A series of appointments strengthens the Davis campaign

David Davis doesn't have long to turn things round in this contest.  We are only eight days away from ballot papers going out to Tory members.  Next Thursday's live Question Time debate is already being billed as a potentially decisive moment in the contest.  The news that Nick Wood of Media Intelligence Partners and his business associate Nick Longworth have joined DD's team suggests that he remains determined to make this contest a real one.

Nick Wood - a former political journalist for The Express and The Times - directed media operations for Iain Duncan Smith after first receiving a Tory press relations job from William Hague. Nick Longworth, who ran the broadcasting operation at Conservative Central Office, is a former TV and radio journalist and a Tory councillor in Wandsworth.

Nick Wood is popularly associated with core vote messages on tax, crime, Euroscepticism and immigration.  He will certainly help to sharpen up David Davis' appeal on these issues but Nick Wood will also emphasise the Shadow Home Secretary's one nation messages.  Working with Iain Duncan Smith (and your Editor), Nick has spent the last eighteen months developing the Centre for Social Justice's poverty-fighting agenda.  Nick Wood's eleventh hour appointment may help to avoid mishaps like last week's damaging confusion over whether Mr Davis would allow a 'Cameron coronation'.

Also joining the press team is Ramesh Chhabra.  Ramesh joins from CCHQ.  David Hart will remain in overall charge of press operations.

David Canzini, formerly head of campaigns at CCHQ, has become the Davis campaign director.  Ashley Crossley, a tax lawyer, will be overseeing research for Mr Davis.  Iain Dale remains the Shadow Home Secretary's Chief of Staff.

Comments

[Gareth]

Clearly it's in the bag for DD. After all, who can forget the marvellous press coverage IDS used to get?

[James Hellyer]

Aaaagggghhh!

Sorry Gareth, but that brings back horrible memories of the BBC running footage of IDS standing next to a bust of Mussolini!

[Rick]

Maybe we should vote BBC - after all it is like the Established Church save that it is compulsorily financed through a tithe and the C of E is not.

The BBC has a mission, and propagates its gospel ad nauseam; in fact it is a Political Party with its own Manifesto.

Why not elect the BBC ?

[Elena]

I used to feel ever so sorry for IDS. When the vultures were circling at the 2003 conference, what part of a pretty good speech did most media outlets decide to broadcast? The "Turning up the volume" line, which, granted, was supposed to be a soundbite, but ended up making IDS look pretty silly over most of the evening news.

He certainly needs to do something...
Another day, another Davis. It's like the Major years all over again! Launch upon launch. I spotted some negative coverage in The Times today, but nothing at all on TV last night.

[ids]

Oh dear. Given David Canzini's record running by elections is it not time to think again about a Cameron coronation!

[Jack Stone]

I am afraid if DD brought in god himself to help him he will still lose.
People have seen for there own eyes that in David Cameron with his youth and freshness they have someone capable of leading them to victory. In David Davis they have someone who would frankly find it hard to inspire a room full of monkeys and is about as certain to lose the next election as Chelsea are of winning this years Premiership!

[Selsdon Man]

Ashley Crossley's result in Falmouth and Camborne does not bode well either - third in a target seat where the Lib Dems leap-frogged us to take Seb Coe's old seat from Labour. Our share of the vote fell by 3.5%. The Lib Dem vote share increased by 10%.

In Norfolk North, Iain Dale saw the Lib Dem majority rise from 483 to 10606 - the Tory vote share fell by nearly 6%.

Add Canzini ..........

[James Hellyer]

Crossley's local CA imploded, with much of its exec working for UKIP.

[Richard Allen]

Thank God for that. DD has finally got a compotent media operator in his camp.

[Selsdon Man]

I forgot to include Nick Longworth, PPC in Twickenham in 2001 - Lib Dem majority up from 4281 to 7655. Con share down from 37.8 to 33.4%.

[James Maskell]

Ramesh Chhabra, wow, what a promotion. I remember when he was Conservative Future Chairman for my area two years ago. That was my first taste of Conservative politics. Helps Roger Gale at Parliament I believe and stood for my neighbouring ward (came a suprizing second) in a by-electiona good while ago. He started as favourite to win but for some reason ended up falling behind. Suspect its because the other Cllr in that ward is Iris Johnston, a well known Labour Cllr who stood against Roger Gale in 1997 and back in May.

The Tory former MP of Falmouth stood as an independent this year polling around 2%.
Then Crossley had too many problems with some of his local party trying to deselect him because of his homosexuality.

[wasp]

I also heard a lot of the Conservative officers in Falmouth were putting UKIP videos through people's doors when they were supposed to be leafleting for the conservatives.

[Jack Stone]

It is said David Davis is to propose tax cuts of more than the four million pounds promised in May`s elections.
Its about time that people realised that the simplistic nonsense that lower taxes are the Tories way back to power is complete nonsense.
William Hauge promised eight million pounds tax cuts in the 2001 election and he lost by even more than we did in May.
David Cameron seems to rightly recognise that tax cuts can only come when the party as convinced the public that we will put the improvement of public services first and will not sacrifise them for the sake of tax cuts.
The problem with the right is that they see everything in a black and white manner and believe that there are easy answers to get the party back to power, there are not.
The way back to power is to listen to what people are telling you and act accordingly and its about time that the party accepted that people want better public services before they want tax cuts.
Hopefully when David Cameron wins the election we will at long last have a leader who recognises this.

David Canzini is a huge boost for DDs campaign!