Tuesday, December 04, 2012

David Cameron vs the Conservative Party

When Brian Binley, Conservative MP for Northampton South, attacked the prime minister on his blog back in February - he described Prime Minister David Cameron and his government as a "shady, back-street second-hand car dealership" - the post was soon edited.

When he did it again in August - “The time is fast approaching when the Prime Minister needs to get a grip and cease leaving the impression that his agenda is determined by the imprint of the last Liberal Democrat who sat on him" - the post was allowed to stand.

Now Binley has done it again - "David Cameron is not the proprietor of the Conservative party; he is its caretaker, and however proud he is of his ability to detach himself from the needs and concerns of party activists who are in touch with every community in our country, unless he can reverse the emaciation of our political machine,  his own prospects look increasingly fragile" - and hardly anyone has taken any notice.

This suggests that relations between Cameron and his backbenches are at a new low. Much of Binley's argument is wishful thinking - the Tories' whole problem is that they no longer have "party activists who are in touch with every community in our country". And I am not convinced that the Tory right's anti-Europe, anti-wind-farm agenda would sweep the country for them at the next election.

But it is clear that Cameron's personal arrogance has enraged large sections of his own party. It is reminiscent of the court vs country tension often cited as a cause of the English Civil War - though Binley is no John Hampden.

It all makes you wonder if the Conservative party will one day split.

And you see why Cameron went in for his A list - and why he must feel so let down by Louise Mensch. Left to their own devices, Northamptonshire Conservatives select people like Brian Binley and Peter Bone.

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