B-listers miss opportunity to collar Cameron

There is some unhappiness amongst 'B-listers' that David Cameron failed to show up at last night's candidates reception.  For the first time in living memory the party leader missed the opportunity to meet and greet candidates.  Did Mr Cameron's advisers fear that he might get the hissing treatment?  One candidate told ConservativeHome that Mr Cameron would have found the reception a bruising experience.  September's CH/ Independent survey of Tory opinion found that just 6% of members thought that the Alist included the party's most talented candidates.

Comments

[James Maskell]

Cameron said that we shouldnt underestimate how strongly he feels about this. So strongly he avoids the problems that stem from it...

[Matt Davis]

Interestingly David Cameron also failed to turn up to the Conservative Councillors Association reception tonight, despite agreeing to attend.This is the second time in a row that he has snubbed his Councillors, having also not appeared, other than in a video, at the CCA conference either.So it would seem that our Leader doesn't feel the need to meet and greet either his candidates or his Councillors.

[Alison Anne Smith]

"So it would seem that our Leader doesn't feel the need to meet and greet either his candidates or his Councillors."

I hope Mr Cameron has got a secret army of helpers for the next GE has I fear some of the party members will start losing interest if the Party continues to treat them with such contempt.

[Tam Large]

This is typical of the contempt in which our current leadership appears to hold the activists and people on the front line who are actually fighting on the streets for our Party - not to mention the many pensioners who won't be able to afford the new £25 sub next year.

He may show us cozy webcams from his kitchen, but he appears to live in a large ivory tower... Get out of your media room Dave, and come and see the real people who make up this Party and treat them with the respect they deserve.

[leo]

Anyone caught Newsnight?

Absolutly spitting about the bloody rees-moggs. how dare they?! In the middle of our "we are the future" conference we have Jacob being the worst type of stereotypical tory. It was a good reason for the somerset-arians to vote LD.

[Political Animal]

Cameron and his cabal of power-hungry suggestors draw on very limited experience... much hubris and a rather unattractive nose-in-the-air manner.

Without the track record to shore up this unwise position, making enemies is foolish and people will want to squash them. Pointless at this stage.

[C List and Proud]

Actually, Jacob Rees-Mogg has finally said something I agree with.

MPs should be the brightest and best of our society as they are charged with dealing with the very worst of the problems we face at the highest level.

We have been relatively peaceful for so long, some people seem to think that we need to allow candidates of lesser quality, with limited experience and - can I say this? Probably not, but I'm feeling a bit Jack Straw right now - ethnic, rather than personal credentials, because that's somehow "fair".

Life ain't fair and when some people want to kill you or your town is dying or you ain't got a job, you want somebody bright at the top. No. You want the brightest guy or girl you can find at the top.

Jacob may have been careless in saying "plant pot" as the media - huh, them again - spun this to mean a particular sort of person, rather than recognising his suggestion that you could have a quota for plant pots, which would be daft. But then the media are generally too thick to notice real intelectual debate anyway.

I don't know who the "A" list candidate was who was quoted in the Standard as objecting to Rees Mogg's comments, but just by commenting he showed they know nothing about politics.

As Reagan said, "Never speak ill of a fellow Conservative". (However daft).