A Place to Stand

    I heard this on the morning news 3 days ago. The BBC correspondent gave his opinion that Cameron would either have to remove the Conservative Whip from Mercer expelling him from the party or ignore it  Any intermediate response would make him look incredibly weak.

A senior Tory MP was last night accused of launching a tirade of abuse against David Cameron in which he allegedly described the Prime Minister as an 'a**e'.

Former Army colonel Patrick Mercer was also claimed to have witheringly dismissed Mr Cameron as 'a despicable creature' and 'the worst politician in British history since William Gladstone'.

The extraordinary remarks were allegedly recorded at a party in Central London last week....

In the recording, obtained by the Sunday People, he claimed the Prime Minister would be ousted by next year.
Asked if backbenchers would launch a leadership coup, Mr Mercer replied: 'He'll go in the spring. He'll resign in the spring.'

According to reports last night, the Newark MP was taped as he attended the annual autumn party of The London Magazine.

....was allegedly recorded saying:

• 'Cameron was an a**e. That's a matter of fact, not politics.'

• 'I would take a beggar off the streets... rather than have Cameron.'

• 'He is the worst politician in British history since William Gladstone.'

• He wished Mr Cameron was never born

     Clearly Cameron has gone for the ignore it option which does indeed make him look incredibly weak. The BBC stuffed it down the memory hole 3 days ago. Granted Mercer has said he never said what he is heard saying on the tape but that is just pro forma. If it had been said if somebody the BBC didn't lie to help into the job of Tory leader imagine how long they would have pushed this. As Lincoln said you can't fool all of the people all of the time, on the other hand Parliamentary democracy means you only have to fool 36% every 5 years.

   Compare this with Howard Flight getting the Whip removed and deselected because he suggested the Tories, in 2005, should cut Labour's spending commitments (something which, in the current situation looks rather restrained). Difficult to claim Mercer is more on message than Flight was.

   Nonetheless all the MPs now know they can openly call for or indeed plot Cameron's removal and he is held in such contempt that he can do nothing. The circling MPs tasted blood in the Referendum debate and have now found that their prey is to weak to defend itself. The Conservative party is well known for its loyalty to leaders right up till they are wounded (eg Thatcher). Mind you, since Cameron has proven himself to have not the slightest trace of personal honesty or integrity whatsoever and managed the almost impossible trick of failing to win an election after Labour had destroyed the economy, only being rescued by the equally unprincipled Lud Dims he thoroughly deserves everything he is going to get.

   Next question - how long will it take the colleagues to start positioning themselves as successors? Next but next question - who gets it?

   Don't know what Mercer has got against Gladstone, a deeply principled and competent Prime Minister of the 19th C and iincomparably better than any current minister or shadow minister..

     Interestingly the online comments in the paper show a very similar degree of dislike of Cameron among these members of the public (and support of Gladstone).
 Mercer younger