www.fgks.org   »   [go: up one dir, main page]

Cameron interviews

Sunday, March 21, 2010

David Cameron promises to restore discretion to teachers, policemen and other professionals simply wanting to get on with their jobs

David Cameron blue background There are few areas of life today which are untouched by politically-correct nanny state interventionism. Measures have more often than not been introduced with the intention of protecting an individual or organisation against spurious legal claims in these days of the compensation culture - but it has meant that common sense has gone out of the window and people left unable to do do their jobs effectively.

For example, we see "no touch" policies in schools which stop teachers from being able to search pupils for weapons or to break up fights between pupils.

David Cameron has today rounded on this in a Sunday Express interview and bemoaned the "total death of discretion and common sense".

He says:

“We have been calling for the blanket power to search children in schools and the Government is saying they did not support this, that children have human rights too and you cannot just have blanket searches for banned items. Well why the hell not? The whole way we do discipline in schools is completely wrong and we need to fundamentally shift the balance back in favour of the teacher. No touch policies are just nonsense. As a teacher you have got to be able to separate fighting children or to grab someone and do what you have to do.”

In giving people the power to make their own decisions about how best to do what is expected of them, he cites other examples of professionals who are stifled by a "tick-box culture" obsessed with processes rather than outcomes:

“You have got to get police officers out from behind their desks and onto the street by cutting the paperwork and then give them the sense that they can actually get involved and act. That’s important... The whole [care home] inspection regime is too much about process – form filling and box ticking rather than allowing the inspector the discretion to take the action that is necessary. They need the power to get really stuck in.”

This is music to my ears and, I suspect, to most ConHome readers as well.

Jonathan Isaby

Posted at 08:47 in Cameron interviews | | Comments (32)

Sunday, March 14, 2010

My verdict on TM meets DC

TMmeetsDCTrevor McDonald meets David Cameron won't have done the Tory cause any harm at all. The Conservative leader came over as down-to-earth and likeable. Samantha Cameron, in particular, can be very proud of her first TV outing. They are clearly a couple in love. The line that struck me most was David Cameron saying that she gave him a 40,000 ft perspective - lifting him above the detail.

The challenge for the Conservatives isn't to make Cameron seem likeable, however, but strong. Most voters already think that he's a nice guy but too many doubt that he's a heavyweight. There are, however, lots of reasons for voters to think he is a strong man - particularly because of his honesty about Britain's challenges. I'll write more about this tomorrow.

Tim Montgomerie

> Read ConHome's bullet point review of Trevor McDonald meets David Cameron.

Midnight: Iain Dale is very positive, suggesting he'd send a DVD of the interview to every voter.

12.30pm: 'Trevor McDonald gets David Cameron back on track' concludes Benedict Brogan.

Monday morning: You can watch the programme via the ITV player.

Posted at 23:40 in Cameron interviews | | Comments (112)

Trevor McDonald meets David Cameron

Highlights of the programme, beginning at 10.15pm on ITV1, will be blogged below with newest observations at top of post.

11.12pm: Programme ends with Fraser Nelson saying Cameron has has a very big job ahead of him or a very long holiday. We see Cameron looking very nervous as he prepares to walk on stage before his without-notes Brighton speech.

Screen shot 2010-03-14 at 23.10.2711.07pm: Brief appearance by George Osborne before Cameron describes Samantha Cameron as his "secret weapon".

We have some adverts in the gap! Lancome and Mars' Galaxy.. the Galaxy ad has a green spin so Cameron'll like that!

11pm: Cameron says he doesn't regret the new year posters - although he admits the spoofs were better than CCHQ's own. He particularly liked the Elvis one. The picture was not airbrushed, he insists; I have a natural baby face!

10.57pm: David Cameron says Sam gives him a 40,000 ft view of politics, lifts him away from the detail. Sam says they have a very equal relationship. Says he is very bad at picking up his clothes and loves watching the Godfather films ("again and again").

CamSamBW 10.52pm: We see Cameron in a car and a train (with John Smith bitter next to him), saying how much he tries to get home to his family. "They only grow up once," he says. Friend of Cameron tells about David Cameron's eyes filling with tears at Ivan's funeral. Cameron says that he did think about stopping politics after Ivan died but became resolved to carry on.

Like with Piers Morgan meets Brown, no ads between the segments of the programme.

10.48pm: Cameron revisits Birmingham Muslim family he stayed with three years ago.

10.45pm: My leadership of Tories hasn't been easy, he says, but has involved big fights over getting more women and ethnic minorities selected. John Major pays tribute to Cameron making the party appear much less middle class, very quickly. Eric Pickles tweets:

Screen shot 2010-03-14 at 22.50.00 10.45pm: William Hague says 2005 speech to Party Conference won Cameron the leadership.

10.40pm: Photos of David Cameron in CCHQ call centre, do-nuted by women and minorities.

10.39pm: Samantha Cameron appears and talks about falling in love with "Dave".

10.36pm: Cameron says he has good friendships in politics - like with George Osborne - but it won't ever stop him sacking people if necessary. He cites Patrick McLoughlin, William Hague and Eric Pickles as people from earthy backgrounds. William Hague couldn't find Notting Hill with a map, he jokes.

10.30pm: Five minutes of seeing David Cameron on the train, visiting Birmingham Edgbaston and then a Cameron Direct event in Bolton.

10.25pm: Picture of a very young Cameron with his shirt off! Followed by tributes to his parents. I hope, says Cameron, I've inherited my father's optimism.

Screen shot 2010-03-14 at 22.25.22 10.20pm: Programme begins with David Cameron jogging!

Five 'watch parties' are happening tonight, as a trial run for testing the technology that will be used for the election debates:

  1. Newcastle (Dom Llewellyn) - Picture.
  2. Wandsworth (Shane Greer and other young Conservative types - TwitPic)
  3. Birmingham (Uni CF) - TwitPic
  4. Pendle (Andy Stephenson)
  5. Liverpool (Tony Caldeira etc) - TwitPic

Tim Montgomerie

Posted at 22:12 in Cameron interviews | | Comments (162)

Live blog of Trevor McDonald Meets David Cameron

CLICK HERE FOR THE LIVE BLOG.

Join us at 10.15pm for a live blog of the ITV1 programme, Trevor McDonald Meets David Cameron:

"Sir Trevor McDonald talks to David Cameron to find out about the public and private man who hopes to become Britain's next Prime Minister. He joins David at home and at work and meets the people who love him, the people who know him well, and colleagues - past and present - who give their views about the kind of person and politician he really is."

We have already seen extracts of Samantha Cameron's interview for the programme.

Posted at 17:14 in Cameron interviews | | Comments (35)

Saturday, March 13, 2010

David Cameron candidly discusses his relationship with George Osborne - and says that their friendship would not make him immune from being sacked

Cameron and Osborne Most of the papers this morning cover tomorrow night's ITV1 profile of David Cameron in two ways.

Many include pictures of Samantha Cameron, who has conducted her first ever interview for the programme with Sir Trevor McDonald - and the first clips of that interview are here.

But the latest story to have been drip fed from the programme relates to the relationship between the Tory leader and his closest ally, the Shadow Chancellor.

Given how the Blair/Brown friendship turned into the most bitter of rivalries, the media are always going to be fascinated by the dynamics between Mr Cameron and George Osborne. But the Tory leader says in the programme that whilst the pair have "differences in opinion", they "work well together".

He explains:

"We get along very well, as friends and we like each other which is always a good start... But we are very driven by putting right the economy and we recognise that there are tensions in any political relationship. The Shadow Chancellor plays an incredibly important role and so we actually decided to put our offices together. All of our teams share an office together and that does matter. I think a lot of politics can get very poisonous, people acting against each other, leaking, and trying to bring that teamwork that you have in opposition into the government is important."

That is, I think, the first confirmation from Mr Cameron's lips of this story which ConHome broke last summer.

But in a surprising statement at this stage, Mr Cameron appears to suggest that Mr Osborne is not guaranteed the job of Chancellor for the duration of any administration he forms. Sir Trevor asks the party leader if he could ever sack Mr Osborne and he replies:

“Yes, and we’ve had that conversation. He is a good friend but we’ve had that conversation a number of times over the past four years. To be fair to George, he said if ever you want to move me to another job it is your decision and it is your right. Also, it was his decision and drive to bring back Ken Clarke, an ex-Chancellor. George is a big man. He understands politics is about big decisions and he wanted to bring Ken back, the last Chancellor to bring us out of a recession, and I thought, ‘Great’.”

He adds:

"I have friendships in politics of course, but that will never stop me from making the right decisions. Organising people and jobs is one of the most difficult jobs in opposition and government. I've had shadow Cabinet reshuffles, sometimes having to say goodbye to friends and people that I like but I have to be able to do that. There were people like Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt, Baroness Warsi that got in at the last election that I wanted and that meant I had to let people go."

Jonathan Isaby

Posted at 07:43 in Cameron interviews, Frontbench | | Comments (28)

Thursday, February 18, 2010

David Cameron turned down opportunity to be interviewed by Piers Morgan

CameronInRadioInterview During a wide-ranging interview on Woman's Hour on Radio Four - which you can now listen to by clicking here during the coming week - this morning, David Cameron revealed that he has turned down the opportunity to appear on Piers Morgan's Life Stories, following on from the Prime Minister's appearance on the programme last weekend:

"I'm not a great fan of the Piers Morgan format... I'd rather do something a bit more substantial rather than that. Let's see what comes up".

Whilst he said that he had regularly given interviews to all kinds of outlets, talking about his family and so on, he said that people will choose the next Prime Minister based on issues, policies, substance and who's got the right judgment: "We shouldn't fool ourselves it's about anything else," he said.

He defended the recent poster attacking Labour's proposed death tax, describing it as "quite fair", saying that the Conservative campaign has been "overwhelmingly positive" and "invigorating" but that politics has to cope with a bit of campaigning which highlights the stark choices offered by the different parties.

Mr Cameron also restated that he wouldn't rule out using all-women shortlists in any seats where sitting MPs stand down between now and the election.

Here's his exact quote:

"If there are other resignations or retirements from Parliament I wouldn't rule out using an all-women shortlist, but we'll have to see what the circumstances are at the time."

He did however applaud the "huge breakthrough" made in candidate selection which would see about 60 women sitting as Tory MPs if the party wins a small Commons majority, as well as an unprecedented number of Tory MPs from a black or ethnic minority background.

He covered a number of other issues during his encounter with Jenni Murray, including a restatement of his pledge to recognise marriage in the tax system by the end of the Parliament and his desire to expand the health visitor network.

Perhaps surprisingly, the Tory leader got most animated when enthusing about watching darts on TV in the 1980s, when asked about comments he had made in a new interview in Shortlist magazine.

One other point: Mr Cameron also opined on how he thought Lily Allen's music (and more specifically her lyrics) were unsuitable for his 6-year-old daughter, as the NME website records:

"I got one of those [iPod] connections for the car and my daughter is obsessed by Lily Allen, who I think is slightly unsuitable," he admitted. "So a bit of a fight takes place. 'I want to listen to Lily Allen.' 'No, it's The Jungle Book.' And in the tussle it broke [the connector]."

Jonathan Isaby

Posted at 11:15 in Cameron 'The Man', Cameron interviews | | Comments (21)

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Cameron says "Never" to the Euro

Express David Cameron is interviewed by The Express' political team this morning. Here are a few highlights:

On the Tories' opinion poll rating... "Inevitably as you come into an election campaign it’s going to be tough and you have a fight on your hands. For years the Conservative Party was stuck on 32%. As of this morning we’re on 40%."

The Conservative leader emphasises council tax, inheritance tax and long-term care when asked for practical reasons to vote Conservative... "We will freeze council tax for two years. The council tax has bled British families dry. It has doubled in most places, no one feels their services are twice as good. Then there is  inheritance tax. People do feel that £325,000, the current threshold is too low. The fact is there are two million homes in the country valued above that level and we will take away the threat of inheritance tax for all middle income families, people who have worked hard and put money aside and built up a nice house they want to pass on to their children. On elderly care, if you put aside £8,000, no one will have to sell their home to pay for long-term care."

He gives a somewhat contradictory answer on the 50p tax band... " I suspect it will raise a little bit of money, although less than people forecast. We can’t make an early pledge to get rid of it but we don’t think it’s a sensible move. Look at the evidence of the 1980s. I want the rich to pay more taxes. The way we got the rich to pay more taxes is we cut the top rate of tax. The remarkable thing about the move to 40% was that it didn’t just mean the rich paid more in income tax, they actually paid a larger percentage of the total income tax take."

Euro Never to the Euro... "I was in the Treasury when we were in the Exchange Rate mechanism, and I said to myself: “Never again should we give up control of our domestic interest rates.” If I am Prime Minister and for as long as I would be Prime Minister, I would never take Britain into the euro, full stop, end of story. We should never have got ourselves into the financial mess that we are in but at least we have the flexibility of our own currency and our own interest rates."

On protecting householders from intruders... "We’d like to see a threshold that says any force that isn’t grossly disproportionate may be used. In that way, you are effectively saying that if a burglar enters your house, he is leaving his rights at the door. People need to have the certainty that, unless it’s grossly disproportionate, that the police and the courts are not going to come anywhere near them. When you’ve been burgled, it feels like your whole house has been invaded, your privacy has been invaded, you feel very nervous for weeks on end. This is your space, your place. It’s not a level playing field, it’s my house. If someone comes into it, that’s it, they literally leave their rights at the door. That’s how I feel about it and I think the law should reflect it."

Read the full interview in The Express.

Tim Montgomerie

Posted at 08:03 in Cameron interviews, Europe | | Comments (181)

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Cameron tells Marr that he wants net immigration cut to the "tens of thousands"

Screen shot 2010-01-10 at 10.15.51 Highlights, not verbatim, from David Cameron's interview with Andrew Marr.

  • David Cameron insisted the Tories are not a one man team after Andrew Marr asked him about the very "I" focused poster launch. The Conservative leader said that one of the things that he is most proud of is the strong team he has built. He highlighted the fact he had brought back Ken Clarke and William Hague on to the frontbench.
  • He refused to be drawn on whether he was a radical in the Thatcherite tradition or more of a manager.  I'm a modern, compassionate Conservative, he said, but the shake up he planned would be radical. "Responsibility" is my watchword. We need "a revolution in responsibility".
  • He said that the state had gone too far in terms of legislative activism, IT databases, ID cards, and political bureaucracy. The state needs to be pulled back and Conservatives would start cutting the deficit earlier than Labour. We are not the "old Tories" of the 1980s and we are not going back. I have not changed the Conservative Party as a wheeze to get elected. One of the big changes is our absolute and non-negotiable support for the NHS.
  • Cameron praised Alistair Darling for yesterday's Times interview in which he accepted that there must be spending cuts. He said the Chancellor's intervention was an important moment in politics.
  • Signalling again that the Tories' emergency budget - should they win office - might involve significant corporation tax reform, Mr Cameron said that the emergency budget would be about growth.
  • He announced some measures for small businesses including action to make it easier to start a small business and deregulation that would allow tenants of social landlords to run businesses from their homes.
  • Mr Cameron said he did not support a population of 70 million. Net immigration had been 200,000 in recent years, he said, and Conservatives wanted to cut that to the levels of the 1990s, ie "tens of thousands" rather than hundreds of thousands.  The immigration cap would be fixed each year, in accordance with Britain's economic needs. [Yesterday, Chris Grayling announced a crackdown on the student visa system.]
  • He said he was a big supporter of the BBC and of the licence fee. He appeared to reject a proposal from Greg Dyke that the licence fee be abolished and the Corporation become funded from general taxation. On balance, he said, there were dangers of it looking like state control.  He promised to loosen up the rules to help commercial broadcasters compete with the "dominant" BBC.
  • Near the end of the interview he noted that he'd cut Tory debts from £23m to £5m. That, I hope, is a taste of what I'll achieve in Britain, he concluded.

Screen shot 2010-01-10 at 10.16.14 After the interview was over, sat on the sofa with Chris Evans ('the new Wogan'), the Tory leader won some extra street cred with the revelation that the two used to play football together on Wednesday afternoons. Evans was a goalkeeper and Cameron an opposing striker. The new Radio 2 breakfast presenter said the Conservative leader had been pretty good.

Tim Montgomerie 

Posted at 10:19 in Cameron interviews, Immigration and asylum | | Comments (98)

Thursday, January 07, 2010

"I messed up... I misdescribed our family policy," says Cameron

Speaking this morning on Radio 4's Today programme, David Cameron said that he had "messed up" describing his policy on marriage during an interview with the BBC on Monday. "I misdescribed our policy," he said, during a busy day of lots of interviews but, we want to recognise marriage in the tax system and it will be done in the next Parliament.

Presented with a series of questions on Tory commitments and whether they were still valid, he responded by saying that the reason why the Conservatives were publishing a draft manifesto, chapter by chapter, was so that the public has time to fully understand Conservative plans.

He had his first public opportunity to comment on yesterday's 'SnowStorm Plot'. Mr Cameron said that the country faced huge challenges at the moment, not least a "massive deficit" and a war in Afghanistan. If ever, he said, there was a time the country needed united and focused leadership then that time was now.  Rather than focusing on the country's problems, Labour ministers were focused on saving their careers. If the BBC's Nick Robinson is right, the Tory leader continued, and the Cabinet is not enthusiastic about Gordon Brown, it is difficult to see why the country should be supportive of him either.

On four other topics:

  1. On prisons Mr Cameron repeated the Tory promise to abolish Labour's early release programme and to introduce 'MinMax' sentencing so that everyone knows the minimum and maximum sentence that a convicted offender will serve.
  2. The promise to freeze council tax for two years is also still valid.
  3. Mr Cameron told Evan Davis (who you can now follow on Twitter) that he did not agree with John Major's criticisms of the political parties using pagers (and now Blackberrys) to message every MP with the lines to take. We live in a fast-moving, 24 hour news cycle and we need to get messages out quickly, he said. That did not mean that backbenchers shouldn't have more independent power, however, and there should be more free votes in the Commons under a Conservative government.
  4. The Tory leader dodged questions about whether that giant photo of him on Tory posters was airbrushed (there has been a lot of speculation). I think we can assume, therefore, that a little Photoshopping did take place!

Tim Montgomerie

Posted at 08:41 in Cameron interviews, Family and relationships | | Comments (80)

Recommended

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

Categories

About

Archives

Subscribe to this blog's feed
Quantcast