After roughing up Gordon Brown at Prime Minister's Questions, David Cameron is to give a post-elections pep talk to Conservative MPs this evening.

"All MPs must attend," said the pager message shown to me by one Tory MP after he received the summons to the weekly meeting of the backbench 1922 Committee.

"Go back to your constituencies and prepare for government?" I enquired, recalling the much ridiculed call to Liberals by David Steel back in the 1980s.

"No, more like 'We're in the for long haul. Mustn't get complacent'," my informant suggested.

My hunch is that the Tory leader will order his MPs to blitz the Crewe and Nantwich constituency between now and the byelection in a fortnight's time.

"The '22", as it's known, meets in Committee Room 14, the biggest room along the Committee Corridor and the same room used for the weekly meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party.

When the Tories are in government, it's backbenchers only. And older MPs recall how Margaret Thatcher used to sit in the corridor waiting to be invited in to address her own MPs.

In Opposition, all Conservative MPs can attend. And, I'm told, Mr Cameron occasionally turns up and sits quietly at the back.

After last Thursday, Tory morale is obviously high, as we saw from the huge cheer for Boris Johnson when he came into the Commons chamber just before PMQs began at noon.

So I can confidently predict that Mr Cameron won't have to sit in the Committee Corridor this evening waiting to be invited inside Room 14.

Comments

[Madnurse 8 May 2008 10:46:16]

Victor:
" I still feel the need to support Cameron as he offers a way to get rid of a spendthrift and callous government."

This is, in my opinion, his saving grace. However, it is at what cost to the party? To some extent, the core vote has been split, with some choosing to vote for UKIP or the BNP. Last year in Windsor, a safe Conservative seat, in the local elections, the BNP received 17% of the vote. This must be a worry to any Conservative. This split could lead to another term of Labour by default. I accept given the results in the recent local elections, this looks unlikely.

"However, it is not logical to attack Brown for not being responsive to people and then condemn Cameron if he attempts to reflects the needs and aspirations of the society we live in."

Like Labour, Mr Cameron uses opinion polling companies to "find out what the public want," the problem with this is that, the results can be fiddled by how the questions are asked. For example, Political parties bang on about man made climate change and the public support for green issues. I can find no one in my wide social circle that buys into the climate change myth. Most support recycling etc out of common sense, but no one supports punative green taxation and yet, Mr Cameron believes this policy has mass support.

There is a huge difference between listening to public opinion and jumping on bandwagons to buy votes.

I support my party but I do not feel restrained by a "puppy type loyalty" to accept everything a leader sayes as true and right. I do not buy into the idea that any one politician is infallable.

I firmly believe Blairism/Brownism is dead now and the public have seen through the illusions created by the Labour government, In my opinion, Mr Cameron should distance himself from that style of politics. I firmly believe the public are sick and tired of spin, lies and half truths and would welcome honesty.

As a party, we should concentrate on informing the electorate what Labourism has done to our nation. Debt, loss of manufacturing industries, off shoring of jobs, hospital infections, levels of literacy and numeracy, our standing in world opinion for starting an illegal war and the increased terrorist threat as a result etc etc. this is where we should concentrate our efforts.

Mr Cameron needs to push traditional policies such as lower taxation and a smaller state. He can answer the Stepford cries of service cuts each time he mentions tax cuts, by concentrating on reducing quangos and red tape. He should also talk about value for money. The amount of money Labour has spent, does not represent good value when you see the returns in terms of results compared to how much has been spent.

I want to see Mr Cameron leading the political debate not just knocking Mr Brown's performence, we can all see the mess Mr Brown is making, how is Mr Cameron going to put it right? That's what we need to be told. How is he going to be different? We don't want just more of the same. Mr Cameron has a great opportunity as leader with Labour falling apart, he now needs to take it by putting forward some substansive ideas that conform to Conservative thinking.

[Victor, NW Kent 8 May 2008 09:35:18]

Madnurse

I agree with most of what you say. I still feel the need to support Cameron as he offers a way to get rid of a spendthrift and callous government.

I disagreed with him completely on the grammar school issue and I am a global warming sceptic.

However, it is not logical to attack Brown for not being responsive to people and then condemn Cameron if he attempts to reflects the needs and aspirations of the society we live in.

I am not wedded to any sort of Conservative ideology. My support for the Party arises out of my own experiences. In days gone by I suppose I would have been considered to be liberal but now I do not understand what the LibDems stand for at all and I think that Labour only wishes to stay in power and have its hands on the keys to patronage.

I shall support David Cameron but will not fear to criticise him or any of his Shadow Cabinet if they cross the boundaries of what I personally think is right. At the moment he is focussed on the redemption of the shirking class. Bringing that huge group back into use and work is the key to all. In the last 40 years their lot has worsened year by year and they are now almost a separate species. That is desperately impoverishing them and the whole nation. Fiddling around with their benefits is not the answer at all.

In the end a country's real wealth is its people.

[Madnurse 7 May 2008 20:02:53]

Victor:

Perhaps you are right, perhaps I am too hard on Mr Cameron. Mr Cameron was not my choice for leader of my party and perhaps, I am prejudiced because of that, I don't know.

All I have heard from Mr Cameron since he became leader relates to some PC and green ideas that, in my opinion, are more akin to Labour thought rather than traditional Conservative ideology.
He has not really put forward any real policies on which to judge him. This, in my view, plays into the hands of his Labour supporting critics and we see it everyday on here.

The other thing that concerns me is this;
Mr Blair moved his party away from everything it ever stood for and it seems to me that Mr Cameron is doing the same to my party in order just to get his hands on power.

I think there is very little difference between the two main parties as they chase the centre ground, but I also feel many of our party's MPs have sacrificed their values in support of Mr Cameron just to get elected and this really worries me. I accept a party needs to be united but, at what cost?

There seems to be a complete see change within the mindset of modern politicians especially in relation to honesty and straightforwardness and I for one, dislike the changes I see.

Perhaps I am just an anachronism now and am no longer in touch with mainstream thought within the party, I don’t know.
I know what Conservative thought was in the past but now; it is very difficult to define what we really stand for. I think the same applies equally to Labour.
Perhaps the old left and right have now become redundant and both parties have become more pragmatic.

Carol-Ann recently spoke about the generation gap in relation to something else; I feel the generation gap now, but in a political sense.

[Liz, Suffolk 7 May 2008 18:37:52]

Carol-Ann

Boris will give up his seat if he hasn't done already. In case you didn't know, Boris has always been a Conservative - for as long as I can remember anyway. As Boris is not actually in the Shadow Cabinet, he wouldn't sit on the front bench. Hope this clarifies everything.

[Adrian, Lancashire 7 May 2008 18:36:41]

C-A, I believe that once Boris has resigned the party whose seat it is (CON) will have upto 6 months to issue a writ for the by-election. As to the comment of he can't look after London and Henley. Why not? Brown looks after Britain and his constituancy, Salmon is Scottish first Minister, MSP and an MP. I am not saying it is right but I think he is on record as saying he will resign as an MP

[Victor, NW Kent 7 May 2008 17:47:53]

Madnurse

Please do not always think the worst of Cameron.

Meetings of the 1922 Committee are called by their Chair. The bigwigs have no say in it whatsoever.

[carol-ann livepool 7 May 2008 17:31:44]

Proof, if ever it was needed that Boris is now in the iron grip of the Nucon project is that he was placed in camera shot behind Cammers.

What? Not next to him on the front bench, lol? Nooo that is a bridge too far for Cammers, people might get a bit too confused as to who the leader is.
Close enough to bask in the reflected glory but far away enough to be able to distance himself if it all goes horribly wrong. heeheee.
I know it is probably protocol, but given that Dave has broken other protocols, like addressing questions through the Speaker, why not for Boris?

Oh Dear, Dave will have to be on his mettle, otherwise the Nucons may think that Boris would make a better PM, lol.

When is the by-election for Boris's Henley seat as he can't be looking after London AND Henley,surely?

[Madnurse 7 May 2008 17:09:51]

All MPs MUST attend; Sounds very authoritarian to me, if I were an MP, I would not attend out of spite.

I do hope that this message is not an example of Mr Cameron's leadership for when we get elected whenever Mr Brown sums up enough courage to call an election.

Whilst Stepford Robots in Labour may stand for it, I can't see Conservative MPs standing for it.

[Steve, London 7 May 2008 15:34:00]

cool; my advice to them is "think big" when it comes to policy changes.

It'll be a nightmare to unravel Gordon Brown's efforts one-by-one; better to scrap it all and start again with a totally different way of structuring the system.

If they can do that then they'll get the same kind of support and appreciation that Tony Blair originally got back in 1997. But maybe this time all that goodwill could be channeled into changes that make logical sense and which help people.

If they have the right ideas and analysis and implementation then they could turn the country around pretty quickly following an election win.

So, be brave, dave.

[Stevie, Folkestone 7 May 2008 15:31:28]

Quite right, 'Dave' and his party must not become complacent, Brown may be a dead duck, but we the electorate will be watching this time, we've had two consecutive long term nightmares of Government and we don't want to see another one.

Even if you win the next election Mr Cameron, don't expect an easy ride like Maggie or Tony had, we'll get rid of you just as quick as we'll get rid of Brown and his shambles of a party if you don't perform.

We don't care about who is victorious, this isn't sport, this is politics and if you're rubbish like Brown, we'll fire you just as quick at the next available opportunity as well.

Get used to it politicians, you're under more scrutiny than ever before and you won't find it so easy to spin your way out of cock ups anymore.

My life has been marred by self important politicians who reside in a little bubble of blind incompetence, if you look like you're going that way too David, as they say on our streets today ...you is outta there!

[Khalid 7 May 2008 15:23:04]

Let us not get too happy as voter apathy is like politics, [Akon] and leaving many a happy person [Lonely]. Stil, if I get a text, dont expect a reply, no credit, so make your policies clear and concise.

[Merv. Beszant, Dubai 7 May 2008 15:16:49]

Jon,
Cameron could do worse than get Boris to go on first as a warm up act, and I think these two, working together, could make a very successful duo for the Tories!