Cameron for Tory leader

2005-07-19T23:35:43+02:00

With all the dramas of recent weeks - the london bombings, the olympic bid success, the futile debate over the causes of terror the tory leadership contenders are probably feeling rather neglected by the media. This is a good thing if you ask me.
The wisdom, as I saw it, of Michael Howard's decision not step down immediately was that leadership contenders would have the chance to reflect on what their leadership might mean for the party and the country. This is what happens in American Presidential primaries (as well as the shallow pomp). Campaigns last for several months and colleagues and supporters get a feel for what the various candidates might be like in the top job. Therefore, being out of the media spotlight might give Davis, Cameron, Willetts, Clarke, and the rest a chance to actually think about the issues rather than make a shallow pitch to get column inches in the paper. Taking on New Labour is a serious matter, and I hope the next leader is fully ready for the job before being thrown in at the deep end.
I do like Davis (a South Londoner like me, a military man, a straight-talker but with a bit of the Bill Clinton swagger). He's made a clear commitment to low taxes and retaining civil liberties. I would not mind at all him being the next Conservative leader.
However, if the Tories want to get in next time I suggest they need do no more than elect David Cameron as the next leader. If the party does have an image problem as we keep being told, he is the perfect antidote - fresh faced, impeccably mannered, articulate, and someone who, through his progressive yet pro-family rhetoric can appeal to the idealistic, and the conservative in all of us.
There is talk that he is not ready yet, but he shows none of William Hague's impetuousness when he became leader at a similarly young age. And we all know what calibre Hague has. Cameron will have four years to grow into the job and hone the leadership qualities to take the party and the country well and truly into the 21st century.
Old Etonian he may be, but as was alluded to in India Knight's column in the Sunday Times, he is a Tory who the urban middle classes feel comfortable with. If the party wins back these voters, then no 10 is theirs.
I'm backing Cameron, and I hope the parliamentary party are not crazy enough to turn down the biggest potential star they've had since the Iron Lady.

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Cameron for Tory leader