News from Labour Matters

David Cameron’s claim to have changed the Tories is exposed as hot air

David Cameron’s attempt to portray the Conservatives as moderates has rightly taken a battering in the last week.

The row over Lord Ashcroft’s failure to live up to his promise to pay full UK tax finally exploded, leaving egg all over the Tory frontbench and galvanising the will to fightback with Labour supporters in the very marginals Ashcroft hopes to “buy”.

Further indications that the Tory’s change is only cosmetic came after The Guardian revealed that leading Conservatives, including Lord Ashcroft’s boss, had given their support to an extremist group which, among other nutty policies, considers the NHS a waste of money. The group provides a clear link between the Conservative frontbench and right wingers such as Dan Hannan MEP, who Cameron previously claimed doesn’t represent Tory values.

Having endured over two years of attacks by the media, the Tories have responded to a week of increased scrutiny with official obfuscation and bluster. But a leading Conservative campaigner let the cat out of the bag in an email attacking Cameron’s crew, calling the Tory campaign “shambolic”.

Other news from Labour Matters

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• Westminster Council to cut Taxicard budget by £500,000 a year - 11 August 2011