Letters From A Tory Daily views on British politics and the Conservative Party from a centre-right thinker who writes letters on his blog to politicians, journalists and many others.

 
From the Telegraph:
Labour’s general election campaign is in crisis amid damaging rows between senior cabinet ministers and a new poll showing support for the party dropping to a six-month low.  In one particularly bad-tempered incident, Lord Mandelson ordered Harriet Harman, the party’s deputy leader, to “shut up” and told her he did not want to [...]

Here is a small selection of comments from the Guardian website, regarding Labour’s new election poster being touted by Ed and David Miliband:

“Dave’s looking pretty cool there.  Definitely vote for him now, looks so much fresher, athletic and up for the fray than tired old has been Gordon.”
“The Labour media machine, infallible from 1997 to 2005, [...]

“The Lisbon treaty is your work as much as anyone’s. You pushed it through and you told everyone that it really mattered. You’ve been making speeches on the importance of the new job as EU foreign minister. You’ve said it is an essential tool of influence. Yet now — now — you tell me that [...]

“It is not a state secret that he wears Speedo swimming trunks, for goodness sake let’s grow up.”
- David Miliband, Foreign Secretary, who said that photographs of Sir John Sawers, the new head of MI6, that appeared on Facebook are not a threat to national security.  He described Sir John as an “outstanding professional” and denied that [...]

Dear David Miliband,
I bet you thought you’d got away with it, didn’t you.  All this talk about how the supposedly evil and domineering US had forced your hand into suppressing evidence surrounding the possible torture of British citizen Binyam Mohamed seemed so convincing and you were resolute in defending your actions.  Unfortunately for you, the [...]

“We have profound commitment to freedom of speech”.
- David Miliband, commenting on Geert Wilders, the Dutch MP who made the controversial ‘Fitna’ film about Islam, being turned away at Heathrow

“I shall probably go to Britain anyway on Thursday. Let us see if they put me in chains on arrival. It is an unbelievable decision made by a group of cowards.”
- Geert Wilders, the Dutch politician who made the controversial ‘Fitna’ film about Islam, on being refused entry to the UK.  Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime [...]

Dear David Miliband,
Due to the considerable media coverage, I didn’t feel a need to write a letter to you regarding the attacks in Gaza – that is, until now.  Your tragically weak performance as Foreign Secretary for Britain has already led to the suffering of innocent civilians in Zimbabwe, Burma, Kenya and several other conflict zones.  Your [...]

Dear David Miliband,
You just don’t stop, do you.  After the PR catastrophe of your article in the Guardian a while back, I would have thought that you’d play it safe and praise Gordon Brown to the heavens in your speech to the Labour Party conference yesterday.  I was wrong.  You had planted so many covert [...]

Dear David Miliband,
Is this it - an article in The Times?  Call me old-fashioned, but I always looked to a Foreign Secretary to provide stability, reassurance and direction on our foreign policy in addition to responding promptly and decisively to serious issues abroad.  I’ve been watching your work as Foreign Secretary and it is quite clear [...]

Dear David Miliband,
In contrast to the criticism that Jack Straw has received over the past few days for being decidely sluggish in his defence of the Prime Minister, your antics have gone largely unnoticed.  Your silence was equally deafening, and now we know why – you’re moving within striking distance of Brown as you can [...]

And where is our Foreign Secretary David Miliband? What has he got to say on such a serious international incident?  Nothing, he hides away behind Gordon Brown, just like last time, and the time before that, and the time before that….

He didn’t challenge for the leadership after Blair’s departure because Brown had too much support, but maybe now is the time to strike?

Dear David Miliband,
I simply cannot believe what I’m seeing.  Actually, let me rephrase that - I can believe it because your track record of hiding away from anything remotely serious is now verging on legendary, but your complete absence from the headlines as China kills another eight Tibetan protestors is unacceptable.
When things got tough in Palestine, or [...]

Dear David Miliband,
Your naivety and arrogance is really starting to test my patience.  How on earth can someone with such a weak understanding of international relations be Foreign Secretary?  The whole of the UK is already in fear of what catastrophes await us with Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, but now we have to be afraid [...]

Dear David Miliband,
I’m getting really sick and tired of senior figures in the Labour Party disappearing from our TV screens once trouble erupts.  Normally this process involves hiding behind Uncle Gordon until the nasty journalists go away, but both yourself and Uncle Gordon have somehow decided not to care about the tragic events unfolding in [...]

Dear David Miliband,
It was with great amusement that I watched Gordon Brown announce new plans for treating cancer patients last week, seeing as it was clearly the job of Health Secretary Alan Johnson to make such an announcement.  Alan Johnson was presumably instructed to take a back seat and hide behind Uncle Gordon and I [...]

Dear David Miliband,
Yet again your feeble understanding of geographical boundaries makes you look rather stupid.  To suggest that the EU should include Russia is contentious; to suggest that the EU should include the Middle East and North Africa is absolutely unbelievable.
I seem to remember writing you a letter not so long ago about the fact that [...]

Dear David Miliband,
I would have thought that, as Foreign Secretary, you would be looking to build an impressive reputation for yourself before you challenge for the next Labour leadership vacancy (probably just a couple of years off).  Your dearth of experience at ministerial level left me and many others stunned at your appointment to such [...]

Dear David Miliband,
Like Alan Johnson, you are clearly detached from the reality of what Labour’s foreign policy has done to this country and many others, hence the need for me to write this letter to you.
For you to stand there in front of the conference and the media and state that “every citizen of every nation deserves [...]