Michael Portillo reviews* the leadership candidates in his regular Sunday Times column.
He writes that Alan Duncan is "the most coherent advocate of change... but he would struggle to attract enough support in the MPs’ ballot".
Of David Davis, Mr Portillo (again a former MP) writes: "David Davis has the advantage over both men in that he does not look like a Tory boy. He would have the backing of the party’s right and he just might turn out to be a Trojan horse for the reformers."
Of the young pretenders, George Osborne and David Cameron, Portillo writes: "George Osborne and David Cameron have become familiar figures during the campaign, but still nobody knows what they believe in".
Davis a "trojan horse" reformer? I somehow doubt that. I almost wonder if Portillo is aware that his endorsement is the kiss of death.
Posted by: Howard | 09 May 2005 at 01:33
"Davis a "trojan horse" reformer? I somehow doubt that."
I think it's the "only Nixon could go to China" principle. Just as only someone with hardline anti-communist credentials could begin a process of detente, perhaps only someone aligned with the right of the Conservative party can "modernise" it without encountering resistance from the right.
To me, a moderniser is someone who wants to change the Party to reflect Britain as it is today, not to hark back to some halycon age.
This means adapting our policies and having the breadth of vision to attract a much wider range of people into the Party.
Posted by: James Hellyer | 12 May 2005 at 11:42