The Times and Telegraph regale us with front page stories of a Cameron ally who has called Conservative Party activists ‘swivel-eyed loons’. This is how James Kirkup in the Telegraph reported it.
Grassroots Conservative activists are “mad swivel-eyed loons” who are forcing Tory MPs to take extremist positions opposing gay marriage and Europe, one of David Cameron’s closest allies has said. The comments, from a member of the Prime Minister’s inner circle, come amid recent rifts between Mr Cameron and his party over Coalition policies. The remarks were made by a senior figure in the Conservative Party who has strong social connections to the Prime Minister. “There’s really no problem,” the Conservative figure said about the parliamentary turmoil. “The MPs just have to do it because the associations tell them to, and the associations are all mad swivel-eyed loons.”
Nothing like exaggerating to make a point, eh? Of course there are swivel eyed loons among the Tory Party membership. Just as there are in any party. It’s just a shame that the Liberal Democrats have more than their fair share. Just go to a LibDem conference and you will see what I mean.
The Times have four journalists – Sam Coates, Laura Pitel, Ruth Gledhill and Roland Watson – who have put their name to the story – a classic trick if a single journalist fears retribution. Quite why their religion correspondent is a contributor to this is anyone’s guess.
Tory activists are “mad, swivel-eyed loons”, according to one of David Cameron’s closest allies. The incendiary comment made at a private dinner this week is likely to plunge relations between the Prime Minister and his party to a new low. It offers a rare insight into the disregard and irritation felt by the Prime Minister’s inner circle towards Conservative Party members up and down the country. The senior figure, who has strong social connections to the Prime Minister and close links to the party machine, blamed grassroots members for the rebellion by MPs on Europe this week.
Neither newspaper sees fit to name this individual, thus again proving how insidious the lobby system is. Does anyone seriously imagine if Nadine Dorries had made these comments at a private dinner she wouldn’t have been named? One rule for her… Ah, but it was an off-the-record-comment, the journalists bleat. That’s how it works. What hogwash. Remember when Cameron told a private dinner with News International in 2005 that he saw himself as the ‘heir to Blair’? Did any journalist quiver before naming Cameron even though it was an off-the-record private dinner? No, of course they didn’t. So why not name this name now? Could it be anything to do with them or their editors being intimidated by Leveson? But as Isabel Oakeshott says on Twitter…
Re.identity of swivel eyed loon culprit, seems to me it’s a when, not an if, they will be unmasked. Too many senior journalists know
Quite a few people on Twitter are naming one particular Cameron groupie as the culprit on the basis that he is in the ’PM’s social circle’ and ‘close to the party machine’. However, we all know there are quite a few other people who also fit those criteria. So if it isn’t him he is being unfairly traduced.
One thing we can be sure is this. Whoever it is will be shitting bricks this morning that they will be named in the Sunday papers. And so they should be.
