A party divided

No matter how much David Cameron’s inner circle protests that this phrase was never uttered, despite media reports, they will never be believed by many activists who are convinced that the leadership holds them in contempt.

This discontent has crystallised around two issues, Europe and gay marriage, and is reflected in the disquiet of backbench MPs who are now using Parliament to express their anger over both issues. The fact that many of them fear losing their votes to the UK Independence Party at the General Election complicates the situation further.

In many ways, the Prime Minister only has himself to blame for this problem. Since becoming leader, he has wisely attempted to broaden the Tories’ appeal and to demonstrate that it is more than a narrow clique obsessing about issues of little concern to the general public.

It should never have been part of this process, however, to rubbish the concerns of ordinary Conservatives or to put as much distance as possible between the party leadership and the constituency associations. Yet Mr Cameron and his colleagues seem at times to have taken a delight in doing just that.

The result is a sense of alienation which is now making itself felt in the parliamentary party. 
Indeed, the irony is that it 
is precisely that phenomenon which 
Mr Cameron tried to 
prevent – the Tories 
divided and arguing 
among themselves over issues not at the forefront of most voters’ concerns – that is now threatening to lose him the General Election.