Tory contest heads to Newcastle
The two candidates for the Tory leadership are heading to Newcastle today for their next head-to-head debate in front of party members.
It is a chance for the more than 250,000 grassroots party members to see how David Davis and David Cameron perform before the ballots on who should succeed Michael Howard close on December 5th.
Both men were confident following yesterday’s hustings in Leicester, the first of 11 such meetings across the country, although with no press allowed into the event, it was left for them to paint a picture of how the debate went.
“The collective view here appears to be that I won,” Mr Davis – who arrived 15 minutes late to the hustings – told World at One.
His leadership rival was a little more modest, telling Radio Four’s PM: “I thought today’s meeting was great. It was a very lively debate and there were lots of good questions, very good-natured and it is great getting around the country with these hustings.”
Mr Cameron has been forging ahead in opinion polls, with one this weekend suggesting that 68 per cent of Tory members who had already cast their ballots had voted for him.
In a huge boost to his campaign, the shadow education secretary also won the support of former leader William Hague and former leadership rival Liam Fox.
However, yesterday Mr Davis insisted the hustings was “a victory for me”, adding: “The simple truth is, from my point of view, that this will be decided on December 6th and I will battle it all the way.”
The shadow home secretary took a pop at his 39-year-old rival by condemning Mr Cameron’s admission that he would support many of New Labour’s policies, and also made much of his own experience – Mr Cameron has been an MP for just four years.
“Either we can slavishly follow Tony Blair and go for an image-led strategy, cautious on policy, or you can go for battle-hardened experience, sure in the knowledge that our principles are enduring principles, fit to take this party and this country to a better future,” he said.
A few hours later, however, Mr Cameron hit back by saying the differences between him and Mr Blair “are so many to mention”, including regional assemblies, Europe and taxes.
“People will say these things and you just have to be relaxed about it. I have set out a very clear programme of modern, compassionate conservatism for the Conservative party,” he told BBC Radio Four’s PM.
Mr Cameron has come under fire for failing to put forward concrete policies – unlike Mr Davis, who has pledged to cut more than £1,000 from the average family’s tax bill.
But yesterday he repeated his argument that “I do not think it is right to try to write the whole 2009 manifesto in the six weeks of this leadership election campaign”.
