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.

Dear Polly Toynbee,
Your latest article in the Guardian, in the midst of a furious backlash from business leaders following Lord Mandelson’s claims that they were being deceived by the Conservatives over National Insurance, was a poor effort.  Rather than seeking to address the economics of the debate, you evidently decided to focus on the politics instead [...]

First came… OPINIUM: Conservatives 38% (+1), Labour 28% (-2), Lib Dems 16% (+1)
Then came… YOUGOV: Conservatives 39% (+2), Labour 32% (-), Lib Dems 18% (-1)
And finally came… COMRES: Conservatives 37% (-), Labour 30% (-2), Lib Dems 19% (+1)
All three polls were taken after last week’s Budget, suggesting that Darling’s favourable press coverage at the time [...]

Dear Steve Hilton and George Osborne,
I don’t whether it is you or the rest of the Conservative Party staff who I should be writing this letter to.  Even so, the news about Lord Ashcroft’s tax status provides a wonderful example of how detached you are from the real world.  Lord Ashcroft has finally admitted he does not pay [...]

His general election coordination has been appalling.
His dithering has been costly.
His inexperience has been all too evident.
But could he turn it all around this weekend? From the Telegraph:
George Osborne will unveil an emergency “enterprise” budget within 50 days of a Conservative election victory which will sharply cut taxes for business, it can be disclosed. The [...]

Dear George Osborne,
Last week I wrote a letter to David Cameron expressing my extreme irritation and frustration at the stumbling, confused and downright incompetent campaign that the Conservatives have run thus far.  The only reason that you didn’t get a letter from me yesterday was that Gordon Brown’s bullying allegations took the media by storm.  [...]

Dear David Cameron, Steve Hilton and George Osborne,
I’m not sure that yesterday truly marked the beginning of the election campaign, but it was nevertheless entertaining to watch the two main parties draw swords while Nick Clegg just sat on the sidelines and moaned.  No-one scored a stunning outright victory yesterday, partly because Alistair Darling sprung an unavoidable trap, and the [...]

“We were promised a pre-Budget report and we got a pre-election one.  No-one will believe a word they say on the economy again.”
- George Osborne’s response to the PBR, which he described as a “catastrophe”, adding that every family in the UK would be “paying the price” for Labour’s mistakes.

Dear George Osborne,
Having watched your performance at the Conservative Party conference, it was clear to me that you are keen to put electoral strategy and voter sentiment ahead of common sense.  While this is not a bad idea in the run-up to an election, one does wonder if you’ll ever be able to turn it [...]

Dear trade unions,
No sooner had you heard Alistair Darling’s announcement about a one-year pay freeze for senior civil servants, members of the judiciary, senior NHS managers, GPs and chief executives of quangos then you were up in arms about it.  Your collective reactions were, however, self-centred and short sighted.  Furthermore, George Osborne’s announcement yesterday that the [...]

2nd October 2007: Gordon Brown is accused of “cynical pre-election politics” over his visit to British forces in Iraq during the Conservative Party conference.  Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox said MPs had been led to expect a statement on the withdrawal of troops from Basra in the House of Commons. “It now seems that the [...]

“Winning politician of the year in 2009 is a bit like winning banker of the year in 2008″
- George Osborne on winning the GQ magazine award

“The real dividing line is not ‘cuts versus investment’, but honesty versus dishonesty. We should have the confidence to tell the public the truth that Britain faces a debt crisis; that existing plans show that real spending will have to be cut, whoever is elected; and that the bills of rising unemployment and the huge [...]

Dear Simon Heffer,
I find your Telegraph column to be a rather mixed bag.  While I often agree with your demands, complaints and general narrative, most of which is aimed at the Conservative Party, I simply do not understand how you can ignore the political context surrounding the events that you describe.  Your dislike for Conservative Party policy, [...]

“This is Gordon Brown’s nightmare before Christmas. One of the most respected and senior economists in the world has just said that Gordon Brown’s temporary VAT cut, the centrepiece of his plan for the recession, is not a ‘good idea’. The recession is getting deeper, and Labour is bankrupting Britain again.”
- Shadow Chancellor George Osborne, [...]

Dear George Osborne,
I daresay your Telegraph article this morning won’t burst into the limelight as it lacks the media appeal and glamour that reels in the commentators.  Even so, it is an extremely important piece which shows that the Conservatives are far from finished.  It’s been a very rocky period for David Cameron and yourself, [...]

Dear George Osborne,
Things can only get better for you.  Using the falling value of the Sterling to attack the government probably seemed like a sensible angle, yet even this remark was received badly in some quarters.  I suspect that the negative reaction to your comments about the Sterling will be dwarfed by the reaction to [...]

“Bringing back Peter Mandelson to the Cabinet for the third time, and attacking his opponents for being novices was the final nail in the coffin.”
- George Osborne, who made it clear in his Evening Standard article that he won’t give up on attacking Peter Mandelson, even after the Deripaska saga

“Gordon Brown only faces up to facts and listens to you when he is staring personal political defeat in the face”
- George Osborne, Shadow Chancellor

Dear George Osborne,
It’s almost reaching the point where hacking the Labour Party to pieces in the media is becoming too damn easy.  You don’t even have to dig around for potential scandals and appalling behaviour – it surfaces in the press without you or anyone else having to do anything.  The resignation of the Labour [...]

Dear George Osborne,
Your announcement this morning concerning the plans for public spending under a future Conservative government was well delivered.  Telling the British electorate that you will stick with Labour’s spending plans was, in my opinion, a fairly bold move.  There is no question that the last Conservative government had lower tax rates than Labour, [...]