A divisive Davis?
- 13 Jun 08, 10:20 AM
The BBC has been inundated with calls, texts, e-mails and blog comments praising David Davis' decision yesterday and some have questioned why I have suggested it may be a nightmare for the Conservative Party.
So here are ten reasons:
1) It will pit the Tories against the paper whose support they most want to win - The Sun
2) David Davis might lose the by-election, robbing the Tories of a talented politician
3) Davis may win big, emphasising his status as a potential rival for David Cameron
4) The by-election may be a damp squib in which no major party runs and is seen by many as a waste of tax payers' money
5) David Davis wins and gets back into the shadow cabinet where no-one knows what he'll do next and is therefore a divisive force
6) David Davis stays on the backbenches and becomes a focus of discontent with David Cameron and a divisive force
7) The Conservative Party is forced to have the divisive debate between libertarianism and authoritarianism
8) The Conservatives are diverted from their strategy of focusing on schools, welfare and family policies
9) David Cameron does not look in control of his top team
10) For the first time in months Gordon Brown is helped to avoid dreadful headlines which today would have read ("I did no deal, honest")
