- No 10 has grown increasingly annoyed at Conservatives using Twitter to air their grievances
- Backbenchers will be told they are 'participants not commentators'
- Labour says it is a desperate attempt stop Tory party 'imploding'
- Totnes MP Sarah Wollaston becomes first Tory to defy Twitter ban, insisting she will speak out even if 'inconvenient' for the leadership
By Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor
|
Tory MPs are to be warned tonight to stop using Twitter to criticise the Prime Minister and the party's election prospects.
Downing Street aides are increasingly fed up with Conservative MPs firing out tweets on their popularity in the polls and David Cameron's leadership which has been the subject of growing Westminster speculation.
In a fresh attempt to get a grip on the party's political messaging in the wake of the Eastleigh by-election, backbenchers are expected to be told at a meeting of the parliamentary tonight to stop giving a 'running commentary' on hopes of winning the 2015 election.
Ticking off: Tory MPs are to be told to stop speculating on Twitter about David Cameron's chances of wining the next election
There are more than 170 Tory MPs on Twitter, from the Prime Minister down.
But David Cameron's warning in 2009 that 'too many tweets might make a t***' appears to have been ignored by many of his MPs.
Now party strategists have become so annoyed that they have decided to issue a plea to MPs to think before they tweet.
At a meeting with new general election guru Lynton Crosby this evening, they are expected to be told to remember that they are 'participants not commentators'.
Mr Crosby is the Australian who masterminded Boris Johnson's re-election as London Mayor, who many Tory MPs were desperate for Mr Cameron to hire.
Instead, strategists will demand greater message discipline, relentlessly focusing on issues including the creation of 1million private sector jobs, reforming welfare and cutting crime and immigration.
Help or hindrance? Totnes MP Sarah Wollaston and Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant are among the Tory backbenchers to use Twitter to criticise the party leadership
Within two hours of MailOnline reporting on the warning from No 10 to Tory MPs that they are 'participants not commentators', Dr Wollaston took to Twitter to insist she would not be silenced, including the message: **** ***
Dr Wollaston then deleted the message, and reposted it without the asterisks
A senior Conservative source told MailOnline: 'There is increasing frustration and annoyance at MPs who are giving a running commentary on Twitter. It is fair to say that the issue is being addressed.'
The action is thought to stop short of issuing formal guidelines to all of the party's MPs.
But officials at Tory HQ have started to email MPs when Mr Cameron tweets from his official account, encouraging them to retweet the message from the top to their followers.
Today, Sarah Wollaston became the first MP to defy the Twitter ban, posting a message apparently aimed at Mr Crosby writing on the site: 'I feel a comment #Lynton.'
Tory election guru Lynton Crosby will tell MPs that they must focus on key messages like job creation and reforming welfare
A follow-up message appeared to contain an expletive, when she wrote:
'I cannot 'participate' without the freedom to 'comment', even if that is sometimes inconvenient to the Executive. (Polite Version) **** ***.'
She subsequently deleted the tweet, and reposted it without the asterisks.
A former GP chosen as a Tory candidate through an open primary, Dr Wollaston has repeatedly criticised the Downing Street operation.
Speculation swirled at the weekend that Mr Cameron's leadership was under threat and Home Secretary Theresa May delivered a speech seen as a pitch for the top job..
Dr Wollaston posted a series of messages, warning the No 10 'inner circle still look far too posh, male & white'. She added that 'Cameron is running out of time to fix it'.
Labour Vice-Chair Michael Dugher said: 'Things are so bad for David Cameron that he is reduced to gagging his own backbench MPs on twitter because he's fearful that they might tell it how it is.
'This is a weak and increasingly out of touch prime minister desperately trying to stop his divided party imploding.'
One of the leading Twitter rebels has been Nadine Dorries, who was suspended from the Tory party after jetting off to the Australian jungle to take part in I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here without permission.
It is understood that one of the reasons why she has not been returned to the Conservative fold is her use of the site to air her grievances.
Prolific tweeter Michael Fabricant, a former party whip, suggested that the Tories would be more popular if there was clearer 'messaging'
Mark Pritchard questioned why Mr Cameron had taken so long to 'catch up' with backbench opinion on Europe
Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson, a frequent critic of Mr Cameron, urged the PM to realise more right-wing policies would be popular
Criticism of Mr Cameron, and his Downing Street operation, has mounted since the Tories were pushed to an embarrassing third place behind UKIP in last month's Eastleigh by-election.
Ex-Tory whip Michael Fabricant said that many of the policies trumpeted by UKIP were Tory ideas but said voters did not realise this 'because of mixed messaging'.
He also sparked a storm during the Eastleigh campaign when he tweeted: 'Why is it not called a Suck Job?'
While Mr Cameron had been cheered by backbenchers for his promise of an in-out referendum on membership of the European Union, several MPs have urged him to go further.
Mark Pritchard, MP for The Wrekin, tweeted the Premier was 'catching up with Tory backbenchers' and the change of mind 'could have been earlier'.
Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson, a former ministerial aide, noted polling that showed right-wing policies were popular, adding: 'Are you listening PM?'
While his colleagues post a stream of comments online, the PM uses his account for more mundane messages, like this one from a visit to Mercedes-Benz in Buckinghamshire yesterday
Adding fuel to the fire have been a number of Tory MPs using the site to publicly warn their colleagues against criticising Mr Cameron and his team.
Backbench Tory MP Eleanor Laing said yesterday: 'There are some people who are openly talking about challenges to the leadership. They should all be quiet.'
Last year Brooks Newmark was reportedly sacked from his job as a party whip after bosses lost patience with his tweets, which included trying to decide whether to watch Downton Abbey or Spooks.
Some Tory MPs were also quick to delete tweets praising the UK economy's AAA rating after it was downgraded by credit ratings agency Moody's last month.
Cameron. Isn't he that bloke who used to be the Prime Minister of the UK? The name sounds vaguely familiar.
- Dave X , London, United Kingdom, 12/3/2013 17:53
Report abuse