David Vaiani 29/1/10 When David Cameron opened up the process for selecting Tory Members of Parliament, and invited people who had never before considered going into politics, his intention was to change the image of the party in order to make it more broadly acceptable to the electorate. By convincing more ordinary people to become [...]
Are the Tories a one-man band?
David Vaiani 8/01/10 Shortly after the 1997 landslide, Tony Benn commented that New Labour was the smallest political party in history. What he meant was that although the party had once been run by a broad coalition of MPs, party officials and trade union representatives, New Labour was merely the creation and personal plaything of Tony Blair and his [...]
Why Labour attacks on Tory toffs will backfire
David Vaiani 09/12/09 It appears that the issue of class is rearing its ugly head once again. Labour just can’t leave the wretched subject alone. They refuse to learn the lessons of their shambolic defeat in the Crewe & Nantwich by-election. As Tallyrand famously said of the restored Bourbon kings: “They have learned nothing and [...]
Should the Tories worry about the latest MORI poll?
David Vaiani (25/11/09) There has been considerable excitement across the blogosphere about this weekend’s Ipsos MORI poll showing the Tory lead over the government down to a mere 6 points. As everybody knows, the Tories need at least a 10 point advantage over New Labour come polling day, if they are to secure a majority [...]
The Tories and l’affaire Truss
David Vaiani (18/11/09) The peaceful and sleepy market town of Swaffham in South West Norfolk appears, on the face of it, to be an unlikely location for afull-scale political rebellion. But last night the members of the local Tory association met in an emergency session to vote on whether their prospective parliamentary candidate, Liz Truss, [...]
