LONDON EVENING STANDARD: Right wingers demand tougher policies as Lib Dems cling on to seat / Late Ukip surge fails to defeat Lib Dems / Embarrassment for Tories as they finish in third place / Mike Thornton held on to the seat vacated by disgraced ex minister Chris Huhne
Tory MPs were in open revolt against David Cameron’s touchy-feely leadership style today after being thrashed into third place behind Ukip at the Eastleigh by-election.
Right-wingers said Mr Cameron brought on the disaster by trampling on traditional Conservative values with policies like gay marriage and husky hugging.
In a strongly worded warning, backbencher Stewart Jackson, who quit as a ministerial aide over Europe, told the Standard: “Unless things are demonstrably different in terms of public perception by the early summer he will have great difficulty in persuading the electorate that we can win a general election.
“He is out of touch with the party. Both gay marriage and EU migration feed into a narrative that too much emphasis is going to the Liberal metropolitan elite and not enough to the blue-collar working vote that Margaret Thatcher had the support of.” Epping Forest’s Eleanor Laing said: “Loyalty is a two-way thing and the leadership of the Conservative Party asks for loyalty from our supporters but those supporters don’t feel that they’re getting loyalty back.”
Tory supporters felt “hurt and left out” and MPs were “in despair about the number of people who are resigning from the Party”, she told the BBC’s World at One. Backbencher Douglas Carswell urged the PM: “Don’t alienate base in return for pundit applause. Pundits don’t have many votes.”
There were calls for tougher policies on immigration, Europe and marriage. Ominously, some MPs said Mr Cameron was now on probation and a full-blown leadership crisis would blow up if the party is routed in May’s council elections. The Tory day of anger followed a night of pure drama in Eastleigh. » | Joe Murphy | Friday, March 01, 2013
