David Cameron’s conference stage
Posted by Administrator (admin) on Jul 01 2010
Staging Blog >> Portable Staging

Delivering his sombre message on the need for a “government of thrift” in an “age of austerity”, Mr Cameron shared a stage last weekend with his Shadow Cabinet. In presentational terms its primary purpose was almost certainly to reassure voters who fear that the re-branded Conservatives are a one-man band.

Unusually, the image-makers seem to have failed to spot an obvious flaw. The staging highlighted starkly how dominated by men his top team is. It allowed newspaper pictures of Mr Cameron in a sea of grey suits. This mistake — a basic error — would not matter so much if it did not reflect a growing concern that, as the party switches its message to the minor key in tune with the recession, it is losing modernising momentum. Andy Coulson, Mr Cameron’s director of communications, has told colleagues that he believes that winning the battle over the economy and pinning the blame for the recession on Gordon Brown is the Tories’ priority. To this end Philip Hammond, the Shadow Chief Secretary with a bank manager’s manner, has been given an enhanced role; he joins George Osborne and Kenneth Clarke explaining how the Tories would help Britain to cope in the age of austerity. Mr Osborne told activists that Mr Hammond would be one of the most important members of a Conservative government.

The all-male line-up on the Conservatives’ economic A-team is, however, drawing attention to Mr Cameron’s failure to make his Shadow Cabinet more reflective of the electorate. Its creation follows a reshuffle in January in which Mr Cameron ducked the chance to increase the number of women in his top team, instead demoting Caroline Spelman from her job as party chairman. Ms Spelman was regarded as tainted after a lengthy parliamentary standards’ inquiry.

Some of the party’s most highly qualified women supporters are finding it hard to get seats. ConservativeHome, the activists’ website, found that 14 out of the 26 A-list candidates who are still searching for seats are women.

Last changed: Jul 01 2010 at 4:45 PM

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