18 March 2010

The Tory grassroots are “in a fretful mood”

Matthew Parris has been on his travels to speak in support of a friend standing in a safe Tory seat.  He finds that all is not well with the troops on the ground:

I like them. I like their company. But, my goodness, they’re in a fretful mood at present. I was astonished, within a few weeks of the calling of a general election, to find party morale so uncertain.

They didn’t seem to want to be reminded of the monstrous Gordon Brown or his shambles of a Government. They knew all that. Instead, their worried questions were directed towards their own party and its leadership.

Did I really, honestly, think David Cameron knew what he wanted to do? Had he the steel? Had he the staying power? Could I, hand on heart, say I could imagine George Osborne as Chancellor of the Exchequer? Would I trust their Tory instincts? I do, I can, and I would, and I said so, but still the questions kept coming. Europe, immigration, Europe, the public sector, Europe . . .

Oh no!  Not another party on the verge of turning in on itself.

Digg This

No comments:

Post a Comment