Michael Portillo wants everyone else to hold their tongues

Michael Portillo yesterday, quoted in The Guardian: "I think David Cameron was pursuing the right course, which was moving the party to the centre ground, and I think that those in the party who do not like it should just hold their tongues."

The Press Association today: "Conservative leader David Cameron has been accused by former Cabinet minister Michael Portillo of "losing his nerve" over the rebranding of his party." (See Marketing Week).

Comments

[Umbrella man]

The Conservative Party made Michael Portillo. He now appears determined to destroy it at every opportunity.

[tired and emotional]

God the irony

[Moral minority]

Would this be the same Michael Portillo who, in a recent speech to the Marketing Forum, accused Cameron of losing his nerve?

Or is it the Michael Portillo who, in a Times article, wrote that Cameron had no chance of winning the next election?

With "friends" like Portillo, who needs enemies?

[Henry Rogers]

He'll never forgive us for not begging him to be our saviour! I wouldn't have thought that voters take him too seriously though.

[tapestry]

Portillo is right that politics is about branding.

But he has too simpistic a view of the marketplace. what was sexy in 1997 when Portillo got the boot in Enfield, is not necessarily sexy now. Blair style is demode. It was the era of non-politics, of easy money, of celebrity and froth.

The Brown era is much tougher. Debts sky-high. Crime threatening the peace of society. Educational standards collapsing. Taxation at an all-time high. Politics is coming back onto the agenda as life is getting tougher again - thanks almost entirely to ten years of Labour mismanagement. A few traditonal measures are just what's needed to hold the centre ground.

Portillo's half right, but also half wrong. Cameron's playing it about right.

Ancram's not even twigged that we're playing a game of branding, and is still writing school essays.

[Andrew Woodman]

Good god if this man had got hold of our party. As I understand it he's unhappy about the last few weeks in which we've had policies quoted on crime and immigration. So at a time when peoples concerns about crime are increasing, Portillo thinks we should be out planting trees or something.

The man's living in another world.

[Think about it]

"Taxation at an all-time high"

No it's not. Tax freedom day was lower this year than in the last year of Thatcher's rule.

[Tony Makara]

David Cameron has a monumental task. He is trying to change the face of the most successful political party in history. A party that has been so successful because it always reflected the aspirations of the british people. When the party stopped refelcting the people's aspirations it lost power, and has remained out of power. David Cameron has seen that change is necessary. He is on course to return the party to government, by refecting the concerns of people today in 2007.

No-one can disagree that Conservative tactics in the 1980s were right for that era, but a different era requires a different approach. Many voters have passed away and many new voters have replaced them over the last 15 years. New voters with a different outlook. As attitudes change so must political parties.

The Conservative party under David Cameron is still a Conservative party, but a Conservative party in the modern era, with a modern Conservative perspective.

[Think about it]

"When the party stopped refelcting the people's aspirations it lost power,"

Well, if "stopped refelcting the people's aspirations" is a euphemism for "farked up the economy", then yes, you are right.

Otherwise you're just talking meaningless crap.

[Baskerville]

I'm afraid Michael has become just another media 'whore'. His editor wants controversial columns, so that's what he writes. People who pay for public speakers want sparks and prefereably headlines, so Michael gives them both.
I was going to say what a sad decline, but then I recall that I always had Portillo down as overrated.

[Paul Oakley]

The nerve of the man. If Ancram's a has-been, what does that make Portillo? Bloke was beaten by a candidate whose work experience consisted of being an NUS officer for heaven's sake.

[Tony Makara]

Think about it, aside from your juvinile respose I'm just wondering what you would do that David Cameron isn't doing?

[Sean Fear]

Andrew Woodman, I think we dodged quite a wide bullet when he failed to become leader.

I fail to see how we could return to power if we simply ignore peoples' worries, and adopt a Pollyannaish view of the World.

[Think about it]

"aside from your juvinile respose I'm just wondering what you would do that David Cameron isn't doing"

Well, seeing as you asked; I'd personally just honour his EPP pledge now, stop calling party members 'delusional', 'meaningless' etc, stop meddling at the top and let local people make their own decisions locally with education vouchers and free choice of educational structures, oppose the extensions to state funding of political parties and propose a long-term goal to get the tax freedom day back to 1st May as a real long-term goal to reduce the size of state.

[Yogi]

Michael Portillo's arrogance caused him his seat in 1997 and I still regret the fact that I spent a lot of time canvassing for him and knocking up in 1999. At once he set about undermining William Hague.
The man has no principles, suffers from dillusions of grandeur and frankly apolitical people laugh at him.

The fact of the matter is that Portaloo is yesterday's man and no one cares for his views any more.

[Dontmakemelaugh]

Employee at the Leftie BBC still outraged:

Michael Portillo wants everyone else to hold their tongues (unfortunately it does n't include him).

[Moral minority]

Tony Makara, if I was Cameron, I would reshuffle the Shadow Cabinet.

David Davis should replace Osborne as Shadow Chancellor. Osborne would be moved to environment to replace Ainsworth who has performed abysmally, especially during the flood problems. The hard-working Damian Green would be brought back to replace the hapless David Willetts.

Liam Fox would become Shadow Home Secretary. His current Defence brief would go to his deputy, Gerald Howarth. Adam Afriye would replace Sayeeda Warsi as Shadow Minister for social cohesion.

Chris Grayling and Caroline Spelman would swap jobs. Grayling would be a combative Party Chairman and assume Osborne's campaigning responsibilities. Michael Gove would take on Oliver Letwin's policy co-ordination role. Owen Patterson or Cheryl Gillan should take on the Scotland brief from the unpopular David Mundell.

We would then have a combative Shadow Cabinet that was hungry and ready for government. All shadow cabinet members must be full-time. Those who fail to attack the government and develop innovative policies should be sacked for incompetence.

[Henry Rogers]

I know the fellow is a pain, but he must always live with the thought that he might have become PM if only his nerve had held. Tough! (The fact that his nerve didn't hold then was and is useful information for the rest of us.) I still feel sorry for him, very slightly and not very often.

[Richard]

"Michael Gove would take on Oliver Letwin's policy co-ordination role."

Having just finished reading 'Celsius 7/7', why not make Gove foreign secretary? I do of course like Mr Hague as well, but at least one other Conservative commentators has observed that being foreign secretary means he does not get as many chances to criticise the government (which he is of course good at) as he might.

[Tony Makara]

Think about it, thanks for responding, interesting to read your views. At least you have ideas on what you would like to see being done. Some people just criticize David because he isn't Margaret Thatcher.

Moral minority, I think certain shadow cabinet members need to be more vocal. Rather than waiting for news to happen they should be chasing and making the news with statements. Everytime there is a Labour foul-up or other news item they should be getting in touch with media ready and primed with an immediate response.

[Moral minority]

Tony, I agree. The Shadow Cabinet is under-performing. There does seem to be a laid-back, part-time culture that was evident before Cameron became Leader. Too many Shadow Ministers seem comfortable with supplementing their Parliamentary salaries with lucrative directorships.

Cameron does seem to lack real world managerial experience. He seems to be a soft touch. John Bercow and Patrick Mercer should not have been allowed to advise Brown. If they do, they should lose the Whip and face deselection. Thatcher would not have tolerated a Tory MP advising Jim Callaghan.

Dave needs to get tough on policy and with the Shadow Cabinet. He needs to show the ruthless will and determination to deliver a better Britain. Only then will he be viewed as a potential PM. Respect is earned over time and no amount of spin can compensate for substance.

When it comes to dealing with the media, he needs real experience. Recruiting the experienced Lord Bell to work with Andy Coulson would be a step in the right direction. Portillo is a shill irrelevance.

[Traditional Tory]

Yes, the hypocrisy of Portillo, who has now comprehensively slagged of every leader since Thatcher, is absolutely stunning.

Tony Makara - David Cameron has a monumental task. He is trying to change the face of the most successful political party in history. A party that has been so successful because it always reflected the aspirations of the british people

Actually the Conservative Party does not instantly present itself in those glowing terms as every successful phase of its existence from the pre-1832 Tories, through to Disraeli, the turn-of-the-century imperialists, the so-called appeasers, Churchill's wartime leadership, Home after the boom years of Macmillan, Thatcher and Major has ended in humiliation.

If you are taking an international perspective, there are many parties in one-party states which have a rather longer run of success. If you thank that's cheating, I would also say that both the US parties have a good deal more life in them tha today's Tories.

So the trumpet-blowing is inappropriate. The party is certainly not as many of us would like to see it - confident, honest, and principled - and Cameron is not helping.

Anyway, Cameron is changing nothing now. Much of his original window-dressing has already gone out of the window and the recent 'luch to the right', welcome as it may be, is too little too late.

[Tony Makara]

Moral minority, it would be good to see a rapid proactive news-response team set up. Their entire purpose should be to monitor the news, then when a story breaks they get in touch with the shadow minister responsible, get astatement from him/her and get it off to every branch of media. It cannot be stressed how important it is to stay in the news. It was David Cameron's recent high profile that melted Brown's lead in the polls. The party has to stay in the news and try and lead the news agenda everyday.

[Moral minority]

When it comes to holding tongues, it should start at CCHQ. Here is an interesting piece from Ben Brogan's daily Mail blog

"Is there something comical about Dave telling the Sun that he wants "all Conservatives to think carefully before they open their mouths" - only for young Kulveer Ranger, a party vice-chairman and promising would-be MP on the candidates' list, to ignore him and accuse him of being a "modern-day toff"? Mr Ranger says: "The aristocratic tinge to his heritage, the Bullingdon Club photo and even the Notting Hill lifestyle have served to reinforce all the old brand associations of a Conservative toff - albeit a modern day toff. This is his Achilles heel."

Mr Ranger appears to be the new comical Ali Miraj!

[Graham Smith]

Pot - kettle - black?

[Tony Makara]

Moral minority, thanks for that. Interesting and a bit naive of Mr Ranger to say that. Personally I don't see being educated at a great British institution to be any sort of Achilles Heel. I certainly wish I could have send my child to Eton! Same goes for living in a place like Notting Hill. I don't buy into all this inverted snobbery. Some people get a better start in life than others, but only because their forefathers did the spadework generations before. If anyone has an aristocratic tinge to their background then bully for them! There is nothing wrong with being wealthy.

[Moral minority]

I'm not a recently appointed Party vice-chairman or on the Candidates List.

[Traditional Tory]

Mr Ranger appears to be the new comical Ali Miraj!

OTOH this Ranger is likely to prove far from 'lone'

It's a cause for growing concern that Cameron appears increasingly to be alienating senior colleagues who are members of visible ethnic minorities.

If this worrying trend continues it will raise some awkward questions.

[Moral minority]

Traditional Tory, are you Henry Rogers? My computer listed Henry Rogers as the poster of the last message but the thread says it is Traditional Tory. The Cameroons here think that you are the notorious Mike Smith.

[Henry Rogers]

"Traditional Tory, are you Henry Rogers? My computer listed Henry Rogers as the poster of the last message but the thread says it is Traditional Tory. The Cameroons here think that you are the notorious Mike Smith."

Moral Minority,

I don't know "Traditional Tory"'s personal name or surname but short of some surprising coincidence they won't the same as mine! I use my own name since I have no professional or business need for a pen-name, also I post from my own computer rather than from an office or internet cafe.

I can't help you prove or disprove a link between "Trad T" and "Mike Smith" but doubtless he or they will help or not according to how he or they are feeling!

Anyway I pay a sub to the Tory party and have voted for it most of my adult life but I'm not an "activist". Since I'm in my 70s and spent the first few years of my career in the Army I'm probably a bit too close to the popular stereotype of "Doddery Tory Party Member" to be an ace canvaser! However I have to own up to very middle of the road views, I haven't much time for the 'bleeding heart' or the 'hang em and flog em' wings of the party. And, unless our editor disallows this on grounds of language, I'm happy to own up to thinking that, so far as journalists are concerned, that both Portillo and Heffer are utter prats in their different ways! (Ditto Polly Toynbee, but she's got the excuse that she is a Socialist.)

For what it's worth I can't really see alternative course of action to that being followed by Cameron achieving any better results. As it happens I voted for Davis in the leadership election but I think, on reflection, that the huge majority in favour of Cameron told us something about how non-fanatical people of all political parties (or none) want things done.

Final thought, I would never feel about any organization I paid a sub to that I'd rather see them lose than depart from my own preferred "vision". If I felt that strongly I'd find another more compatible cause to support.

It must be much more fun being a Troll!

[Henry Rogers]

Moral Minority,

Please don't take the last sentence as being directed in your direction! Just realised how it could be misunderstood. I was really thinking of Newlab (and other) disrupters.

Henry

[Traditional Tory]

Traditional Tory, are you Henry Rogers? My computer listed Henry Rogers as the poster of the last message but the thread says it is Traditional Tory. The Cameroons here think that you are the notorious Mike Smith.

I am Traditional Tory, which is all you need to know. I know nothing about Henry Rogers except that he posts here. Mike Smith - notorious or otherwise - is apparently the UKIP organiser in Gloucester, a city I last visited 20 years ago.

I know these Roons are getting increasingly desperate, but really...

[Terry Tibbs]

"He'll never forgive us for not begging him to be our saviour! I wouldn't have thought that voters take him too seriously though."

Are you talking about Cameron or Portillo?

[Jarod Weaver]

Michael Portillo has become the new Ted Heath without the sulky face. A so called big beast, Gordon Brown made mincemeat of him when he was shadow chancellor. In reply, Portillo tried to make mincemeat of William Hague. A slimy, two-faced hypocrite. I'm no fan of Cameron, but he's Churchill when compared to the bitter, spiteful egotist that Portillo has become.

[Happy Tory]

Having met him once or twice, I'd say that Kulveer Ranger is pretty serious minded and committed to the welfare of the party, so whatever he said was probably a serious and thoughtful comment taken out of context.

[Alistair]

Too true Jarrod.

In fact it is no exaggeration to say that Michael Xavier Portaloo, son of Thatcher, did more to tarnish the Conservative Party than any other person. Some of his admirers, who will remain unnamed, were utterly unspeakable.

Fortunately I still cherish happy memories of that election result in Ealing when the far-right hero crashed and burned in front of an audience of millions.

No wonder it was voted the most enjoyable televisual event of the last century

[Dontmakemelaugh]

Fortunately I still cherish happy memories of that election result in Ealing when the far-right hero crashed and burned in front of an audience of millions.

No wonder it was voted the most enjoyable televisual event of the last century

Posted by: Alistair | September 06, 2007 at 21:09

Yes it was truly enjoyable, especially when viewed in slow motion, as in Match of the Day. The sudden production of the red card
and the sending off of Portillo for an early bath was very enjoyable - only to be marred by the decision subsequently being challenged by the bleeding hearts at Chelsea/Kensington constituency when Portillo was again back in the team despite being over the top and a "blast from the past" (as opposed to being the new breed of blasted modernisers). He subsequently left on a free transfer to the BBC (where his lack of ability still shows)
However, Alistair, enjoyable as it was it failed to beat the most joyous televisual event since Heath went: by a huge polling majority (undertaken by UpYoursGov.com)) the most joyous was the picture of Mr & Mrs Blair's backsides leaving Downing street forever.
Gordon Broon hates being a loser to the Blairs and even as we speak he is promising and plotting to out perform the Blairs and in aid of that he has sent Milibaby to Brussels to plead that the huge Muslim population be invited over to Britain (just incase the Romanians, Bulgarians and the Poles leave because of overcrowding)
We lookforward to the next poll undertaken by Upyoursgov.com when I am sure that Broon leaving will televisually triumph even the departure of the Blairs

[MancInTheCity]

What kind of thread is this?

Have a go at someone who actually realised and communicated what the major problems are with this party, and what needs to be done to address it? The conservative party needs to change and have policies which appeal to the country as it is, not as it used to be. The job of this party is to win elections.

David Cameron has been elected as the leader of this party on a change agenda; an agenda to actually form a government after 3 sucessive election defeats.

What Mr. Anchram did the other morning was inexcusable. This kind of indicipline against a leader would not be tolerated in any private or public company, or the army. He'd be out on his ear...The whip should have been withdrawn.

It's time for people to "hold thier tongues" or as I would say, shut up.

[Dontmakemelaugh]

"What Mr. Anchram did the other morning was inexcusable. This kind of indicipline against a leader would not be tolerated in any private or public company, or the army. He'd be out on his ear...The whip should have been withdrawn"

How come then that whenever Broon quotes the Shadow Minister for Democracy, Clarke in answer and rebuttal to Cameron's cries of foul over Europe that Clarke never gets slapped down nor "out on his ear...."

Unfortunately for Cameron some of us know why. You can't fool the people all of the time.

[Simon Denis]

Since he wishes to abolish democratic choice by offering the voter three labour parties, I'm not at all surprised that Mr Portillo should urge his opponents to "hold their tongues". A distaste for liberty goes hand in hand with an impatient attitude to argument. Note that he no longer bothers to reason with Mr Ancram. No, it's just, "Hold your tongue." Perhaps President Chavez might offer Mr Portillo a job in his propaganda department?

[Yet Another Anon]

Michael Portillo thinks everyone else except him should hold their tongues, in his time he has stood for almost everything and anything - he's claimed the motto of the SAS while cutting defence, championed family values and then pursued the pink vote. He's been Labour, Conservative and sort of vaguely Libertarian - what next?

[Gwendolyn]

I would justlike to say that the response from Henry Rogers is the best thing I have read on here for many a long day. A dignified and very welcome statement.

[Edward]

Down there with Ancram. Idiots.

[James Maskell]

Does anyone see the humour here with everyone telling everyone else to shut up?

[Conservative Man]

It seems rather too bad that Portillo has carved out a media career as a “Tory” commentator. If defecting to Labour were not such a danger to that career, I am sure he would have departed our party some time ago – leaving us all happier as a result.

[Conservative Man]

It seems rather too bad that Portillo has carved out a media career as a “Tory” commentator. If defecting to Labour were not such a danger to that career, I am sure he would have departed our party some time ago – leaving us all happier as a result.

[Oberon Houston]

Michael Portillo... well has had a pretty bad reception in this thread, as usual. I think he has changed his tune over the years and he speaks a lot of sense and would like to go on the record as saying so. And thats why CH boggers hate him.

I do remember someone else I did admire (before '97), a certain Chris Patten, who behaved like a bloody school girl in defeat, and listening to his speach live I was horrified at the mans behaviour.... And then came Portillo's, well I didn't think it, but he has guts at least, lots, he was brilliant. So the lot of you can pipe down fir a bit.

[Oberon Houston]

... forgot to add, the only man worse than Patten in'97 was........ Goldsmith. What a... bleeeep. Sorry Xac, but its true.

[malcolm]

Michael Portillo can sometimes be an interesting journalist.But his total lack of any form of consistency is what I expect makes so many on this blog including me so totally fed up with him.We didn't dodge a bullet when he was prevented from becoming party leader more like a bloody great missile.

[GADFLY]

MICHAEL PORTILO IS MORE FAMOUS FOR APPEARING ON TELEVISION TRYING TO ACT LIKE SOME GRAND STATESMAN AKA PADDY ASHDOWN.OR ACTING LIKE A GROUPIE FOR THE WORST DISASTER THAT EVER HAPPENED TO THIS COUNTRY BY THE NAME OF BLAIR.THE TROUBLE WITH THE SO CALLED MODERNISERS THAT ARE NOW SELLING POLITICAL PARTIES LIKE CORNFLAKES.WITH IMAGE CONSULTANTS,MARKETING ADVISERS,FOCUS GROUPS AND OTHER RUBBISH.THEY SHOULD REMEMBER McMILLAN"EVENTS DEAR BOYS EVENTS."

[anonymouse]

"Michael Portillo wants everyone else to hold their tongues"
While everyone else just wants to bite his tounge off!

[wonderfulforhisage]

Perhaps Portillo considers the Conservative Party's reluctance to anoint him leader as a slight rather than a shrewed summing up of character.

Hey ho, 'Hell hath no fury like a Portillo scorned'