Daily Mail: Bread And Meat (And Milk)

DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Cameron can only win with true Tory values 
 
'The electorate did deliver a very clear message to the Prime Minister: they want him to stop pandering so much to the Liberal Democrats (who now have fewer councillors than at any time in their history) and govern as a Tory.
'As defence minister Gerald Howarth remarked, the party’s natural supporters are bewildered by the decision to prioritise fringe issues such as gay marriage and House of Lords reform when the country is struggling to escape the worst slump since the 1930s...'

Daily Mail leader.

'Stewart Jackson MP called for an end to ‘barmy’ policies. ‘David Cameron is on notice that he does need to raise his game,’ he said
"‘He needs to focus on bread-and-butter issues like jobs and mortgages and public services and, above all, to develop a clear route map to growth, and stop fixating on the agenda of a liberal clique around him and barmy policies such as Lords reform and gay marriage, which people either don’t like or don’t care about.
‘"There is a growing frustration from many Conservative backbenchers that their views are not being listened to."’ 

Daily Mail lead story.

'Mr Cameron is a charismatic leader who has refreshed his party, and made it far more comfortable with the modern world. But his political strategy and positioning are failing to deliver. By making a totem of issues such as overseas aid and gay marriage, he has alienated core voters without winning new ones. The result of adhering to a Westminster definition of the centre ground, and trying to be all things to all people, is that the Conservative Party now appears to lack the message, the focus, and the strategy to win a majority.'

Daily Telegraph leader.

The Stewart Jackson "Bread and butter issues" quote - echoing Gerald Howarth's "No mandate" mantra yesterday * - looks set to be the new "Doesn't know the price of milk".
Expect it to be endlessly puked up by the Mail and Telegraph in the near future.
It's a complete canard, as the Mail indicates in the small print; 'Senior MPs do not believe issues such as gay marriage and Lords reform have had much impact on Tory support.
'They argue mid-term unpopularity is inevitable for a government embarked on a far more radical programme of spending cuts than anything Margaret Thatcher attempted...'
Many Mail and Telegraph-types may feel distinctly queasy about the chatter about gay marriage, but I'd imagine the number of people being so appalled they'd actually change their vote over this is miniscule.
But anyway, let's get back to Tory basics: Tax cuts, red tape, Eurocrats, law and order, immigrants, bring back hanging and national service for the workshy welfare scum blah blah bloody BLAH.
"The buggers are legal now, what more are they after?"

PS Predictably baffling, arse-over-tit argument presented by Matthew Parris in The Times;
'Pause, fellow Tories. Before launching this weekend into the familiar lament that the Conservative Party has lost touch with its “core values”, “core Tory message”, and “core supporters”, pause and call to mind a face, a grin, a mop of ash-blond hair and a rumpled suit...
'Do we suppose that “core” Labour voters are unconcerned about immigration, crime or scroungers? Are they baying for an end to smacking? Can you hear the mob down at the Clydeside shipyard howling: “What do we want? Gay marriage! Who do we love? Brussels bureaucrats! What are we waiting for? Cheap immigrant labour!”?
Oh dear...

* An online article from 2000 wonders if Gerald Howarth is a "gay Tory hypocrite". Who can say?

Tory Elections Disaster: Gays Blamed

David Cameron warned to return to Tory values after heavy election defeat
'Senior Conservatives blamed the “Jeremy Hunt fiasco”, support for gay marriage and a series of national rows over the budget, as the party looked set to lose more than 400 local seats...
'Gerald Howarth, a defence minister who served in Margaret Thatcher's government, said the leadership must “listen to some of the concerns” that the party is not being Conservative enough on traditional issues.
'"There are issues, for example, like the proposals for gay marriage," he told the BBC. "A lot of Conservatives have written to me saying 'I am a lifelong Conservative, there is no mandate for this, why is this being proceeded with?'. There is the business of trying to change the House of Lords. Do we need to do this at a time when the nation is preoccupied with restoring the public finances?”

The Daily Telegraph.
This is hilariously disingenuous. 
With all due lack of respect, you're the one who keeps going on about gay marriage, dreary.

PS Early reports suggest someone had an even worse night. Brian Paddick said to have got just 4% in the London Mayor election...

Update: Stewart Jackson MP told The World At One Cameron must "stop fixating on the agenda of a liberal clique around him and barmy policies such as Lords reform and gay marriage, which people either don't like or don't care about." Not sure why people would change their vote if they don't care about it, but then what do I know?

Update2: Howarth went on Newsnight repeating his "no mandate" mantra. Not sure this minority Conservative government has a mandate for anything - how about for privatising the NHS?  He told The Sun: “We need to focus on the economy and not be distracted by other things. And we must not upset the core vote.”