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Tory conference diary: business as usual in the VIP room
Tory conference diary: business as usual in the VIP room
(about 5 hours later)
• Mark Textor, the pugnacious business partner of Lynton Crosby (the Tories’ election guru) was spotted mid-conference in the Blue Room, a security-guarded VIP area protected from media and party members unable to pay the £250 for access. Asked, as he left, if he would be meeting lobbying clients, he answered: “I’m meeting the delegates, listening to great speeches by George [Osborne].” Pressed again, he said: “I’ve been here on many other occasions. The nature of my work is a matter for me. I am here to see my business partner of 10 years, in Birmingham.” He was also seeing Jim Messina, Obama’s digital adviser, now advising the Tories too. Ker-ching !!
• Mark Textor, the pugnacious business partner of Tory election guru Lynton Crosby, was spotted mid-conference in the Blue Room, a security-guarded VIP area protected from media and party members unable to pay the £250 for access. Asked, as he left, if he would be meeting lobbying clients, he answered: “I’m meeting the delegates, listening to great speeches by George [Osborne].” Pressed again, he said: “I’ve been here on many other occasions. The nature of my work is a matter for me. I am here to see my business partner of 10 years, in Birmingham.” He was also seeing Jim Messina, Obama’s digital adviser, now advising the Tories too. Ker-ching!!
• Cameron, Hague, Osborne – they’ve all told the Tory conference that Scotland’s independence referendum was not a union-wrecking near disaster but a huge success. The PM had been right to give a “rising star” accolade to Ruth Davidson, his former BBC kickboxing leader at Holyrood, who has charmed activists in Birmingham. But he was wrong to call the 55:45% vote against independence “one of the greatest shows of democracy the world has ever seen”. Osborne even boasted that it had stopped the separatist tide for the first time in a generation. Oh really? And the bills haven’t started coming in yet either.
• Cameron, Hague and Osborne have all told the conference that Scotland’s independence referendum was not a union-wrecking near-disaster, but a huge success. The PM was right to give a “rising star” accolade to Ruth Davidson, his former BBC kickboxing leader at Holyrood, who has charmed activists in Birmingham. But he was wrong to call the 55/45 vote against independence “one of the greatest shows of democracy the world has seen”. Osborne even boasted that it had stopped the separatist tide for the first time in a generation. Really? The bills haven’t started coming in yet either.
• Dave’s instantly hailed back-to-the-Farage-wall conference triumph rests heavily on £7bn worth of tax cuts (the Tax Dodgers Alliance says that they don’t go far enough) which Osborne should have told him he cannot afford. Treasury borrowing is up this year, partly because the coalition’s last tax offer, raising the basic tax threshold to £10,000, is proving more expensive than expected (perhaps £12bn?) as wage levels dip. Half-baked? Then what about George’s last budget wheeze, freeing up pension pots so people can buy Lamborghini wheelchairs? Tax geeks have just spotted that pension “freedom” also means creditors can grab the oldies’ pot too.
• The slim, earnest, volume called Why Vote Conservative? by former police minister Nick Herbert was easily the bestseller at Blackwell’s conference book stall. Last week’s Labour top pitch, the memoirs of leftie Dennis Skinner, sold neither copy on display in the city. Strange to say, Andrew Marr’s larky fiction debut, Head of State, did well. It’s about a popular prime minister who dies in office. Definitely fiction.
• The slim, earnest, volume called Why Vote Conservative? by the former police minister Nick Herbert was easily the best-seller at Blackwells conference book stall. Last week’s Labour top pitch, the memoirs of leftie Dennis Skinner, sold neither copy on display in the city. Strange to say, Andrew Marr’s larky fiction debut, Head of State, did well though. It’s about a popular prime minister who dies in office. Definitely fiction.
• Quote of the day comes from William Hague: “ I don’t think any party has a monopoly of wisdom on the National Health Service. We all care about the NHS.”
• “Dog Whistle” Crosby is rarely seen in daylight. He did one public meeting and addressed one closed meeting at this week’s conference – where free garlic was handed out at the door. Far from wishing to dispel his fearsome image, Dog Whistle recalled a chum’s response after he’d had a pacemaker fitted: “So, you do have a heart then?”
Stylewatch by Imogen Fox
• Eat your heart out, Douglas Carswell of Ukip. High-profile former sex worker Charlotte Rose is planning to stand against him as the Sexual Freedom candidate in Clacton. That should test Doug’s libertarianism. Worse, Lib Dem publicity-hound Lembit Opik is backing her. Rose and Lembit “are available for joint interview”. Top that, Carswell.
• Wilfully simple and unambiguously blue. The sartorial advisers for the leader’s speech had clearly opened the Farrow & Ball blue paint chart and locked the parameters at parma gray and drawing-room blue. How happy must they have been that the steel pillars at Birmingham’s the ICC fitted into the scheme. All the better to choreograph the image of David walking in his anonymous dark navy suit and matching tie (pitch blue, possibly?) holding hands with Samantha in her parma gray Hobbs sleeveless dress. Time was the party stylists used to flirt with less traditional colours, like purple. But as the conference reaches its peak, no one in high command can be seen wearing a tie that could be described as defection purple.
• What was the most important thing about Scotland’s referendum? “We got to go first,” murmurs one high-minded No 10 policy strategist. Normally the Lib Dems meet before Labour or Tories and have been able to announce popular coalition policies first. Not this year. But Dave’s tax bribes may fall apart before the Cleggies gather in Glasgow on Sunday.
• Quote of the day: “ I don’t think any party has a monopoly of wisdom on the National Health Service. We all care about the NHS.” William Hague
