Westminster Diary - 1st December 2005

Thursday, 1st December 2005

In order to work well, the British political system needs an Opposition Party capable of holding the Government to account effectively, as well as presenting an attractive and substantial alternative policy programme. That is why the choice of the next leader of the Conservative Party, to be announced next week, should matter to all of us.

I hope that my party chooses David Cameron and let me say immediately that I recognise the huge risk it would take by doing so. There is no doubt that he is in many ways an unknown quantity – without lengthy experience in the Shadow Cabinet or even in Parliament. There are those who say that an Old Etonian will struggle to appeal to those from less privileged backgrounds. I share these concerns but I have concluded that they are outweighed by what David Cameron has to offer.

We have searched for many years in the Conservative Party for a leader with charisma. David Cameron has it and, crucially in my view, has the kind of star quality which comes across on television – the medium through which most of modern politics is conducted. His message on the changes necessary to my party and on the need to appeal more broadly if we are to win again is as uncompromising as I believe it needs to be and I am satisfied he has the will to carry through those vital changes. David Cameron has talked about the issues which matter most to those who have disengaged from the Conservative Party and to a large extent from the political process itself, and the way he approaches them resonates with people who have started to despair that politicians of any party will ever address their concerns.

I am often asked for ways to persuade young people to become interested in politics. One of the ways to do so is to limit the instinctively and needlessly adversarial nature of British parliamentary politics. I am confident that a Conservative Party led by David Cameron can do that – providing rational opposition where we disagree with the Government but, where we agree, being prepared to say so.

Neither of the candidates for leadership of the Conservative Party are perfect, though both have something to commend them. I have not reached my decision on who to support easily or quickly, but I have made my choice and I am confident in it. Choosing Cameron carries great risk, but can bring even greater reward, not just to the Conservative Party, but also I believe, to politics in general.

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Updated on Thursday, 1st December 2005