfied
3. Liam Fox: +49% | 71% satisfied, 22% dissatisfied
4. Lord Strathclyde: +43% | 55% satisfied, 12% dissatisfied
5. Alan Duncan: +40% | 62% satisfied, 22% dissatisfied
6. Michael Gove: +40% | 59% satisfied, 19% dissatisfied
7. Chris Grayling +36% | 55% satisfied, 19% dissatisfied
8. Caroline Spelman: +34% | 55% satisfied, 21% dissatisfied
9. Eric Pickles: +31% | 50% satisfied, 19% dissatisfied
10. George Osborne: +24% | 60% satisfied, 36% dissatisfied
11. Andrew Lansley: +20% | 54% satisfied, 34% dissatisfied
12. Nick Herbert: +19% | 37% satisfied, 18% dissatisfied
13. Philip Hammond: +17% | 33% satisfied, 16% dissatisfied
14. Pauline Neville-Jones: +15% | 37% satisfied, 22% dissatisfied
15. Andrew Mitchell: +10% | 33% satisfied, 23% dissatisfied
16. Jeremy Hunt: +10% | 30% satisfied, 20% dissatisfied
17. Owen Paterson: +10% | 26% satisfied, 16% dissatisfied
18. Patrick McLoughlin: +9% | 30% satisfied, 21% dissatisfied
19. Theresa May: +8% | 45% satisfied, 37% dissatisfied
20. Peter Ainsworth: +8% | 37% satisfied, 29% dissatisfied
21. Theresa Villiers: +7% | 35% satisfied, 28% dissatisfied
22. Cheryl Gillan +3% | 22% satisfied, 19% dissatisfied
23. David Willetts: -1% | 38% satisfied, 39% dissatisfied
24. Oliver Letwin: -6% | 40% satisfied, 46% dissatisfied
25. David Mundell: -6% | 19% satisfied, 25% dissatisfied
26. Francis Maude: -10% | 33% satisfied, 43% dissatisfied
27. Sayeeda Warsi: -20% | 19% satisfied, 39% dissatisfied

Cameron on Newsnight touches on immigration, green taxation and the outside interests of the frontbench

The Tory leader is on Newsnight at 10.30pm but News 24 have already broadcast the whole encounter between Mr Cameron and Gavin Esler, Michael Crick, Stephanie Flanders and Mark Urban. I missed the preview but here are three toplines from the interview:

• Under repeated questioning David Cameron says that immigration is too high in Britain;
• He says that Tories will raise taxes on air travel;
• He concedes that frontbenchers may be spending too much time on outside interests but that the team is overall hard-working.

6.15pm: The BBC website is headlining the interview as 'Immigration too high - Cameron'.

6.30pm: This is what Cameron says on immigration: "I think that there are benefits from immigration  and want Britain to capture the benefits from that immigration... But I think the levels of migration we see in the early part of the decade of this Government, when the asylum numbers were very high, and the later part of the decade, when immigration settlement numbers were very high; I think we have put too great a burden on public services and I think it needs to be better controlled... What's required in the whole debate about immigration is a careful use of language but actually some fairly tough and rigorous action... What we have had from the Government sometimes, particularly from (former Home Secretary) David Blunkett, was loose and inflammatory language but weak and ineffective action. I think we need the complete opposite."

11.15pm: I've deleted the third point above.  Contrary to what I was briefed I do not think David Cameron conceded anything on outside interests.   My overall view: A very strong, confident performance.  No sign of panic.  More commentary tomorrow on the detail of what DC said.

MPs and outside financial interests

I recently blogged about the outside financial interests of our frontbench - blogging that attracted quite a lot of media coverage yesterday.  I was called by a member of the shadow cabinet who mistakenly assumed I was opposed to MPs having any outside interests.  In that light I thought it might be helpful to clarify my views on this topic:

• I have no reservations about backbench MPs undertaking outside paid work as long as they are transparent about what they do - to the Commons authorities and to their constituents.  Parliamentary debates are likely to be better-informed if MPs retain a good connection with the outside world although I am not convinced that our MPs' outside interests are particularly broad.  My suspicion is that most are legal and financial in character.  Any attempt to stop MPs pursuing outside interests would risk discouraging some of the most able individuals from both entering the Commons or from staying in the Commons.  Many MPs make big financial sacrifices to enter politics.  I know they choose to do so but we should be aware of those sacrifices.
• I have more reservations about shadow ministers pursuing outside interests.  The combination of constituency and frontbench work should keep most MPs fully occupied.  Are they really able to undertake extensive outside work in addition to these core responsibilities?  The party leader, the whips' office and individual frontbenchers need to answer that question themselves.  I do not propose hard and fast rules - individuals have different capacities for hard work - although a few top jobs - Shadow Chancellor, Shadow Home Secretary and Party Chairman - probably do need 100% dedication.
• I do worry that our frontbench isn't as actively supportive of David Cameron as Labour frontbenchers were of Tony Blair in the 1990s.  I often learn of frontbenchers making inadequate preparations for debates and journalists receiving little ammunition from our team.  We simply do not have enough frontbenchers who have the industry of, for example, Chris Grayling.
• The fourth point I'd make is more political and tactical.  The party is talking a lot about the quality of life being at least as important as the standard of living and I welcome that our party is now taking social and ecological issues more seriously.  It's vital that we don't appear uninterested in the fact that millions of hard-working people are struggling to make ends meet, however.  There have been occasions when the Conservatives have shown some concern about squeezed household budgets but these occasions have been far too infrequent.  The enthusiasm with which some of our frontbenchers look after their own incomes needs to be matched with a concern for the over-taxed majority.

Gove is favourite new member of shadow cabinet

Conservative Home's July survey of Tory members was the first opportunity to rate the six individuals who David Cameron recently appointed as full members of the shadow cabinet.

Michael Gove emerges as the individual who commands the most support of members.  56% said that they were satisfied with him and only 18% dissatisfied.

Sayeeda Warsi is at the bottom of the mini league.  Only 25% are satisfied and 33% dissatisfied.  Her appointment has angered both liberals and hawks.  Liberals have been worried about her commitment to gay rights and security hawks have worried about her approach to tackling extremism.  David Cameron hopes that her charisma will eventually make her an asset.

For the second month running William Hague is the most popular member of the shadow cabinet.  87% of party members are satisfied with his performance and just 9% dissatisfied.  Yesterday we speculated about a bigger role for the former leader.  87% of members are happy with David Davis and 10% dissatisfied.

Caroline Spelman also emerges well from the survey.  51% are satisfied with her early performance as Party Chairman and just 23% are dissatisfied.  Francis Maude regularly ranked negatively in the ConservativeHome survey.

Iain Dale compiles a monthly media tarts survey of the shadow cabinet - rating their media mentions.  It's a crude measure of the shadow cabinet's work-rate but always worth reading.