Cameron attacks "unacceptable backstage" briefings on his reshuffle plans

Yesterday's newspapers buzzed with reshuffle speculation but today's Guardian and Telegraph suggest that the stories were completely unauthorised.  A "furious" David Cameron is said to be particularly concerned at suggestions that David Davis was to be demoted from his Shadow Home Secretary post - in favour of Liam Fox.  Both newspapers report Cameron aides blaming Fox supporters for the briefings.  An aide to Mr Cameron told The Telegraph: "There is absolutely no desire to humiliate or demote David Davis. He has made clear that he wants a shadow cabinet of all the talents."

It will be essential for Mr Cameron to quickly strengthen his press team in order for similar speculation to be better controlled in future.

Comments

[Coxy]

Henry, since when have conservatives been optimistic about human nature? Ever read Burke, Oakeshott, Hobbes even? You're not a conservative. Go and seek your utopia elsewhere.

[Coxy]

Henry, since when have conservatives been optimistic about human nature? Ever read Burke, Oakeshott, Hobbes even? You're not a conservative. Go and seek your utopia elsewhere.

[Richard]

Interesting article in today's Sun (not online). Financial journalist Ian King had this to say about David Cameron when he worked at Carlton.

"...And a poisonous, slippery individual he was too."

"He loved humiliating people, including a colleague at ITV, who he would abuse publicly as "bunter" just because the poor bloke was a few pounds over weight."

"We desperately need a strong opposition to this wretched Government. But Tory Party members must be on what Cameron is alleged to have smoked if they think this mendacious creep will provide it."

Strong words!

[Change to Win]

The sort of poisonous bile dished out by The Sun (I though a financial journalist for The Sun was the chap who types out the lottery numbers?) just underlines the need for a strong media-savvy enforcer in the Shadow Cabinet. Step forward Ed Vaizey!

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

Thanks for that information Richard. Why on earth has the Sun/Ian King waited until it's far too late to go public with this? It certainly confirms what I've long suspected about Cameron. He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!

[Barbara Villiers]

Just a small example of what is to come. Hope he is tough enough.

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

"Both newspapers report Cameron aides blaming Fox supporters for the briefings."

And so it begins... Still over 24 hours to go until Doomsday and the Cameronites have got their knives out already. This vicious outbreak of off-the-record finger-pointing and briefing against people bears all the hallmarks of the NewLabourised style of politics that I've been predicting from a Cameron leadership throughout this contest.

[Spence Morris]

Looking at the comments of Richard, DVA, ugly Villers et al, has there been a more unpopular leader before he has even been chosen (by the members).

[Richard]

The article in The Sun makes Cameron look like a very unpleasant chap all round. I suggest you all try and read it, it is on page 11 of today's Sun.

[Wantage activist]

DVA, Richard etc etc - why do you let your natural negativity ruin these special few days? This is NOT the outbreak of civil war. All it needs is a firm hand and these very junior people speaking out of turn will come to heel rapidly. If we do not unite behind DC the party will die!

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

Trust me Richard, I fully intend to read it. I wouldn't normally read The Sun, but in this instance, I'll gladly make an exception!

[Simon C]

The thing about New Labour's spin is that they are so bad at it. Everyone can spot it a mile off.

This episode has the same hallmark of incompetence. Anonymous Cameroons brief against Davis. It's then made known that DC diapproves of this sort of thing. And so, just to show that they were paying attention, anonymous Cameroons start briefing aginst Fox.

The result: DC is said to be "furious". David & Fox are presumably less than enthused. Osborne has to talk about this on the Today programme, when 100% of his interview should have been focussed on Gordon Brown.

Gain: none. Damage: manageable, but who needs this?

For a campaign that prided itself on its media professionalism, this is a case study on How Not To Do It.

[Barbara Villiers]

Spence,

Would you care to make that remark to my face?

[Spence Morris]

Babs, whatever turns you on

[George]

Simon C - judging by the professionalism and media skills displayed by Team Cameron we can be confident that the guilty parties have been spoken to by now and will not do it again. The party needs to raise its game as a whole, but particularly in the news management arena. A strong Shadow Cabinet position, equivalent, say to a Director of Corporate Affairs in a major PLC is the best way forward. This is not a time for back-biting, the election is over, we need to rally behind DC as the new leader with absolute discipline and unanimity.

[Sam]

Henry Cook is right. It is not utopian to believe in the goodness of human nature. This is why we believe in individualism rather than collectivisation. Cut loose from the state and its meddling we basically do the right thing which benefits society in any case - if we don't, its true, we are punished.

But we are also pragmatic. As such we know that convictions are often overturned (see Angela Canning & Paul Blackburn as 2 examples). The disadvantages of capital punishment will not justify any supposed advantages - capital punishment has not reduced murder rates in those states it has been intorduced in. If you think punishment is not what it used to be I agree wholeheartedly and will campaign for "life" to actually mean "life" without this good-behaviour nonsense, but this is a different matter altogether.

[R UK]

Quite right Wantage Activist. Where's the team spirit?

And why the naivety? Politics is a tough and dirty business. You need to be a slippery whatever it is, to stand a chance of surviving.

The other rule in politics is that if you're gaining, someone else thinks they're losing. So if you cannot cope with having a few arrows fired at your back, don't move into the front rank. Or if you do, don't actually make any decisions. Remind you of anyone?

We've got a Conservative leader who might actually win an election, bar postal vote fraud from labour. Let's give the new purchase a good run-in and see how much mileage there is before junking it.

[Barbara Villiers]

Come and have a go if you think you're tough enough Spence. I doubt if you'd come out the winner though.

[R UK]

Those who gun down police on our streets or take an axe to the head of a young man for having an attractive girlfriend must be executed.

Since the death penalty was removed, the rate of murder has risen ever since. For the occasional mistake, ther are 100 innocents murdered who would otherwise be walking around.

Our modern technological society doesn't understand death. It's a taboo subject. But it's all real enough when it happens. Get real. Murderers fear little, apart from losing their own life. That communicates the message which needs to be communicated. BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. It shows we care.

[Trying to be helpful]

How about the death penalty for people who make back-stabbing remarks about DC's colleagues without first clearing them with DC?

[Spence Morris]

To be honest Babs, you are your own worst enemy - I mean look at the quality of your posts...

[Martin Smith]

"Get real. Murderers fear little, apart from losing their own life."

I'm far from an expert here but I thought the research evidence for not bringing capital punishment back was that people who are psychologically disturbed enough to put an axe through another human being's head for no reason do not actually have the same logical thought processes as everyone else and therefore do not make this connection or fear for loss of their own life?

[I Love DC]

The shallow comments by the dwindling band of DD supporters will be put in perspective on Wednesday when DC annihalates Blair at Prime Minister's Questions. DC won Question Time, he won Dimbleby, he won every one of the hustings, and he had Paxman. Blair must be quaking in his boots.

[Simon C]

"Simon C - judging by the professionalism and media skills displayed by Team Cameron we can be confident that the guilty parties have been spoken to by now and will not do it again. The party needs to raise its game as a whole, but particularly in the news management arena. A strong Shadow Cabinet position, equivalent, say to a Director of Corporate Affairs in a major PLC is the best way forward. This is not a time for back-biting, the election is over, we need to rally behind DC as the new leader with absolute discipline and unanimity."

George - I hope you are right that the offending parties have learned their lesson and learned it well. As my post suggested, though, it is not encouraging when the response to one backfired brief against another leadership contender is to...brief aginst yet another leadership contender. Fully agreed on the need for unity and an end to backbiting - but these stories are not re-assuring & they all appear to have emanated from Camp Cameron, albeit some of the wider outposts.

I agree too that the Party needs to raise its media handling & presentation game. There have been too many avoidable horrors over the last few years.

Disagree though that the Shadow Cabinet needs a post whose main function is presentation. That won't present well for all sorts of reasons ("Shadow Secretary of State for Spin" being but one example of why it won't work). Also, it's already the job of the Chairman and the leader to ensure that the right media team is in place to handle communications & presentation.

[Are you quite mad?]

"DC won Question Time, he won Dimbleby, he won every one of the hustings, and he had Paxman."

Did you see a radically different version of QT, Dimbleby and the Hustings? Cameron was awful when he wasn't with his script.