David Cameron's summer message

David Cameron has just released his 'summer message':

“Now Parliament has risen for the summer recess, I thought I should bring you up to date with recent political developments, to chart the progress we have made, and to thank you for all your hard work over the past few months.

There are three particular areas I would like to highlight:

• our success as an effective Opposition in Parliament;
• the important changes we are making in the Conservative Party;
• and some important electoral successes.

I believe that by working together over the past seven months, we have become the powerful new voice for change, optimism and hope in our country.  Politics is interesting again, and it’s an exciting time to be a Conservative.

An Effective Opposition in Parliament

Our strong and energetic Shadow Cabinet and Shadow Ministerial Team have shredded the Government’s legislative programme and held Labour ministers to account for their failures.  For example, we have forced the Government to abandon compulsory police mergers, u-turn on home information packs and backtrack on ID cards.

Conservative Party Changes

We are making good progress with implementing important changes in our Party.  We have held a series of successful meetings throughout the country giving members the opportunity to debate ‘Built to Last’, our statement of aims and values, and we will shortly publish a summary of the responses.  As promised, we will revise the document to take account of members’ views and later in the summer every member will have the chance to vote on the adoption of ‘Built to Last’.

We have set a clear political direction so that now people can begin to see the contours of the next Conservative government: more green, more local, more family-friendly, less arrogant about politicians’ ability to solve every problem.

Electoral Success

While we have been setting out a new direction, the Government has become mired in sleaze, incompetence and drift.  Tax credits, hospital closures, prisoner releases, botched reshuffles…after nine years in office, Labour are running out of excuses and running out of ideas. 

Our campaigning efforts have met with some important successes at the ballot box: in the May local elections we had our best result since 1985 and we now have a powerful army of excellent Conservative councillors right across the country.  But there is a mountain still to climb, and we must keep up the pressure on Labour and keep up the pressure for change in our Party.

The Gordon Brown approach to government – top-down, centralising, with a state solution for every problem – has clearly failed.  Labour’s shambolic performance since the last election has destroyed people’s faith that the state can deliver.

Our responsibility is to provide an exciting, competent and credible alternative.  We need to be ready for the General Election whenever it comes.  That means the changes we have to make must go faster, wider and deeper.  We need more women candidates.  We need to do more to earn people’s trust in our cities.  And we need to show we have the ideas to meet the complex challenges of the future, reflecting our core values – trusting people and sharing responsibility.

So thank you once again for all you have done, have a great summer, and let’s make sure we’re ready for the challenges that lie ahead.”

Comments

[Deputy Editor]

Thank you for saying thank you, David.

We have set a clear political direction so that now people can begin to see the contours of the next Conservative government: more green, more local, more family-friendly, less arrogant about politicians’ ability to solve every problem.

Sounds good to me.

[william]

I agree with the DE except would David Cameron please show his values in action by removing the threat of deselection from Roger Helmer and anyone who dares to speak up to expose corruption? The words are all a bit meaningless if they don't match the actions.

[buxtehude]

"less arrogant about politicians’ ability to solve every problem"

It would be nice if DC believed that the Conservatives could answer any problem.

Indeed, it would be nice if he showed any understanding of any real problems faced by normal people.

Then maybe he wouldn't seem arrogant.

[David Banks]

Great stuff DC , i'm saluting the screen as i write. Lets forge on ahead with our shoulders to the wheel, while Labour throw in the towel with their heads down. Together , standing shoulder to shoulder we will alert the public that the governments chickens are coming home to roost , and when they do we will look those headless chickens in the eye until the cows come home. We've got a mountain to climb in our cities, where things are going downhill, but thankfully things are flattening out in the countryside where our polls are going up. It's full steam ahead if we all pull together and watch each others backs while standing with our backs to the wall and extending a compassionate hand to those beneath us.
Well, i'm inspired by his statement anyway.

[changetowin]

Well said David. I will stand by you as your make the necessary changes and stand up to those who want to take us back to the days of Hague/IDS/Howard.

[Andy D]

Well said David - I think we could all find individual little things on which we don't quite agree upon, but overall the direction the party is heading in is very positive, congratulations on your first few months in charge and I look forward to seeing how things evolve in the next few years.

[MH]

Funny how he doesn't mention that the Conservative vote has fallen in every parliamentary by-election since he became leader.

[Ted]

Like Sam I like the sentence "more green, more local, more family-friendly, less arrogant about politicians’ ability to solve every problem." - we need perhaps to think about less government, tax relief (whew almost said less tax - must have been the rhythm of More.., more...,more...less.., less..., less... than nearly drove me to heresy) but overall sentiments are good.

[Richard]

"less arrogant about politicians’ ability to solve every problem"

Sounds like a hint at a smaller and less interfering state. Let us hope it influences policy.

[Richard Weatherill]

No - let's hope it IS policy!

[malcolm]

You often post 'Changetowin' about how awful the Conservative party used to be pre-Cameron and how our campaigns were of the (far) right.I'm really interested in what substantive changes you really want to see in matters of policy.If you could be specific rather than general I'd be grateful.

[sbjme19]

I heard F Maude being interviewed on the World at One. When taxed with the poor result at Bromley, he said that they had done some research and the result was n't anything to do with DC but, tantalisingly, he didn't say what the reason was. Personally I'm all for DC and think he's going the right way but three things puzzle me at the moment.
1. The poor result at Bromley.
2. The surprising amount of teflon still left on the Labour frying pan.
3. The attitude of the main tory broadsheet when the party it supports has been ahead for the first time for ages.

[Nigel C]

I am still with Cameron but why aren't we making more of the mess the economy is in?

[Annabel Herriott]

To sbjme19 at 15.20. Do you think the Bromley result just might have been due to the high numbers of members of the Tebbitt persuasion living there?
signed Devil's Advocate.

I think DC is doing just fine. Its a marathon, you know, not a 100 yd dash.

[Ted]

the concern I have about Bromley is that we political anoraks search for deep meanings and in the end it could just be that the weather was good (after a long winter and cool spring) and there was no sign it would be close (even the LDs on PBetting didn't see the LDs were any threat) and so most voters stayed at home, watered the garden, had barbecues.

OK we lost a few because the candidate had a few drawbacks but there wasn't a huge increase in LD vote numbers, UKIP failed and Labour voters didn't turn out either.

[christina speight]

What self-congratulatory nonsense! With the Labour party in total disarray - a mere 4-5% ahead in the polls is shameful..

The chairman is a disaster and should GO now. Cameron broke his promise over the EPP - ONE broken promise is enough! Cameron merely apes the crooked Blair and fails to ram home the ill-equipped British Army is costing British lives. - no extra helicopters available; using unarmoured Land Rovers. By backing Blair on this Cameron has blood on his hands too .

The man is WET as can be and will only win an election because of the Labour disarray.

Wake up!

Bromley was a total disaster so please stop making feeble excuses

[sbjme19]

Annabel: I'm not sure. There are probably rather more right-wing Tories than in some other places but I probably go for Ted's explanation as much as any - supporters thought "Oh we're bound to win - let's stay and enjoy the nice weather." There are some quite big gardens and the odd swimming pool!

[free_democrat]

It does puzzle me that so many of the people who contribute to the comments seem irritated that we are doing well or determinined to pick holes. Anyone would think your not all party members - which i guess your not.

With regards to Bromley i'd listen to the most recent Challenge the Chairman FM puts forward a clear basis for where things didn't work out and how they intend to address it.

The Telegraph's attitude is odd and can be traced back to Martin Newland's departure. For whatever reason the new guy thinks his readership wants to see the Tories knocked and if it means a touch of misrepresentation they'll do it. When it comes to election time though they'll only be endorsing one party.

The progress in the last year has been remarkable and long may it continue.

[Chris Palmer]

Can we set attack-dog David Davis on incompetent Labour now, please?

[John Ashworth]

Pity the summer address didn't include standing up for our Nation. No wonder support for BNP in the North is increasing.

[christina speight]

"The progress in the last year has been remarkable" ??? WHAT progress? The Labour party falls to bits ands all the Boy Cameron can achieve is a 1% lead over the utterly despised and discredited Blair.

Cameron hasn't lost the plot - he never got it in the first place. All those missing 4 million tory voters will stay missing at this rate. I am one of those who came back but Cameron has driven me away again!

[provincial thicko]

What rot! Cameron has achieved nothing. All he has managed to do is alienate the core of the Party, the people who stuff the envelopes, man the phones, knock on doors and deliver leaflets, in fair weather and foul. This is an achievement? It's time you clever, metropolitan types rejoined the real world. Bromley was a disaster and directly attributable to the new dispensation.

[william]

Christina, Bromley could have signified different things, including a confusion in Part supporters about Cameron, which can be addressed.

We need to move on to the next challenges, and see if the pattern changes.

The situation is fluid with Ming chasing Labour's left wing, Conservatives occupying the centre ground, fringe parties targeting traditional Conservatives, and Labour setting up more opportunities for electoral fraud to try and mask the collpase in their support.

The by elections showed Labour support at rock bottom. I believe those real results more than any opinion polls.

Given Labour's collpase, we need to consolidate our traditional vote and we will win. It would be tragic if Cameron wastes the best opportunity we've had for 20 years, by believing opinion polls which are giving him a false picture.

[jarod weaver]

I'm a liberal conservative, right from the start, let's get this straight. This ridiculous idea that Margaret Thatcher and Norman Tebbit were far right is a myth,that has been put forward by the liberal media, (basically the BBC). Margaret Thatcher couldn't care less if you were Pakistani, west indian, gay, British, straight or whatever. She believed in an attitude, not an identity. I feel so proud that sajit mahmood and monty panasar wear our badge with pride, in the same way that the England football team has black players singing the national anthem, wonderful!But what Cameron and his guilty sidekick, Francis Maude are doing to the Conservative party is breaking my heart. There, now is no such thing as a Conservative Party. The Bromley by-election told Dave that Conservatives like me, (modern, liberal tax-cutting Conservatives) will never vote Conservative while he, Gideon(sharing the proceeds of growth) Osbourne, Teresa (nasty party) May and Francis (I hate myself) Maude are in control of the party. I don't want to hug a hoodie, I don't want to tell WH Smith that they shouldn't sell chocolate oranges. I want a government to stay out of my life, but Dave can't help himself can he?

[Yet Another Anon]

No wonder support for BNP in the North is increasing.
Even if you mean Northern England (after all they really don't figure much at all anywhere outside of England), if anything they have been suffering reversals in Burnley; they have a few councillors but in fact as much as they have a regional base (rather more local bases) if anything it has shifted south with Barking & Dagenham now being the council where they have their most councillors - 11 out of 46, certainly if the gains of 2006 were to repeat in the next few years they would end up holding the council which would be their only one, otherwise Stoke-on-Trent where they have a few councillors now shows no signs of actually being a BNP prospect and nor does anywhere else - what they do is focus their resources on a couple of local areas and then shift their focus when the bigger parties shift their resources more heavily there, at most they might take enough votes off a Labour MP to result in another party winning the seat, but even in Keighley where Nick Griffin was standing, labour still held the seat and the Conservatives still came 2nd.

[free democrat]

Jarod Weaver wrote

"(I) will never vote Conservative while he, Gideon(sharing the proceeds of growth) Osbourne, Teresa (nasty party) May and Francis (I hate myself) Maude are in control of the party."

This is the sort of thing that irritates me no end. If you are a Conservative what makes you want to resort to calling George Osbourne the name he gave up when he was 13. A cogent argument for a tougher line on taxation that is not. Besides it's like Danny Finkelstien said "The famous Cameron statement about sharing the proceeds of growth between public services and lower taxes ... is a clever reformulation of the idea of growing public spending more slowly than the economy. If only everyone agreed with that the world would be a better place."

You then have a pop at "Teresa (sic) (nasty party) May". Again why do people insist on taking out of context and repeating stuff like this. What are they trying to achieve? For the record Mrs May said "You know what some people call us — the nasty party.". Then going on to make the point that this is profoundly wrong we're not like that at all but we need to change how people see us. To David Cameron's credit that is actually happening now.

The third figure in your bizarre personal axis of hate is "Francis (I hate myself) Maude". Whats the real problem here for you. Since he became Chairman he has taken decisive action to sort the Party out. I may agree or disagree with individual decisions but thats not the point. I can recognise that we share the same goal of a Conservative government. Thats enough for him (in general) to have my support.

That you say that you won't vote for the Conservatives with these individuals in charge which i find obtuse in the extreme. If things continue to progress as they are for the first time in my adult life at the next general election I will be able to cast a vote for the Conservatives knowing not that it was a largely futile gesture but that I might help elect a governemnt. Don't you want that too?

[Gwendolyn]

Just a few comments.
If, as speight says Cameron never had the plot in the first place, how come she signed up for him to begin with?
Why is it that those who loathe Cameron invariably use the term 'Boy Dave' 'Boy Cameron' or 'Lad Dave' is it because they can't cope with his superior intellect and need to jibe at him for his comparative youthfulness?
David Davis is hopeless without a script, on his last appearance in Parliament, having to respond on his feet, the BBC did not bother to show him, and Sky yawned him off after a few inarticulate sentences; you know a politician is doing badly when he keeps turning round to speak to his own side thus avoiding the contempt facing him. Pathetic.
Since the Bromley electorate, being of the Tebbit tendency, refused to let Cameron join in the pre-election work, he can hardly be blamed for the poor result.

[James Maskell]

Cameron has a lovely message, though of course it ignores his own failures in leadership...I digress from my true reason for posting.

I have a message for Cameron. If he truly wants to be Prime Minister and return the Conservatives to power, he must unleash every political force he has. Being soft doesnt lead to victory.

Politics is much like a game of Chess. The Conservatives and Labour have their own armies...Cameron must use every piece he has as well as the 17th piece in chess known as psychology. Utilize it all instead of using just your minor pieces.

[Jack Stone]

I am afraid Christine you really are a stupied woman. DC is the most popular leader of the most popular party in the country. If that`s failure give me failure every time.
I am afraid for reasons of your own namely you are one of these rabbid right-wingers who don`t like the direction of the party or the fact we have a moderate leader you would say DC was a failure if we were thirty points in front in the opionion polls and were winning evey by-election by a mile.
You want a party that is closer to the nutters in UKIP and the BNP than the views of the moderate, decent majority. Well I tell you one thing I hope to god you never get your wish not just for the party`s sake but our country`s as well.

[Jon White]

A bit harsh Jack Stone. Whatever your views of other people's posts, perhaps we should refrain from calling each other 'stupid'. You are clearly an intelligent person and name calling ill becomes you.

I too hope that our party never panders to extremism. I, like you, find the BNP distateful. But to bracket them with UKIP is very unfair to UKIP. UKIP are not a racist party, they are an anti-EU party. I for one, have much sympathy, but would not give them my vote for fear of splitting the opposition to NuLab.

Christine is not a 'stupid woman' to point out that Cameron has indeed broken to one and only pledge that he has so far made. That is not stupidity, it is a fact. I tend to agree with you more about the fact that we are leading in the polls,for the first time since 1992 I believe, and that we should rejoice in that. However, I don't want a leader interested in power without principle - we have that already in Blair.

Cameron still has my vote, but he should not count on it. Any more broken pledges, or cosying up to our 'friends' in the EU, and I will be more inclined towards UKIP.

[malcolm]

Jon,probably best not get inolved in a Christina Speight v Jack Stone fight.Christina posts again and again about how DC is the devil incarnate and Jack seems to think he's the greatest bloke who walked the earth and that all the rest of us are dangerous rightwingers who support the BNP and UKIP etc.It would be amusing but they both make the same points again and again and again.