Q12: Leadership Election Process

"Do you support grassroots Conservative Party members retaining a vote in the final stage of future leadership elections?"

David Cameron: “Yes. I favour an electoral college system, but frankly feel that we have spent enough time in recent months discussing this issue. So I can’t promise that this will be the first act of a Cameron-led Conservative Party!”

David Davis: “It’s very important that a party that preaches about localism and accountability is seen to put those beliefs into practice in the way it selects its leader.  There may be problems with the current system, but the answer is not to take the vote away from the membership but to come up with a solution that takes into account the views of all sections of the Party. I have suggested flipping the current system round as an alternative, but there are strong arguments for an electoral college.  Generally, I believe we must be seen to be as open and democratic as possible. These are principles that must guide how we select our candidates as well as our leaders.”

Editor's Comment: "A scoop to end the day!  I don't believe that DC has - until now - declared his position on the leadership process.  It's good that he's in favour of members retaining a vote in the final stage of future leadership elections.  It's a shame he didn't declare this view earlier and we might have been able to mount a more comprehensive defeat of Michael Howard's attempts to roll back party democracy.  I don't much like the idea of an electoral college.  It's not as open as what we have and goes against the one-member-one-vote principle.  Ideally we'd be moving towards Theresa May's open primaries.  Interesting to see DD now saying that an electoral college might be as good as 'flipping the process'.  The Hague flip would give MPs the final say.  With DC enjoying majority support of MPs it's, perhaps, not surprising that Mr Davis no longer has such a high view of his colleagues' views!  The Dave-O-Meter goes to bed showing this question drawn.  Both want democracy retained.  The flipping idea is less attractive than an electoral college but at least DD declared during the fight over the right of members to elect the party leader.  In any case it has to be hoped that we won't be electing another leader for many years..."

That was the final question and the final answers.  I hope you know more than you did at 9am about the candidates... and my biases.  I tried to pose questions that hadn't been asked elsewhere.  I'm only sorry Woman's Hour's 'briefs or boxers' question trumped all of mine!

Comments

[Simon C]

Thank you for this Tim - it has been a brilliant day's blogging - and has refocussed our attention on ideas.

Here's hoping that the candidates take some notice.

[Selsdon Man]

DD's Newsnight interview has just finished. IMO it did not go well. He got bogged down on whether his tax policy is a promise, guarantee or strategy. He said that it was a strategy rather than a promise or guarantee. I was none the wiser at the end of the exchange.

[CJ]

Agree the Newsnight interview wasn't great, but I tend to think that was in part because Newsnight couldn't allow more time to is and Paxman wanted to get too much in. On the tax issue DD repeatedly stated it was a strategy but Paxo wanted to get him to say promise or guarantee - not sure why he was hung up on that. I suppose he felt it would be easier to skewer DD if he said promise?

Strange choice of questions at the end though. Why did Paxman decide to end the interview by asking DD if he believes in God? Does it matter? Has DD ever given the impression of being a religious nut a la the Bible Belt Republican types?

[Guido Fawkes]

Thought he cleverly handled the "Tory MPs reckon you are a treacherous, bullying, shit of the year" point, errr, errm, in the manner of Vicky Pollard.

Wonder who Cameron will impersonate when he is asked if he was a coke-head 18 times...

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

Kate Moss?

[James Maskell]

Paxman actually said that? If he did DD shouldve turned the question round and asked who had said that.

Maybe the God thing is about whether he is religious enough for it to affect his political views...abortion, euthanasia, death penalty, stem cell research...

[loyal_tory]

"Yes. I favour an electoral college system." is about as much a commitment from DC to retaining the members say in the final choice as his "sharing the proceeds of growth" formula is a commitment to lower tax.

In some ways, flipping the current roles of the MPs and members could lead to more of a say for party members--if members voted on every candidate who entered the contest with the two who got the most votes going forward to a ballot of the parliamentary party.

"I can’t promise that this will be the first act of a Cameron-led Conservative Party!” People shouldn't necessarily relax when they hear this. Don't forget that Michael Howard made it the top priority of his last six months to remove the franchise from party members when previously it had not been a priority for him.

[michael]

We should perhaps consider not just the answers the two Davids give to these questions - but the focus they have given them in their respective campaigns.

The problem with the Davis bid, is that many of these issues do not feature prominently enough in his core vote strategy. It's been tax, europe and grammar schools. An agenda on which we keep losing elections.

[loyal_tory]

"It's been tax, europe and grammar schools. An agenda on which we keep losing elections." Er, these hardly featured at all in the last election. The % of voters who thought we were serious about tax cuts last time? 3%.