ConservativeHome's ToryDiary

Reason and fairness are the first casualties when someone is accused of racism

ConservativeHome has learnt that one of Boris Johnson's most senior advisers James McGrath has stepped down from his post to avoid causing London's new Mayor any embarrassment.  On a citizen journalism website - The-Latest.com - this is reported:

"McGrath was far from politically correct, David-Cameron-new cuddly-Conservative Party, when I pointed out to him a critical comment of Voice columnist Darcus Howe that the election of “Boris Johnson, a right-wing Conservative, might just trigger off a mass exodus of older Caribbean migrants back to our homelands”.

He retorted: “Well, let them go if they don’t like it here.” McGrath dismissed influential race commentator Howe as ‘shrill’."

If you read all of Marc Wadsworth's piece for The-Latest.com you'll read the words of a writer determined to injure James McGrath and the Conservative Party.  James McGrath shouldn't have been pushed out of his job.  The remarks above - which are probably horribly out of context - should have been judged in the real context of his record.  Anyone who knows James McGrath knows him not to be a racist.  Far from it.  He's a man of integrity who as Chief of Staff to Francis Maude (when the latter was Chairman) helped deliver some of Project Cameron's early reforms.  Since then he has served the party very well - not least in helping to get Campaign Boris back on course at the turn of the year.

Public figures can get away with misusing expenses and terrible policy failures but an unfortunate phrase on racial issues causes something to go wrong in the wiring of politicians and the media.  ConservativeHome celebrates multiracial Britain but we also worry about what should be called an industry that is determined to see racism when there is nothing but an unfortunate remark.  Is there a gutsy politician willing to face up to the hysteria that this industry generates?  Without such guts there'll only be more false charges of racism.

Boris was himself accused of racism at the start of his Mayoral campaign.  Out of context his remarks appeared unfortunate.  In the context of his full career they rightly didn't worry fair-minded Londoners.  Boris should have had the backbone to stand by such a loyal aide.  There should have been no pressure to resign and no acceptance of a resignation.

The party cannot afford to lose people who are as talented as James McGrath.  National debate shouldn't continue to be held hostage by the racism industry.

9.15pm update: Boris has released a statement saying James McGrath isn't a racist and that he was taken out of context, but had to go anyway because it could provide "ammunition for those who wish to deliberately misrepresent" him. Read it in full below...

Hague calls for South Africa to turn the screw on Mugabe

Following the decision of the MDC to withdraw from Zimbabwe's elections, William Hague has called for the international community to do five things:

1. Withhold recognition of the Harare Government
2. Widen EU sanctions on members of the regime, and enforcing them properly
3. Debate Zimbabwe at the UN Security Council and calling for a UN Commission of Inquiry into the grotesque abuses of human rights, with a view to future action by the International Criminal Court (see Ben Rogers on this)
4. Maintain the pressure on Southern African countries to cease to prop up a regime disgracing their region (Dan Lewis notes that S Africa could turn Zimbabwe's power off).
5. Prepare an international rescue programme for when Mugabe is gone (William Hague has written on this subject for ConservativeHome).

The Shadow Foreign Secretary concluded: “This is a criminal government, and should now be treated as such.”

85% of voters say Brown has performed worse than they expected

The Mail on Sunday has a BPIX poll (click to enlarge graphic) that puts Conservatives 23% ahead: Con 49%, Lab 26%, LD 14%.

In the BPIX poll last September Brown was preferred to Cameron as a dinner-party guest, babysitter, defender in a street fight, pub quiz team member and upholder of British values. Now Cameron is ahead in all these areas, in most cases by a margin of two to one.

Asked to say if they associated Brown and Cameron with a long list of positive characteristics, Cameron won in every single category: ‘change’ (10% for Brown), ‘strong’, ‘honest’, ‘attractive’ (1% for Brown), ‘caring’ ‘optimistic’, ‘competent’, ‘patriotic’, ‘charismatic’ (3% fo Brown), ‘intelligent’, ‘judgment’, ‘realistic’, ‘dignified’ and ‘modern’.

Other key findings:

• 85% say Brown has performed worse than they expected, 55% say Cameron has performed better than expected.
• 44% say Brown should resign now
• More than four in ten say he would be the last to pay back a £20 loan compared with just one in three last year, and Labour is still regarded as more sleazy.
• Cameron is more like Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher, Brown more like John Major
• 53% say that, in hindsight, they wish Brown had not ousted Blair.
• Labour has no obvious replacement for poor Brown: David Miliband comes top of the list of successors with just 14%, followed by Jack Straw.

The most important fact in British politics

If you want to know why the Tories are an average 17% ahead in ConservativeHome's Poll of Polls we suggest it is, quite simply, the reduction in peoples' earnings.  Rising incomes protected Tony Blair from his failures on crime, immigration and the public services but they are no longer protecting Gordon Brown.

Research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research for ASDA - quoted in The Telegraph - shows that the average family is £400 worse off this year.  Increased incomes have been wiped out by rising taxes and rising prices.  A big hat-tip to Tory candidate for Dover, Charlie Elphicke.  His research for the Centre for Policy Studies has been way ahead of the curve on this issue.

It's been nearly a year since Gordon Brown became Prime Minister and CCHQ has produced a devastating dossier on his failings.  Chapters attack him for basic failures, incompetence, dithering, opportunism, hypocrisy and "Brownies".  Section 2.4 of the dossier even takes up Guido's theme of 'Jonah Brown'.

You can upload a PDF of the report to read for yourself but here are two highlights of an incredibly thorough piece of work that will feed journalists for months to come:

1. The events that have produced the decline and decline of Mr Brown

Click to enlarge.


2. Images from Brown's year

Clockwise from top left: Asleep at the UN, With orange make-up all over his face, Tangled in a net, Receiving the Olympic torch in Downing Street, Launching his leadership bid obscured by an autocue.

UK ratification of Lisbon halted by Courts

BREAKING NEWS: The High Court has "invited" the Government to delay ratification of Lisbon until Stuart Wheeler's case is heard.  Gordon Brown, speaking in Brussels, has agreed to the delay.  If he hadn't accepted the "invitation" there was a likelihood that Mr Wheeler's case would have been heard over the weekend in emergency session - rather than next week, as planned.

Speaking to Radio 4's World at One Mr Wheeler said that he was open to appealing the High Court should it rule against his claim that Labour is bound to honour its manifesto commitment to hold a referendum on the EU Treaty/ Constitution.

3.15pm: Statement from Mark Francois MP, Shadow Europe Minister:

“It is absolutely typical that Gordon Brown thought he could just barge ahead and ram this Treaty through while ignoring the High Court. He has been brought up short.  Of course, given that he’s broken his election promise to the British people, Gordon Brown has no moral or democratic right to sign Britain up to the renamed EU Constitution at all. It would be the height of arrogance and incredibly undemocratic if the Irish people were made to vote twice when the British people haven’t even been allowed to vote once.”

Why should others write Conservative history?

Do you use Wikipedia?

We're using the software that powers Wikipedia to produce our own online encyclopedia for the Conservative Party and the wider conservative movement in Britain.  It will cover people and events that Wikipedia wouldn't deem 'notable', and by harnessing the wisdom of the ConservativeHome crowd we hope that any pages that do overlap will be better.

We are currently putting the final touches to its design (any Mediawiki experts out there?) but hope to launch it very soon. The Wiki will have a number of features:

There'll be sections dedicated to recent Conservative history, for example:

• The defining events in post-Thatcher Conservative history
• A Timeline of Boris Johnson's Mayoralty
• A history of David Cameron's leadership: The 2005 leadership bid, David Cameron's first 100 days, The Decontamination and Lovebombing phase, From Grammarsgate to Bottler Saturday, From Bottler Saturday to Crewe.
• The achievements of Conservative in Opposition, 1997 to 2005
• Debunking myths, such as Lady Thatcher's comments on there not being such a thing as society and on people having failed at life if they ride buses

There'll be resource sections, for example:

• Profiles of leading, local and unsung Tories
• Accumulated advice, such as "How to become a Conservative MP" (based on the views of more than 100 successful candidates), and "Questions to ask your council"
• The beliefs of the next generation of Conservative candidates
• "Who are the Tory grassroots?"  Key findings of the ConservativeHome.com Members' Panel.
• "Who should get a Conservative peerage?" and other such lists

There'll be policy sections, beginning with:

• An overview of existing Tory policy commitments.
• Balanced overviews of key debates such as "In or out of Europe" and "Hares vs Tortoises".

We hope you'll enjoy taking part.  You'll be able to edit entries and propose your own although we and a team of moderators will be keeping a careful eye on all content to ensure it's fair and legal.  Please email us if you'd like to write an entry for launch day

We haven't been more excited about anything since ConservativeHome first started.  We hope you'll contribute to this resource.  Suggestions on what to cover are very welcome...

Shami Chakrabarti threatens to sue Andy Burnham after "innuendo" about her friendship with David Davis

A week ago we wondered if David Davis would struggle to keep his campaign in the news.  Thanks to Culture Minister Andy Burnham we needn't have worried.  Mr Burnham is having to back pedal furiously after Liberty's Shami Chakrabarti threatened to sue him for talking about "late night, hand-wringing, heart-melting phone calls" with Mr Davis.  In a letter to Mr Burnham, that the Evening Standard's Paul Waugh has published, she writes:

"By your comments you debase not only a great office of state but the vital debate about fundamental rights and freedoms in this country. Indeed you seem reluctant to engage in that debate except in this tawdry fashion.  I look forward to your written apology as I'm sure does Mrs Davis. If on the other hand you choose to continue down the path of innuendo and attempted character assassination, you will find that the privileged legal protection of the parliament chamber does not extend to slurs made in the wider public domain."

Two Tory women MPs and the LibDems' Lynne Featherstone have joined the protests against Mr Burnham's remarks:

Justine Greening; "Shami has worked with MPs of all parties to raise the concerns she has. She is completely driven but incredibly professional."

Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Democrat Equalities spokeswoman, says: "Shami's fight for civil liberties is unimpeachable. Any many who thinks that it is okay to speak like that and claim it is political knock-about clearly hasn't understood the women's movement."

Shadow Justice minister Eleanor Laing says: "This sinks politics to a new low. If David Davis had had late-night talks with a man that would have been seen as part of the old-boys network but as soon as a woman is involved, there is this appalling innuendo."

People in Northern Ireland want a Conservative government

In the wake of the DUP's vote for 42 days, Simon Chapman used CentreRight.com to call for the Conservative Party to actively contest seats in Northern Ireland.

Owen Paterson MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, has written for today's Belfast Telegraph (available to read here) about the demand for the Conservative Party to contest seats in this fourth nation of the United Kingdom.  His article follows a presentation to all Conservative MPs yesterday evening.

His article states that the people of Northern Ireland care about UK-wide issues:

"People in Northern Ireland should be part of mainstream UK politics, playing an active part in national parties.  On my weekly visits to Northern Ireland people express emphatic views on national issues: the price of fuel, 10p tax row, business taxes, interest rates, over regulation and the Lisbon Treaty.  The current political system keeps them locked in the old style politics." 

Mr Paterson also quotes a YouGov survey of nearly 900 voters in Northern Ireland that suggests a demand for UK politics:

"Recent polling by YouGov shows that 54% would welcome more representation by UK wide political parties, 53% would prefer to see a Conservative Government led by David Cameron and only 27% favour a Brown Labour Government.  45% would be Very Likely or Likely to vote Conservative at the next general election if given the opportunity. 

After the trauma of the past 30 years, the constitutional arrangements of Northern Ireland are thankfully settled.  Now is the time for Northern Ireland to move back into the mainstream of national politics."

The Conservatives have been contesting seats in Northern Ireland for a number of years now but without huge success.  The best known Northern Ireland Conservative is David Trimble; following his defection a year ago.

> Click here for the Conservatives of Northern Ireland website.
> Click here for a week in the life of Owen Paterson, Shadow NI Secretary.

The future of the Davis-Cameron relationship

It's been a week since David Davis stunned the Westminster village and delighted the public with his decision to resign his seat and fight a by-election on his fears that Britain was becoming a surveillance society.

In his politics column for this week's Spectator, Fraser Nelson suggests that Mr Davis' resignation had more to do with wider concerns with the Cameron project:

"At a dinner party in central London a few months ago, David Davis made an extraordinary confession. He had become disenchanted with David Cameron, he said, and was considering quitting politics. ‘I believe in certain things,’ he said, ‘and I do not believe the next Conservative government will implement them'...

So many theories abound about Mr Davis’s ‘real’ intentions that the most damaging possible explanation — a loss of faith in Mr Cameron — has hardly been mentioned. Their differences over issues such as tax, grammar schools and defence spending are hardly a secret, having been extensively aired during the leadership contest. They were also said to disagree over Mr Cameron’s plans for locally elected police chiefs — Mr Davis asking what a home secretary would have left to do if policing was devolved. Mr Davis ferociously denies any such splits, but anecdotal evidence to the contrary has been accumulating for some time."

There is probably some truth to the idea that there were/ are differences between David Davis and David Cameron but it's now important to ensure that those differences are as well managed now that Mr Davis is outside the shadow cabinet as they were when he was a member of it.

In recent days some shadow cabinet ministers have been privately briefing against David Davis.  David Cameron must communicate that this is unacceptable.  It's important that a good number of senior frontbenchers - Mr Cameron included - campaign alongside David Davis in Haltemprice and Howden.

There is also a need for David Cameron and George Osborne to address some of David Davis' concerns.  Sat on large opinion poll leads there is a temptation for the Conservative leadership to eschew radicalism but David Davis' desire for the party to be bolder on tax and defence is not only shared by the majority of Conservative members - and increasingly by voters at large - but is right for the economy and country.  As Tim Montgomerie, Editor of ConservativeHome, argues in today's Daily Telegraph, a movement away from Labour's spending plans is essential if the Conservatives are to stop the flight of businesses from Britain and in order to fund the kind of tax reform that could see the party connect with the millions of low-paid workers that Labour has failed. 

> David Davis seeks Labour votes in video interview for LabourHome website

"Ken's wimmin" to be kicked out of City Hall

Last Wednesday we noted the continued employment of some radical leftists and Livingstone loyalists such as Socialist Action's Jude Woodward.

The GLA's Appointments Committee has today recommended (following some guidance from the Mayor), that marching orders should be given to Woodward and "Ken's wimmin".

The salaries of the five senior women (most notably including Emma Beal, the mother of two of Livingstone's children), are thought to total £400,000. At least one of their roles, that of Women's Adviser, has been scrapped altogether for being a  "throwback to the eighties GLC".

Cameron at PMQs: It would be ridiculous to ask the Irish people to vote twice when the British people haven't voted once

1.30pm: Watch highlights of the exchanges.

Highlights, not verbatim:

12.26pm: Great question from Michael Spicer: Why are there always so many strikes at the end of a Labour government?

12.23pm: In response to a question from Labour's backbenches Gordon Brown says that the Conservatives are taking risks with the fight against crime and against terrorism by questioning the value of the DNA database and of CCTV.

12.15pm: Nick Clegg urges the PM to enact a windfall tax on the energy companies so that poorer households can be given better insulation and smart meters.  Brown says that the Government is already doing much to help poorer families with their energy bills.

12.12pm: Cameron calls for leadership from Brown but jokes that there is more spine in jellyfish than on Labour's frontbench.  Brown quotes Ken Clarke's view that a referendum would be "crackpot", "dotty" and "absurd".  He urges David Cameron to lead his party away from the Euroscepticism of the Conservative backbenches.

12.10pm: The Irish people have spoken.  They've said "no" says David Cameron.  What part of "no" doesn't he understand?  Brown responds by reminding the House of John Major's words when he urged continued ratification of Maastricht after the Danes had said "no".

12.09pm: Wouldn't it "ridiculous" and "high-handed" Cameron continues, to ask the Irish to vote twice when the people of Britain haven't had an opportunity to vote once?  Have the courage to declare it dead, urges the Tory leader.

Military Covenant Commission reveals interim conclusions

The Military Covenant Commission set up by David Cameron last March has announced its interim findings this afternoon. Liam Fox MP was joined by Chairman of the Commission Frederick Forsyth, and Simon Weston and Andrew Murrison MP in CCHQ this afternoon. Download a copy of the report here.

Here are the key points that came out of the report and press conference:

The Military Covenant should be clearly established and written into tri-service doctrine (as opposed to just the army's charter).

There should be a Strategic Defence Review about every four years. Fox criticised the Government for not having one since 1998, and therefore for basing its response to the new strategic environment on old assumptions.

Inquests have repeatedly pointed to inadequate provision of basic equipment. Forsyth estimated that fifty or sixty deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan could be attributed to "crap equipment". Injured soldiers (and NHS professionals) should be aware of their right to priority treatment.

Des Browne as Secretary of State for Defence should be full-time, and the minister for veterans and personnel should be a Minister of State.

Public shows of support for members of the Armed Forces and veterans should be encouraged with corporate and civic sponsorship. Simon Weston said that the public engaged with the military more positively during the troubles in Northern Ireland because the fighting was closer to home than the wards in Iraq and Afghanistan. The wearing of uniforms in public more would help with the disconnect between society and military. 

Parliamentary Standards Commissioner will investigate Caroline Spelman

John Lyon, Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, has confirmed that the Conservative Party Chairman will now be investigated for her employment of her nanny ten years ago, when she first became an MP.  Mr Lyon had originally said that it would be exceptional to carry out an inquiry into a case more than seven years old.  CCHQ is understood to have wanted an inquiry, however, to clear the air - one way or the other.  ConservativeHome still expects Mrs Spelman to be exonerated.

4pm:

SHOULD CAROLINE SPELMAN STAY PARTY CHAIRMAN?  VOTE HERE.

Only 29% of Britons support full EU membership

On behalf of Open Europe, YouGov polled 1,000 people overnight and found the following results:

54% agreed with the statement that "The government should drop the Lisbon Treaty and not try and ratify it".

Just 14% agreed that "The government should carry on and ratify the Lisbon Treaty in the UK". 

Labour voters are 46% to 19% against continuing ratification of the Treaty.

29% said that "The UK should stay in the EU".

38% said that "The UK should stay in the single market but pull out of the other political elements of the EU".

24% said "The UK should leave the EU altogether".

65% agreed with the statement "The EU is out of touch with normal people".

88% said they could not name any of their MEPs.  Among those who did attempt to name some of their MEPs, the most popular choice was "Neil Kinnock".

Related link: William Hague responds to David Miliband's statement on the Lisbon Treaty

Osborne slams Brown's years of "boom and borrowing"

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne has just issued this statement:

“Gordon Brown’s economic reputation has gone bust. His years of boom and borrowing have left Britain ill prepared to face the double evil of rising inflation and falling growth. Today we got official confirmation of the rising cost of living. Labour’s boasts about low inflation and giving the Bank of England room for manoeuvre are now exposed. Yet instead of a government that helps people with a rise in the cost of living, Gordon Brown’s only plans to get us out of this economic mess are tax rises on family cars, alcohol, and council tax. These add to inflation and make the squeeze on family budgets tighter.”

His press release was accompanied by the following four arguments:

Inflation worst for sixteen years and accelerating: Bank of England Governor Mervyn King warned today, “Inflation is likely to rise sharply in the second half of the year, to above 4%... CPI inflation is likely to remain above the target until well into 2009”.

Households suffering most from inflation: In the last month alone, food prices jumped up 1.5%, energy prices jumped up 2.3%, transport costs jumped up 2.4%, the cost of air flights jumped up 9.4%.

Gordon Brown is in denial: On 8th January, the PM said: “With expected inflation low over the next period of time, it made it possible for the Bank to cut interest rates late last year."

The Government has no room for budgetary manoeuvre: The OECD recently diagnosed: “While ongoing economic weakness in 2009 would argue against fiscal restraint, the government’s options have been limited by excessively loose fiscal policy in past years when economic growth was strong.”

First they introduce 24 hour drinking, now Labour launches campaign against binge drinking

Sky News:

"Hard-hitting anti-binge drinking adverts which show young people deliberately injuring themselves and smearing vomit in their hair have been unveiled. "You wouldn't start a night like this, so why end it that way?" is the message, designed to show the consequences of drinking too much.  One ad - to be shown during youth programmes on national television - depicts a young man getting ready for a night out who rips out his ear-ring, smashes a wardrobe door in his face, urinates on his shoes and pours a takeaway down his shirt."

There is a KnowYourLimits Youtube channel featuring three of these videos. Here's one of them:

New Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve worries that the ads are just gimmicks:

"While public information is important this will be nothing more than another gimmick if it is not backed up with proper enforcement of the law.  Prosecutions for drunkenness are down by over a third since 2002 and just a handful of people have been properly punished for selling to underage or drunk customers. This is not to mention the fact that it was this Government that unleashed 24 hour drinking on our towns and cities."

Related link: Boris introduces alcohol ban on London Transport.

Unpaid defence bills must come before tax cuts, warns Fox

Later today Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox will welcome the interim report of the party's Military Covenant Commission, chaired by Frederick Forsyth and launched by David Cameron in March.  The report will recommend:

1. A guaranteed NHS dentist for service families even if the lists in the areas they move to are full.
2. Passporting of their place on NHS waiting lists so that they do not start waiting all over again when they move from one NHS jurisdiction to another.
3. Extra investment in pre-school childcare and after school clubs.
4. Extra education funding for servicemen's children; the report finds problems of underachievement related to constant changing of schools.
5. Faster refurbishment of service families' accommodation.
6. A new system for compensating injured soldiers so that "functional impairment rather than a formulaic assessment of individual injuries" determines payments.

The report's recommendations will now go to Dr Fox and the shadow cabinet for consideration.

Dr Fox told The Sunday Telegraph that Tory defence policy would have five priorities:

• Repair the Military Covenant
• Sell parts of the defence estate to improve service housing.
• Place greater pressure on Nato countries to contribute troops and cash to the war in Afghanistan.
• Transform defence procurement.
• Hold a Strategic Defence Review.

The Shadow Defence Secretary expands on those themes in an interview for this morning's Financial Times.  The man regarded as the leading voice of the right, tells the FT that tax cuts may be impossible because of the possibility that the party might inherit “unpleasant, unpaid bills” at the Ministry of Defence.  An on-message Dr Fox says:

"I take every opportunity, despite being an ardent tax cutter myself, to warn my colleagues that we may find a number of unpleasant unpaid bills left behind by Labour on taking office. I would not go as far as to call it a scorched earth policy, but we have big worries about the size of this.”

Conservative Party members have voted for the defence budget to be an incoming Conservative government's number one expenditure priority.

ConservativeHome's Samuel Coates will be at today's Forsyth Commission launch and will report more afterwards.

George W Bush and David Cameron hold second meeting

It's very unusual for George W Bush to meet opposition leaders but America's President did meet David Cameron for thirty minutes earlier today, during his London visit.  That's a good sign of (a) the White House's awareness of the Conservative Party's ascendancy and (b) Much improved Tory-GOP relations.

William Hague, George Osborne and Pauline Neville-Jones accompanied the Conservative leader during at meeting at the US Ambassador's London residence.

CCHQ has released the following statement from David Cameron: 

“I had a very productive meeting with President Bush, taking forward some of the issues we discussed when we met in Washington last November.
 
I raised the situation in Zimbabwe, and the pressing need to do everything possible to prevent Mugabe from stealing the election. It is extremely important to make sure that independent observers have full access to the poll.  We continued the discussion we had before about the importance of standing up for free trade.
 
I underlined the commitment of the Conservative Party to Britain’s role in the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan. I also raised with the President my concerns about the need for improved co-ordination of the civilian effort of the ground, and greater clarity and unity of purpose between the different military chains of command – in particular between the NATO-led International Security assistance Force (ISAF) and Operating Enduring Freedom.”

***
Over the weekend we twice blogged about The Telegraph's mischief-making re David Davis (here and here).  The Telegraph's take on the Bush-Cameron meeting, from Rosa Prince: Green David Cameron undermined by George W Bush meeting.  A headline worthy of The Independent/ Guardian/ Mirror.

Related link: ToryDiary report on the first Cameron-Bush meeting, last November.

Realistic environmentalism

David Cameron was at the Royal Horticultural Halls today speaking to environmentalists, academics and press about his triangulation between "green" and "growth" - the Blue Green Charter. Read the speech in full here.

Cameron apologised that the timings had changed for the speech because he was going to have his second meeting with President Bush straight afterwards. They first met in Washington last November. He added that it mightn't be the best excuse to give passionate environmentalists!

Gordon Brown and others have tried to capitalise on the fact that the Party's focus had shifted somewhat from the environment as it became less of a priority to the public, so the main message was that environmentalism was still important despite the rising cost of living: "The era of cheap oil is well and truly over... for the sake of our future prosperity and our current cost of living, we must wean ourselves off our dependence on fossil fuels and go green".  "We can't afford not to go green", we must say no to the argument that "protecting the environment is a luxury rather than a necessity". "The choice isn't between the economy and the environment, it's between progress and the past".

Cameron was flanked by Alan Duncan, Greg Barker and Peter Ainsworth and he paid tribute to the legwork done by the latter two on environmental issues (although he did tell Ainsworth to "get out more" when he mentioned that he'd just read Newt Gingrich's Contract with the Earth). He also thanked the assembled environmentalists for their continued and valued engagement with the Conservatives.

The speech was structured around the five-point charter for tackling climate change (the bullet-points are virtually verbatim)...

Who should David Cameron put on the red benches?

One of the big challenges for what we hope will be an incoming Conservative government will be the need to ensure that we have a full working frontbench team in the House of Lords.

The current Tory representation in the Lords is summarised in the graphic on the right.  In order to have enough fronbench talent, ConservativeHome estimates that David Cameron will have to appoint approximately twenty new Conservative peers in his first twelve months - assuming that fundamental Lords reform hasn't happened by then.

Who would you appoint?

Here are some suggestions to get the debate going:

• David Fraser, one of Britain's foremost experts on crime and sentencing.  With twenty-six years experience working in the Probation Service, courts and prisons, and having addressed Commons Select Committee on Sentencing. His recent book 'A Land Fit for Criminals' was an encylopaedic attack on the myths and half-truths that are used to oppose tougher, longer prison sentences. 
• Jill Kirby, Director of the Centre for Policy Studies.  Jill is an articulate and thoughtful Conservative who writes the first essay in The Telegraph's 'Tories in power' series this morning.  She writes about the family - the issue about which she is one of Britain's leading authorities.
• George Magan, former Tory Treasurer, philanthropist and  City banker.  Mr Magan has been a long-standing supporter of the party and would bring much to the Conservative benches' understanding of the economy.
• Simon Wolfson, CEO of the Next chain.  Mr Wolfson has been a consistent supporter of Eurosceptic causes  and co-chaired the Conservative Party's Policy Group on economic competitiveness.

The Telegraph makes more mischief

Yesterday we noted how The Telegraph's most senior political journalists twice reported that David Davis had been excluded from the party leadership's 9.15am strategy meeting.  What The Telegraph wrote was simply false and interviewed by Andrew Marr this morning, David Davis confirmed it was false.  Unfortunately The Sunday Telegraph makes more mischief this morning.  This is the headline that appears on today's front page:

But if you read what Liam Fox actually said to reporter Melissa Kite he did not say that David Davis had been selfish.  These are Dr Fox's words so you can judge for yourself whether Ms Kite and the newspaper have been fair:

"Many of us feel very similarly to David but his way of highlighting it, calling a by-election, was a personal decision, it wasn't something that was taken in consultation with the shadow cabinet.

I think there's still a fair amount of mileage in the battle in Parliament at the moment. We've still got a fair amount of fighting to do, in the Lords and in the Commons."

Asked what he would have said to him if he had been consulted, Dr Fox replied: "I think the reason he wasn't consulting colleagues is he didn't want to be talked out of it. He made up his mind.

"David has very strong views. He's decided that's how he would like to highlight it. Obviously that's his personal decision and, as David Cameron said, it's a courageous thing to do because you never know what will happen in a by-election. But it was not a collective decision."

Dr Fox, a one-time rival of Mr Davis in the 2005 leadership campaign, which saw Mr Cameron elevated, appeared to suggest that Mr Davis had better get used to life on the back benches if he were to re-take his seat. "When he comes back to the House of Commons, I imagine he will want to continue pressing on these issues, issues of personal liberty being eroded."

Asked whether it would not seem odd to have such a big hitter on the back benches, Dr Fox said: "No. One of the things that's been a great tragedy in recent years is the lack of senior politicians on the back benches. I think Parliament actually benefits from having people of experience on the back benches, rather than it just being a training ground for young, ambitious newcomers."

Asked whether he thought the decision selfish, Dr Fox replied: "I think it's clearly a decision he made for himself. It is evidently not something I would have done. It wasn't something that was decided collectively, so David takes responsibility for that action."

Liam Fox made it clear that David Davis made the decision alone but he certainly did not use the word "selfish" and, in our opinion, did not even imply that he thought David Davis was acting selfishly.  [Liam Fox was speaking to The Sunday Telegraph in advance of an interim report from Frederick Forsyth on defence matters - reported perfectly fairly here by Sean Rayment].

This is not the first time that Melissa Kite has been guilty of sloppy and sensationalist journalism.  She recently speculated that Oliver Heald should be demoted from the shadow cabinet even though he isn't in the shadow cabinet.  Last year Alan Duncan accused Ms Kite of "shoddy" journalism after she had written a trouble-making story about David Cameron wanting to demote William Hague.  A little earlier she had tried to derail the launch of Iain Duncan Smith's Breakdown Britain report with a spurious story about the former party leader's view of gay parenting.  If a Tory wants to be interviewed for The Sunday Telegraph they'd be wise to deal with the newspaper's PolEd, Patrick Hennessy.

Poll says Davis would crush Kelvin MacKenzie

If voters across the country are suspicious of David Davis' motives his constituents are very supportive.  A poll for the Mail on Sunday - by ICM - of 501 voters in his Haltemprice and Howden seat finds that 57% support his decision to hold a by-election.  69% agree that Mr Davis' actions have been principled.  Support is even higher amongst local Conservatives.  The poll points to an easy victory for Mr Davis.

The Mail on Sunday reveals other boosts to Mr Davis' campaign:

(1) "Sun owner Rupert Murdoch disowned Mr MacKenzie’s campaign after he insulted ‘shocking’ Hull."  Mr MacKenzie is said to be having second thoughts after Rupert Murdoch's decision.  The same ICM poll suggests that he'd be trounced 67% to 14% in any by-election.

(2) "The chairman of the pressure group Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti, praised Mr Davis – and is to help a ‘Celebrities for Davis’ operation."  Ms Chakrabarti writes for The Mail on Sunday in support of Mr Davis.

(3) "Labour rebel Bob Marshall-Andrews and other Left-wing MPs will support Mr Davis in the election."   The Observer has more on Mr Marshall-Andrews' willingness to defy Gordon Brown and campaign for Mr Davis.  Labour's Ian Gibson MP is also reported to be willing to help.

But if Mr Davis' campaign has enjoyed a good start his reputation with colleagues is under strain.  Nicholas Soames MP tells The Sunday Times:

"Words cannot express how foolish he has been... Politics is at all times a team game.  Reliability is all in politics."

YouGov finds voters suspicious of David Davis' motives

"The Conservative Shadow Home Secretary, David Davis, has resigned as an MP in order to fight a by-election in his constituency on the issue of 42 days. Which of these statements comes closer to your view?

He is doing it mainly as a genuine act of principle in order to defend civil liberties: 29%

He is doing it mainly as a cynical ploy to help the Conservative Party and his own career: 41%

Don’t know: 30%"

The poll finds that the overall Tory lead is 22%, 47% to 25%.  More in this PDF.

ComRes claims Tory lead slipped after David Davis' resignation was announced

The 18% lead is the good news.  The less good news headlined by ComRes in their press release is that the Tories were winning 48% before news of David Davis' resignation was announced (40% of those polled) but just 41% afterwards (60% of those polled).  Only one poll, of course, and only involving 1,012 people in total but, on the face of it, a notable difference.

The Sunday Telegraph also promises to be difficult reading for admirers of David Davis.  Patrick Hennessey, the newspaper's political editor, has blogged this: "The true depth of the anger felt by senior Tories at the decision by David Davis to resign his parliamentary seat and fight a by-election is revealed publicly for the first time in The Sunday Telegraph tomorrow when a leading Conservative breaks cover and directly criticises the former shadow home secretary."

7.30pm: John Rentoul has more.

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.