DD: I am strong enough to withstand Labour's attacks

Is David Davis taking off the gloves?

His remarks at the University of Lincoln are particularly tough and direct.  Here are his three key messages - with my interpretations of them in red:

Tony Blair and Gordon Brown will try to demolish the new Tory leader as soon as he is elected (and DC will be easier to demolish): "Their counter-offensive will be swift and savage. Blair and Brown know that the first 100 days of a new Conservative leadership will be critical to the future direction of politics in this country.  If they can inflict lasting damage on the new Leader, their chances of reviving Labour’s declining fortunes will be greatly enhanced."

I can defeat Labour and I will not prop-up their "elastoplast" reforms (DC will): "Last week, in the vote on the terror Bill, I led Conservative MPs in their first ever victory over the Prime Minister in the House of Commons. Meanwhile, rebel Labour MPs are lining up to take on the Prime Minister over his planned reforms of education, health and welfare... Blair’s public service reforms are half-baked compromises between his increasingly mutinous Left and his dwindling ranks of New Labour supporters. They will not work and they deserve to be rejected. We are the only party capable of real reform of our public services."

I am the candidate with the necessary guts and experience (unlike DC): "I will take Blair on and beat him. I believe I am the candidate best equipped to withstand the Blair/Brown offensive and see our party through.  It will take guts, resilience, a vision of a new Conservative future for our country and, above all, experience to withstand the fire to come. I will not let you down.”

Download dd_university_of_lincoln_extract.pdf

Comments

[michael]

Well there's nothing like self belief I suppose.

Quite how how he's the roughest, toughest, best Tory in town is anyone's guess and his assertion.

A little humility becomes us all.

[Gareth]

What exactly is 'new' about his Conservative vision? Did he not notice when we tried tax cuts and referenda on Europe before?

[Observer]

I see the Cameron campaign's turned up. Anything to say on the actual substance of DD's speech?

[Mark Fulford]

The whole basis of Davis’s argument is that Cameron is easy to knock down. If that’s the case, how come Cameron is pulling ahead of Mr Davis instead of lying in the gutter?

And if Davis is so brilliant, how come he's been late so often and his hustings campaign has been so lack-lustre? If you can’t manage and inspire a campaign team, you certainly can’t manage and inspire a country.

[Gareth]

Was there any 'substance' to his speech? Seemed to me like a rather humourless piece of self-aggrandisement.

[ban blood sports]

Sadly I fear that there is more that a grain of truth to the fact that we'll all be down to earth with a bump soon after the first despatch box mano-a-mana.

TB...shall we start on drug prevention, a subject the hon. member is well qualified to explain from a "do as I say not as I do" stance, or perhaps education where the hon. member opposite has a wealth of real worth knowledge gained from the £300,00 his parents spent to ensure he didn't have any contact with state school pupils, or perhaps the economy where his real world experience extends to carrying his boses bags and writing press releases...

In fact come to think of it, is there any aspect of his life which qualifies him on any subject revelent to the vast majority of British People?

We keed to launch a "Save Dave" campaing and ban Parliamentary blood sports!

[Mark Fulford]

Mr Ban Blood Sports, should I hear those words from TB's mouth, I will gladly donate £50 to the charity of your choice.

[Ted]

Sorry Observer but yet another DC supporter
I seem to remember that Michael Howard was a good choice for just the reasons DD gives - because he was safe pair of hands for taking on the leadership, would give bite to our opposition and had shown he had guts and experience and had beaten Blair at the despatch box. He did all those things and still we lost.
Oberon has a comments piece on Scotland - 50% plus to less than 20% support. If we keep selecting the same type of leader with the same set of policies how long before 33% will seem an unachievable target.

[michael]

Observer, where's the beef? I could stand up and say only I can beat Tony Blair, I've got guts etc etc.

I'm not sure if this is the much talked of Davis arrogance or just desperation after a very long campaign.

[Gareth]

It would be very strange indeed if Blair did decide to attck Cameron on those issues given that he has religiously failed to answer any drug use questions himself and also went to an exepnsive boarding school.

Seems that your 'Save Dave' campaign is a tad premature in respect of DC and almost certainly too late in respect of DD.

[Jack Stone]

This is just the Clint Eastwood/John Wayne school of politics, all guts and no brains!
We need a leader with a clear stratagy who as the courage and sense if necessary to lose one or two battles so we can eventually win the war.

[Jack Stone]

By the way what rubbish about Tony Blair lecturing DC on his education. Many on this site seem to forget that Tony Blair is a product of the private education system.
It seems that what I suspect would happen once Davis supporters started to lose all hope is happening and they are once again bring up the nonsense about Cameron`s background and drugs.
Desperate times hey lads!

[michael]

How would Labour attack David Cameron?

For being modern? compassionate? inexperienced? charasmatic?

Surely Davis would be a much easier target for the usual 'lurching to the right' charge or the 'knee jerk opportunism' rubbish or his past record. Blair can simply read from his Hague, Howard attack folder.

Tony and Gordon are not going to attack Cameron for being Blair-lite.

A youthful, calm, consistent Cameron at the despatch box will do more to get under Blair's skin than anything else.

[Cllr Graham Smith]

DD is clearly going to go down all guns blazing, as evidenced by his friendly blogger:

Once again the real impact will be intermediated by the...er, media.

So just a few reminders for attending DD supporters. If you're asked on the way in by a reporter who you support, say "undecided". On the way out, find the same reporter and say "I was undecided, but now it's definitely Davis." And make your way round as many other reporters as possible with the same message.

If you feel confident, try the DC/DD conversion variant- "It was Cameron, but now it's definitely Davis."

And this same blogger has the nerve to suggest DD's campaign is honest without spin.

[modern?]

What qualifies him as modern?
What qualifies him as compassionate?
He may be inexperienced, I'll give him a recently acquired dose of event driven charisma, but modern? Sienna Miller is modern, Robbie is modern, an IPod is modern? Cameron is a class act, but highly conventional in every aspect. He's as modern as Whites Club.

[Nelson, Norfolk]

DDs tactics of trying to frighten members into voting for him will not work. I hope that DC will continue to fight his campaign in a positive manner. For me DC represents the future DD represents the past.

[wasp]

This speech is all tactics and no strategy.

Davis' approach is oppose & harass Blair in the Commons & we will eventually defeat him. Tactically it will probably work in terms of winning the occasional vote, but at the cost of having a relentlessly negative tone.

But strategically an error. The main thing an opposition has to do is to set out a positive agenda.

The voters are NEVER wrong. We should tell them they were wrong to vote for Labour 3 times, only that it would be wrong to vote Labour a fourth, because it is the Conservatives that better understand and represent the future of Britain

[michael]

If you think modern is to be new and fashionable, then I suppose Cameron is.

But the makers of New Labour are hardly going to criticise Cameron for that.

My version of modern is reflecting the character of the Country as it is today in the Party you lead. Thorugh your language, tone, image, policies and actions.

Nick Robinson interviewed David Davis last night as the first of two packages on the leadership contest. David Cameron’s will be shown tonight.

[Barbara Villiers]

Gareth,

Why don't you read David's speeches to the Centre for Policy Studies and the IPPR before you open your trap?

[Gareth]

we shouldn't take Davis' comments about the 'relentless attack' on Blair too seriously. Like his 'new' policies, it's only served up because he thinks the members will like it.

It's trite but true that the voters dislike opposition for opposition's sake. Quite how Davis would oppose Blair's education reforms which, after all, are a rehash of our 1997 manifesto, I don't know.

[Gareth]

Now Barbara, that's really not very polite is it?

[Editor]

Gareth, Barbara... Please take your differences outside! This blog is for discussion of higher things. I hope.

[Barbara Villiers]

How very British to put down anyone with self-confidence and self-belief. And kiss up to a smooth operator who frequents private men's only clubs. No doubt it is a throw back to tugging your forelock to your 'betters'.

And the voters are never wrong? Neither are lemmings.

[Gareth]

We stand chastised!