Cameron wins it
Discussion
says the Telegraph
a shock poll of Tory party members shows 59% backing Cameron, and a mere 18 per cent for Liam Fox and 15 per cent for David Davis.
Poll shows Cameron is runaway choice
By George Jones, Political Editor
(Filed: 20/10/2005)
David Cameron's bid for the Tory leadership appeared unstoppable last night after a poll for The Daily Telegraph showed that he was the runaway choice of grassroots Conservatives.
When party members were asked their voting intentions, Mr Cameron had a stunning lead over his rivals: 59 per cent said they would want to vote for him compared with 18 per cent for Liam Fox and 15 per cent for David Davis.
Mr Cameron enters today's final round of voting among MPs with a comfortable lead over his two rivals - and close to achieving the support of half the 198-strong parliamentary party.
The YouGov poll confirmed Mr Cameron's meteoric rise to favourite in the leadership contest, shooting from third to first place among party activists since the beginning of last month.
The poll makes grim reading for Mr Davis, who topped the first round of voting among MPs on Tuesday, but was battling last night to remain in the contest.
It indicated that his support among party members - who will have the final say in a postal ballot - is haemorrhaging and that most activists would now prefer a final run-off between Mr Cameron and Dr Fox.
According to YouGov, an overwhelming 82 per cent of party activists want Mr Cameron, at 39 the youngest of the three remaining contenders, to be one of the two names on the ballot paper that goes out to the 300,000 Tory members.
The poll confirmed that Mr Davis had not recovered from his poorly-received speech at the party conference in Blackpool earlier this month. Dr Fox has overtaken Mr Davis among the activists as the preferred second choice on the ballot paper.
David Cameron: favourite
When YouGov conducted trial ballots of the possible final candidates, Mr Cameron beat Mr Davis by more than three to one and beat Dr Fox by more than two to one.
The poll findings are likely to intensify the pressure on Mr Davis, who is locked in a fierce battle with Dr Fox for second place.
Last night there was a furious row between their supporters over reports that party chiefs were planning a "coronation" of Mr Cameron if he established a commanding lead today.
The Davis camp denied reports that he was ready to pull out if he came a poor second, allowing Mr Cameron formally to be declared leader without the need for a vote by party members.
Two years ago, Mr Davis stood aside to allow Michael Howard to be declared leader unopposed after Iain Duncan Smith was ousted.
Supporters of Mr Davis claimed it was "black propaganda". A spokesman said: "He is confident of going through to the next round and intends to take the contest to the party membership and win."
Dr Fox warned that it would be "unthinkable" that the ordinary members should not have a chance to vote on the new leader.
"After all the consultations of recent months it would be unthinkable if the members were denied their say in the leadership election."
Mr Cameron, who was in second place on Tuesday with 56 votes, picked up 16 further endorsements yesterday, 11 from backers of Kenneth Clarke, the former chancellor, who was eliminated in the first round.
They included Andrew Lansley, the party's health spokesman, and a clutch of former ministers, Stephen Dorrell, Sir George Young and David Curry.
David Heathcoat-Amory, a prominent Eurosceptic, who voted for Dr Fox in the first round to knock out Mr Clarke, said he would now be backing Mr Cameron. Mr Davis, who topped the poll last time with 62 votes, four less than his public declarations, picked up one of Mr Clarke's supporters, Quentin Davies.
Mr Davies said that picking Mr Cameron would be a "leap in the dark" and could be a repeat of what happened with William Hague in 1997.
Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former foreign secretary, who pulled out of the contest last week, admitted that backing Mr Cameron was a risk because of his lack of front-bench experience.
But he argued that neither Gordon Brown nor Tony Blair had been ministers before they gained power and "sometimes these risks are justified".
Mr Davis's team conceded that support was "fluid" but appeared confident that there had not yet been any mass desertions to Dr Fox.
But Mr Davis did lose the support of three previous public backers - Adam Holloway, Stewart Jackson and James Duddridge - to Mr Cameron, while Nadine Dorries pointedly refused to continue endorsing Mr Davis.
The Fox camp claimed the backing of two of Mr Clarke's former supporters, Nigel Waterson and Ann Widdecombe, while John Redwood, the shadow cabinet spokesman for deregulation, came out publicly for Dr Fox.
a shock poll of Tory party members shows 59% backing Cameron, and a mere 18 per cent for Liam Fox and 15 per cent for David Davis.
Poll shows Cameron is runaway choice
By George Jones, Political Editor
(Filed: 20/10/2005)
David Cameron's bid for the Tory leadership appeared unstoppable last night after a poll for The Daily Telegraph showed that he was the runaway choice of grassroots Conservatives.
When party members were asked their voting intentions, Mr Cameron had a stunning lead over his rivals: 59 per cent said they would want to vote for him compared with 18 per cent for Liam Fox and 15 per cent for David Davis.
Mr Cameron enters today's final round of voting among MPs with a comfortable lead over his two rivals - and close to achieving the support of half the 198-strong parliamentary party.
The YouGov poll confirmed Mr Cameron's meteoric rise to favourite in the leadership contest, shooting from third to first place among party activists since the beginning of last month.
The poll makes grim reading for Mr Davis, who topped the first round of voting among MPs on Tuesday, but was battling last night to remain in the contest.
It indicated that his support among party members - who will have the final say in a postal ballot - is haemorrhaging and that most activists would now prefer a final run-off between Mr Cameron and Dr Fox.
According to YouGov, an overwhelming 82 per cent of party activists want Mr Cameron, at 39 the youngest of the three remaining contenders, to be one of the two names on the ballot paper that goes out to the 300,000 Tory members.
The poll confirmed that Mr Davis had not recovered from his poorly-received speech at the party conference in Blackpool earlier this month. Dr Fox has overtaken Mr Davis among the activists as the preferred second choice on the ballot paper.
David Cameron: favourite
When YouGov conducted trial ballots of the possible final candidates, Mr Cameron beat Mr Davis by more than three to one and beat Dr Fox by more than two to one.
The poll findings are likely to intensify the pressure on Mr Davis, who is locked in a fierce battle with Dr Fox for second place.
Last night there was a furious row between their supporters over reports that party chiefs were planning a "coronation" of Mr Cameron if he established a commanding lead today.
The Davis camp denied reports that he was ready to pull out if he came a poor second, allowing Mr Cameron formally to be declared leader without the need for a vote by party members.
Two years ago, Mr Davis stood aside to allow Michael Howard to be declared leader unopposed after Iain Duncan Smith was ousted.
Supporters of Mr Davis claimed it was "black propaganda". A spokesman said: "He is confident of going through to the next round and intends to take the contest to the party membership and win."
Dr Fox warned that it would be "unthinkable" that the ordinary members should not have a chance to vote on the new leader.
"After all the consultations of recent months it would be unthinkable if the members were denied their say in the leadership election."
Mr Cameron, who was in second place on Tuesday with 56 votes, picked up 16 further endorsements yesterday, 11 from backers of Kenneth Clarke, the former chancellor, who was eliminated in the first round.
They included Andrew Lansley, the party's health spokesman, and a clutch of former ministers, Stephen Dorrell, Sir George Young and David Curry.
David Heathcoat-Amory, a prominent Eurosceptic, who voted for Dr Fox in the first round to knock out Mr Clarke, said he would now be backing Mr Cameron. Mr Davis, who topped the poll last time with 62 votes, four less than his public declarations, picked up one of Mr Clarke's supporters, Quentin Davies.
Mr Davies said that picking Mr Cameron would be a "leap in the dark" and could be a repeat of what happened with William Hague in 1997.
Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former foreign secretary, who pulled out of the contest last week, admitted that backing Mr Cameron was a risk because of his lack of front-bench experience.
But he argued that neither Gordon Brown nor Tony Blair had been ministers before they gained power and "sometimes these risks are justified".
Mr Davis's team conceded that support was "fluid" but appeared confident that there had not yet been any mass desertions to Dr Fox.
But Mr Davis did lose the support of three previous public backers - Adam Holloway, Stewart Jackson and James Duddridge - to Mr Cameron, while Nadine Dorries pointedly refused to continue endorsing Mr Davis.
The Fox camp claimed the backing of two of Mr Clarke's former supporters, Nigel Waterson and Ann Widdecombe, while John Redwood, the shadow cabinet spokesman for deregulation, came out publicly for Dr Fox.
Davis is a busted flush.
It's time for the tories to make a new fresh start with a new fresh modern leader.
I say let's go for the Old Etonian - we've never had one of those before.
This is what will happen: The Tories will elect Cameron. He will get slaughtered at the next election. He will then resign. Clarke will then stand for the leadership again at the age of 97 or whatever. He will again be the only one that anyone who votes actually likes but he will be defeated again. Boris Johnson will become the leader as he is well qualified having been to Eton and also being a total arse. He will get slaughtered at the next election................
Etc.. Ad Nauseum.
Paul (Lifelong Tory Voter rapidly losing the will to bother).
It's time for the tories to make a new fresh start with a new fresh modern leader.
I say let's go for the Old Etonian - we've never had one of those before.
This is what will happen: The Tories will elect Cameron. He will get slaughtered at the next election. He will then resign. Clarke will then stand for the leadership again at the age of 97 or whatever. He will again be the only one that anyone who votes actually likes but he will be defeated again. Boris Johnson will become the leader as he is well qualified having been to Eton and also being a total arse. He will get slaughtered at the next election................
Etc.. Ad Nauseum.
Paul (Lifelong Tory Voter rapidly losing the will to bother).
unrepentant said:
(Lifelong Tory Voter rapidly losing the will to bother).
I sympathise, but if you don't bother to vote you're letting Blair, Brown and Prescott back in. In other words, it's as good as voting Labour.
NB Davis is a slimeball. Just don't like the way he looks or acts. Shifty, awkward, insincere. In the age of trial by media, it's not about views or policies any more, it's about looks, sounds and whether people trust, like and believe him.
unrepentant said:
Davis is a busted flush.
It's time for the tories to make a new fresh start with a new fresh modern leader.
I say let's go for the Old Etonian - we've never had one of those before.
This is what will happen: The Tories will elect Cameron. He will get slaughtered at the next election. He will then resign. Clarke will then stand for the leadership again at the age of 97 or whatever. He will again be the only one that anyone who votes actually likes but he will be defeated again. Boris Johnson will become the leader as he is well qualified having been to Eton and also being a total arse. He will get slaughtered at the next election................
Etc.. Ad Nauseum.
Paul (Lifelong Tory Voter rapidly losing the will to bother).
A bit harsh, old boy.
Let's have another Old Etonian as PM, as we haven't had one since the hatrick of Eden, MacMillan and Douglas-Home .
Jobs for the boys, blah blah blah.
Bouffy (an OE)
>> Edited by bouffy on Thursday 20th October 10:54
simpo two said:
(Lifelong Tory Voter rapidly losing the will to bother).
I sympathise, but if you don't bother to vote you're letting Blair, Brown and Prescott back in. In other words, it's as good as voting Labour.
Fortunately I live in a very very safe Tory seat. I would never actually not vote but I am fast coming to the conclusion that we need a new party in this country.
unrepentant said:
Fortunately I live in a very very safe Tory seat. I would never actually not vote but I am fast coming to the conclusion that we need a new party in this country.
Well there was UKIP but everybody laughed. We're all becoming too complacent I think.
It seems that there is a 'fashionable' way to think, and that anyone who thinks differently is derided or poo-pooed.
simpo two said:
Fortunately I live in a very very safe Tory seat. I would never actually not vote but I am fast coming to the conclusion that we need a new party in this country.
Well there was UKIP but everybody laughed. We're all becoming too complacent I think.
It seems that there is a 'fashionable' way to think, and that anyone who thinks differently is derided or poo-pooed.
My ideal party would be (in no particular order);
1. Strongly Eurosceptic
2. In favour of "small" government
3. Socially inclusive
4. Tough on crime - much tougher on deterrent and sentencing
5. Commited to lower taxation
6. Commited to strong essential public services (health, education) but totally commited to eliminating waste and drastically reducing beauracracy
7. In favour of strong control over our borders
unrepentant said:
unrepentant said:
Fortunately I live in a very very safe Tory seat. I would never actually not vote but I am fast coming to the conclusion that we need a new party in this country.
Well there was UKIP but everybody laughed. We're all becoming too complacent I think.
It seems that there is a 'fashionable' way to think, and that anyone who thinks differently is derided or poo-pooed.
My ideal party would be (in no particular order);
1. Strongly Eurosceptic
2. In favour of "small" government
3. Socially inclusive
4. Tough on crime - much tougher on deterrent and sentencing
5. Commited to lower taxation
6. Commited to strong essential public services (health, education) but totally commited to eliminating waste and drastically reducing beauracracy
7. In favour of strong control over our borders
How do you see this as being different to the Conservative Party. In the last manifesto we committed to almost all these things. The Europe thing is a sticky issue that divides every political party.
Mon Ami Mate said:
simpo two said:
unrepentant said:
Fortunately I live in a very very safe Tory seat. I would never actually not vote but I am fast coming to the conclusion that we need a new party in this country.
Well there was UKIP but everybody laughed. We're all becoming too complacent I think.
It seems that there is a 'fashionable' way to think, and that anyone who thinks differently is derided or poo-pooed.
My ideal party would be (in no particular order);
1. Strongly Eurosceptic
2. In favour of "small" government
3. Socially inclusive
4. Tough on crime - much tougher on deterrent and sentencing
5. Commited to lower taxation
6. Commited to strong essential public services (health, education) but totally commited to eliminating waste and drastically reducing beauracracy
7. In favour of strong control over our borders
How do you see this as being different to the Conservative Party. In the last manifesto we committed to almost all these things. The Europe thing is a sticky issue that divides every political party.
The tories are not perceived a socially inclusive.
They are Eurosceptic but only up to a point.
They talk a good game on crime but don't deliver.
Nobody believes them anyway so they are unelectable.
(I'm generalising on the last point but I think it's true).
unrepentant said:
The tories are not perceived a socially inclusive.
I don't really understand this. The Party has made it quite clear that it supports controlled immigration and that it wants to create wider appeal. It doesn't have any discriminatory policies. How is it not socially inclusive?
unrepentant said:
They are Eurosceptic but only up to a point.
Every party has pro and anti Europeans and the Conservatives has considerably more antis per se than the others.
unrepentant said:
They talk a good game on crime but don't deliver.
How can you say that? The Party has been out of power for eight years and in this time violent crime has gone through the roof. The only Party that can be judged on law and order on performance is the Labour Party, and they have shown themselves to be pathetic.
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