David Cameron For Leader - The Unofficial Blog

Vote Cameron

The voting papers will soon be hitting the doormats of the Conservative Party membership. Those members will be best served by voting for David Cameron to be the next leader of the Conservative Party.

For two decades millions of British residents have steadily lost faith in the Conservative Party, and have placed their trust elsewhere - and they have by-and-large not returned. In many cases they have agreed with our policies and yet still voted with their feet.

Those people did not feel the Conservative Party was for them. They did not feel the Party was for them. It did not match their aspirations. It did not empathise with them. It did not understand them.

In 2005 some of these voters returned to the fold - mostly in the south-east. The overwhelming majority of them did not. The Conservative campaign was more organised, more focused, and more hard-working than before, but we still did not connect with the hard-working voters who have deserted us.

If David Cameron is elected leader of the Party, that will change. David has shown that he can lead a Conservative Party more in touch with the aspirations and reality of ordinary Britons - of those voters who have left us, and those voters who were never with us. A Conservative Party people can believe in, and a Party that will get things done.

Vote Cameron.

(Apologies for the sporadic posts - this proved to be far more time-consuming than I expected!)

Weekend Update

Cameron has secured the backing of three further MPs, including longstanding Davis ally Peter Viggers, to take his public Parliamentary backing to 26, whilst the Sunday Telegraph reports that his private backers take the total above 50. DC has also won the support of former London Mayoral candidate Steve Norris, who has backed Ken Clarke in the past.

There's more good news for DC in the Sunday Times which gives him a clear lead amongst the membership, and a huge swing from only the week before. Perhaps the most intriguing statistic from the survey is the question "Which of the following do you think should definitely NOT be elected as leader of the Conservative party?" - only 12% of Conservative members polled were completely opposed to a Cameron leadership, compared with 30% for Liam Fox, 33% for David Davis and 40% for Ken Clarke.

DC is on Andrew Marr's Sunday AM this morning, by the time you read this the video should be up on the programme's website.

Round Up - 07/10/05

I am - alas - a little busy today, but I've got time to point you in the direction of the excellent news round-up at Conservative Home. Cameron is also the big winner in their "Good Week, Bad Week" summary which goes on to outline some of the challenges and questions DC might face in the weeks ahead.

Round-Up - 06/10/05

Following the reaction to the speeches of David Davis and Liam Fox yesterday, Political Betting reports that the punter-led Betfair markets are now showing David Cameron as a narrow favourite.

DC also announced the support of a further four MPs, including David Mundell, the sole Conservative representative at Westminster from Scotland, and former senior MEP Theresa Villiers.

In the press, there's a hearty endorsement for DC from Boris Johnson in the Telegraph ("I like Cameron's pitch, because he understands the vital importance of optimism in politics, and stressing that the Tories are the party of energy and opportunity, whereas Gordon Brown's Labour Party, whichever way you cut it, will always be rooted in the politics of chippiness and envy and spite"), together with speculation that a number of Davis supporters are "reconsidering their position" and preparing to back DC.

The Times also found evidence of Davis support edging towards Cameron. There's an endorsement from Camilla Cavendish who praises DC as "inspirational", "smug-free" and "with conviction".

In the Guardian Tania Branigan suggests that DC's "strong performance in Blackpool... appeared to have shifted the mood", whilst the Independent suggests that DC's campaign is "gaining speed" and reports on prospects of further pledges of support, which is also picked up on by the Daily Mail.

Betting Markets Move Towards Cameron

Political Betting have reported that the price on Cameron becoming the next leader has tightened considerably. After starting the week as a 10/1 shot DC's odds shortened considerably following his acclaimed speech to Conference yesterday and have fallen as low as 3/1 this afternoon.

Media Round-Up - 05/10/05

David's speech to Conference yesterday has provoked widespread acclaim.

The Sun described a "mood of hope and optimism" in response to the speech, with Cameron praised as "inspirational" and "uplifting". It also gave generous praise to Cameron and George Osborne's proposals for lower-income families.

Nick Assinder on BBC News Online suggested that "each time he gives a major performance he appears to impress a growing group of supporters".

The Times led this morning with "Tory race is thrown wide open", focusing on Cameron's "visionary speech aimed at inspiring a new generation of Conservatives". DC also strode into the lead amongst the paper's "leadership jury"

Meanwhile, in the Daily Telegraph Matthew D'Ancona described Cameron as the "undoubted star of the conference... who has grown prodigiously as a politician during this contest", and their leader column also reflected well, praising his "sureness" and "confidence".

A leader in The Guardian also recognised the mood sweeping through Conference, describing "The return of self-belief" and suggesting that Cameron had "raised (his) game for the occasion".

The Daily Mail described a "bravura performance" but although it raised reservations about Cameron's experience it added "he can only get better".