Sunday, February 28, 2010
Tories in disarray
One of the reason why the Tories are struggling in the polls is because the closer we get to the election the more they look like a leaderless shambles.
The latest example of this phenomonon can be found in today's Observer, which reports that David Cameron has appeared on the front of flyers saying that the floodgates have been opened to mass immigration:
Critics say the flyers are alarmist and misleading because they imply limits could be imposed on entrants from EU countries such as Poland.
Last night, the party's frontbench was forced to distance itself from the hard-hitting material, which was put out under the name of Cameron's home affairs spokesman, Andrew Rosindell. It bears a picture of both men, says that immigration has caused a population explosion, and declares "we simply cannot go on like this".
Circulated in Rosindell's Romford constituency, it also suggests that the Tories would impose new transitional controls on the right of nationals of the new EU member states to work in the UK. Such controls already exist for Bulgaria and Romania, but retrospective limits on other eastern European states, such as Poland and the Czech Republic, would be illegal under EU law.
This contrasts starkly with a broadcast on YouTube yesterday in which Cameron, who is under heavy pressure from parts of his party to focus on immigration and tax cuts, insisted he would not lurch to the right to try to win votes: "It's for us to be both modern and radical. Not to go back to the old ways and not to play it safe."
However, the Observer points out that for the party's grassroots immigration is key and they want to build on comments made by Cameron last month: He promised the party would drastically reduce net immigration levels by imposing a cap – to prevent the population rising above 70m.
The Tory leader would not specify a number but said he wanted to see the level at the "tens of thousands" of the early 1990s. Then net immigration was around 50,000 compared to 160,000 in 2008.
Tim Montgomerie, editor of Conservativehome, said it was a popular message: "I have spoken to someone senior in central office who said more and more people were asking to put immigration on leaflets, and they were being allowed to do so."
One MP admitted the issue was becoming a salient one. "In 2001 it wasn't registering at all. This time it is cropping up regularly on the doorstep," he said.
Yesterday, a Whitehall source said the Romford leaflet showed Cameron was losing an internal battle in the party and warned: "If either party decide to push the button on immigration then the only beneficiary will be Nick Griffin and the BNP."
The impression that the Tory leader is under siege within his party was further heightened last night when the Tory right mounted a fresh demand for drastic tax cuts which Cameron is unlikely to be able to deliver. The Observer reports that Tory MEP Daniel Hannan hosted an event called the Brighton Tea Party, named after the Tea Party movement in the US, which has gathered huge public opposition to high taxation.
It is little wonder that the voting public, disillusion with Gordon Brown's Labour are turning up their nose at the Tory alternative and that many are taking a fresh look at Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats.
The latest example of this phenomonon can be found in today's Observer, which reports that David Cameron has appeared on the front of flyers saying that the floodgates have been opened to mass immigration:
Critics say the flyers are alarmist and misleading because they imply limits could be imposed on entrants from EU countries such as Poland.
Last night, the party's frontbench was forced to distance itself from the hard-hitting material, which was put out under the name of Cameron's home affairs spokesman, Andrew Rosindell. It bears a picture of both men, says that immigration has caused a population explosion, and declares "we simply cannot go on like this".
Circulated in Rosindell's Romford constituency, it also suggests that the Tories would impose new transitional controls on the right of nationals of the new EU member states to work in the UK. Such controls already exist for Bulgaria and Romania, but retrospective limits on other eastern European states, such as Poland and the Czech Republic, would be illegal under EU law.
This contrasts starkly with a broadcast on YouTube yesterday in which Cameron, who is under heavy pressure from parts of his party to focus on immigration and tax cuts, insisted he would not lurch to the right to try to win votes: "It's for us to be both modern and radical. Not to go back to the old ways and not to play it safe."
However, the Observer points out that for the party's grassroots immigration is key and they want to build on comments made by Cameron last month: He promised the party would drastically reduce net immigration levels by imposing a cap – to prevent the population rising above 70m.
The Tory leader would not specify a number but said he wanted to see the level at the "tens of thousands" of the early 1990s. Then net immigration was around 50,000 compared to 160,000 in 2008.
Tim Montgomerie, editor of Conservativehome, said it was a popular message: "I have spoken to someone senior in central office who said more and more people were asking to put immigration on leaflets, and they were being allowed to do so."
One MP admitted the issue was becoming a salient one. "In 2001 it wasn't registering at all. This time it is cropping up regularly on the doorstep," he said.
Yesterday, a Whitehall source said the Romford leaflet showed Cameron was losing an internal battle in the party and warned: "If either party decide to push the button on immigration then the only beneficiary will be Nick Griffin and the BNP."
The impression that the Tory leader is under siege within his party was further heightened last night when the Tory right mounted a fresh demand for drastic tax cuts which Cameron is unlikely to be able to deliver. The Observer reports that Tory MEP Daniel Hannan hosted an event called the Brighton Tea Party, named after the Tea Party movement in the US, which has gathered huge public opposition to high taxation.
It is little wonder that the voting public, disillusion with Gordon Brown's Labour are turning up their nose at the Tory alternative and that many are taking a fresh look at Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats.
Comments:
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The Tea Party did itself some damage when it invited Sarah Palin (at a price) to speak. As she stands in opposition to the likes of Ron Paul on foreign policy. What is this to do with the Tories? It does when you see the movement as equally critical of both the Dems and the GOP.
# posted by 
: 2:05 PM
: 2:05 PM
So, Rosindell is allowed to play the anti-immigration card.
And on my patch the Tories are eagerly courting immigrant groups.
Surely they don't endorse different messages in diferent areas?
Isn't that what they accuse Lib Dems of doing??
And on my patch the Tories are eagerly courting immigrant groups.
Surely they don't endorse different messages in diferent areas?
Isn't that what they accuse Lib Dems of doing??
# posted by : 5:35 PM
: 5:35 PM
I'm all for people coming here to the UK once your born here your British even if you do not think so.
I do not believe in locking up people especially women and children because that not what socialism is about.
But lets be honest labour has gone over the top, we refused to pay the Gurkha's a decent pension now they are coming here to live, why the hell did we not pay them a pension.
I live in an area which has thousand of Polish people and not enough houses, why did we allow them in , I do not care a shit about the EU start asking the EU to have a social housing stock.
We have to have better infrastructure for immigrants and migrants, and we need to stop locking up people because they tried to have a better life socialism.
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I do not believe in locking up people especially women and children because that not what socialism is about.
But lets be honest labour has gone over the top, we refused to pay the Gurkha's a decent pension now they are coming here to live, why the hell did we not pay them a pension.
I live in an area which has thousand of Polish people and not enough houses, why did we allow them in , I do not care a shit about the EU start asking the EU to have a social housing stock.
We have to have better infrastructure for immigrants and migrants, and we need to stop locking up people because they tried to have a better life socialism.
# posted by : 6:19 PM
: 6:19 PM<< Home
