David Cameron acts to head off snap election challenge of Tory Right
Paul Waugh, Deputy Political Editor
Holding out: David Cameron is said to be looking for grassroots allies amid fears Right-wingers would press him to drop his modernising crusade and liberal policies
David Cameron is mobilising grassroots Tories to prevent a lurch to the Right and to protect his coalition with the Liberal Democrats, the Standard can reveal.The Prime Minister fears that traditional Conservatives will use an analysis of the general election to conclude that more hardline policies would deliver the “one more push” needed for a majority government.
Before a potentially fractious party conference this autumn, Mr Cameron has told defeated Parliamentary candidates that he needs them to fight back against any push by the Right.
Some in the party have already begun discussing the possibility of a snap election to capitalise on the Tories' current poll lead and the Lib-Dems' sharp fall in support.
A new YouGov/Sun poll today put the Conservatives on 43 per cent, Labour on 34 and the Lib-Dems on 15 per cent. One senior Right-winger, Tim Montgomerie of ConservativeHome.com, suggested: “What chance a snap election now to dump the Libs?”
Some veteran MPs also think that a snap poll is worth considering in a bid to capitalise on Labour disarray and the unpopularity of Nick Clegg's party among his supporters.
But Mr Cameron is determined to hold out against such pressure. He set out his own plans as he met 100 defeated Tory candidates at Downing Street for a secret meeting yesterday.
Many of the candidates are deemed to be on the “moderate” and “modernising” wing of the party.
One source said that the Prime Minister revealed that he was looking for grassroots allies because he feared the Right would use an election review to say the party has to dump its more liberal policies.
“He was worried that the examination of the election will conclude that all we needed was one last push. He wants candidates to help fight that,” one candidate said.
Another said that Mr Cameron had made clear that now was not the time to abandon his modernising crusade.
Graham Brady, chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, is conducting his own independent review of the election campaign.
Deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft, who on election night criticised the decision to give Nick Clegg equal billing in the TV debates, is also set to publish a book analysing the campaign. ConservativeHome has already concluded that the TV debate blunder, failure to talk more about immigration and welfare, the U-turn on an EU referendum, the vague Big Society policy and lack of a consistent message on the economy all contributed to the party's failure to win an outright majority.
The Tory grassroots website has been scathing about the fact Mr Cameron added just three per cent to his party's vote and his Alternative Vote referendum plans. A senior government source said that Mr Cameron acknowledged yesterday that there was a “hard core” of opponents to the coalition on both sides but he stressed that the public “really like” the new politics.
A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said that the defeated candidates' event was part of his “open door” policy for the party. Every Tory MP and much of the voluntary party has been invited to No 10 since the election.
“He said that if we can build a strong and stable coalition then in five years' time we can hold our heads up high about what we have achieved for the country,” she said. Downing Street sources said there was “no mood whatsoever” for a snap poll.
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