By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Immediately after the Budget and during the fuel panic the big attack on Cameron was that his operation wasn't very competent. A month ago the suggestion was that he was too posh. Now there's a rush of stories alleging that he's a bit, well, lazy… The most ridiculous was in […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter Every boy and every girl, That's born into the world alive… There are as many ideas about what politics is as there are people to conceive them, but here are two. The first is that the reach of politics is unlimited: that it is capable of ushering in the […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter I got a stern lecture from a Tory MP last night about my "Tory MPs are at war" blog of yesterday evening. The Government is fundamentally sound, I was told, the party's biggest problem is its "crazy Right". If only everybody could get behind the leader, she said, all would […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter The extraordinarily well-connected James Forsyth has another great exclusive in today's Mail on Sunday. Details of a special meeting of Conservative Cabinet ministers have been leaked to him. He reveals two interesting things. One: Sayeeda Warsi wants to be able to hit the Liberal Democrats in the media The Tory […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter There's not many times that you wake up and are genuinely shocked by the news. This morning's by-election result from Bradford West is one such occasion. Without any knowledge of the seat I'm not going to rush to interpret George Galloway's landslide victory but over the next few days, weeks […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter Michael Fallon's long media weekend began last Saturday afternoon when he got early notice of the Sunday Times's Peter Cruddas expose, and it ended last Monday evening with a Jeremy Paxman interview on Newsnight. Between the two, Fallon was grilled by Andrew Neil on the Sunday Politics, Dermot Murnaghan […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter Has he changed? If so, how? First and last, a political animal. Preocuppied with winning . The Government's real head of strategy. Full time in that role, part time as Chancellor. Is prepared to take risks. Loves the political game. A social and economic liberal by instinct. Has a young […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter This time last week, reflecting on the forthcoming departure of Steve Hilton, I argued that David Cameron should appoint successful Tory leaders from local government to become his implementers-in-chief. My nomination was Stephen Greenhalgh, the highly successful and outgoing Tory leader of Hammersmith and Fulham. I recommended he followed the […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter There is a near consensus in the Sunday newspapers that Steve Hilton's departure is a big moment in the life of the Coalition. The Sunday Times (£), Telegraph, Observer and Mail on Sunday all interpret Mr Hilton's departure as a sign that he had become too frustrated with both EU […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter This is a rolling blog on the Steve Hilton depature. 10.30pm Update The Economist's Janan Ganesh honours Hilton's work: "The state will look very different in 2015 than it did just five years earlier. As well its shrunken size, the majority of secondary schools will be independently run, almost […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter The news has just broken that Steve Hilton is leaving Number 10 in the summer for one year's sabbatical at Stanford University as a visiting scholar. Some wonder if he'll return. I think the answer is no. Steve is infuriating. He upsets people with his restlessness. Some of his ideas […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Ask anyone in Number 10 what is the Tory Party's greatest asset and they'll invariably reply "Dave". But, assuming this is true, is it sensible to use the PM quite so much? I've long argued that Mr Cameron should kept back and used sparingly for the big occasion. In the […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Things may have worked out almost perfectly for Cameron. By keeping his demands so modest (and not asking for any repatriation) he forged a negotiating position that ensured Liberal Democrat support. By Europe (and I mean France in particular) then acting so intransigently all Tories will now rally to the […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Some Tories are beginning to wonder if the Liberal Democrats can play fair. Although today's '£1 billion jobs scheme' was very much a co-operative effort, it was agreed that Nick Clegg should front the launch. But this then appeared in today's Guardian: "Liberal Democrats said it had been a battle […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter The FT's Jim Pickard is speculating that "Downing Street approached Tim Montgomerie… to join the ship". Here's the truth in a nutshell… Over the last eighteen months three members of the Prime Minister's team have asked if I'd consider joining the operation. I said "no". The conversations were very casual […]