Maria Miller: trial of strength as Norman Tebbit wades into row
As Thatcherites vent their feelings, new polls show Cameron has lost the 'Budget bounce'
THE growing demands for the resignation of Culture Secretary Maria Miller are no longer just to do with her false expenses claim and the shame it has brought on Parliament. It's now a trial of strength between the right wing of the Tory party and David Cameron over his and Miller's 'liberal' politics.
Lord (Norman) Tebbit, the former Conservative Party chairman who still carries the torch for Margaret Thatcher, is the latest senior Tory to demand that Cameron sacks her.
He didn't say it, but it is well known that Tebbit and others on the right see Miller as a symbol of everything they dislike about Cameron and his insistence on modernising the party.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
She was in charge of the government's gay marriage legislation which they vehemently oppose, and it has been her responsibility to push through press reform post-Leveson, which they see as unwelcome state intervention.
On the latter issue, they have the right-wing press very much on side.
Tebbit used his Daily Telegraph blog to demand Miller's resignation while the Daily Mail today carries a double-page spread on the "dream" £1.2 million converted barn she has bought with the proceeds of the £1.4 million sale of what she claimed was her second home in Wimbledon, south London. (She listed her primary residence as a rented home in her Hampshire constituency.)
Miller was criticised by Kathryn Hudson, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, for failing to cooperate fully with her investigation into Miller's expenses claims on the Wimbledon house.
Hudson recommended she repay £45,000 of the £90,000 allowance to cover mortgage interest but MPs on the Commons Standards Committee vetoed her recommendation and requested Miller pay back only £4,500.
Fellow Tory Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith claimed on the Andrew Marr Show yesterday that the attacks on Miller amount to a "witch hunt".
The Daily Mirror scoffs at this, saying: "The barrel-scraping Tories came up with another pathetic excuse yesterday for expenses scandal minister Maria Miller – she is being attacked by homophobes."
Whatever you call it, the right wing is on the rampage and Cameron is refusing to bow to the demands to sack Miller because he knows it will weaken his position.
How long the Prime Minister can afford to stick by his Culture Secretary is a moot point. Some 78 per cent of respondents in a Survation poll for the Mail on Sunday said she should lose her Cabinet seat.
And that's not the only miserable polling Cameron and his team are having to mull over this morning: new opinion polls show the so-called 'Budget bounce' has entirely disappeared.
A fortnight ago, both YouGov and Survation showed Labour were down to a one-point lead over the Tories in the wake of George Osborne's Budget boost for savers and pensioners.
Now YouGov has Labour back with a five-point lead (and the Lib Dems struggling on nine, behind Ukip on 12) while Survation [7]has Labour ahead by an even bigger margin of seven points.
Ed Miliband will keep banging on about the Tory Cabinet being a out of touch with the cost of living crisis of ordinary people. And now he can point to that double-page spread in the Mail - of all papers - to support his argument.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 sleeper hit cartoons about Trump's struggles to stay awake in court
Cartoons Artists take on courtroom tranquility, war on wokeness, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The true story of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans
In depth The writer's fall from grace with his high-flying socialite friends in 1960s Manhattan is captured in a new Disney+ series
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Scottie Scheffler: victory for the 'pre-eminent golfer of this era'
Why Everyone's Talking About Masters victory is Scheffler's second in three years
By The Week Staff Published
-
Is David Cameron overshadowing Rishi Sunak?
Talking Point Current PM faces 'thorny dilemma' as predecessor enjoys return to world stage
By The Week UK Published
-
Will Aukus pact survive a second Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question US, UK and Australia seek to expand 'game-changer' defence partnership ahead of Republican's possible return to White House
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Can Cameron put the Falklands sovereignty dispute to bed?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary says issue 'not up for discussion' ahead of visit amid renewed push from Argentina
By The Week UK Published
-
It's the economy, Sunak: has 'Rishession' halted Tory fightback?
Today's Big Question PM's pledge to deliver economic growth is 'in tatters' as stagnation and falling living standards threaten Tory election wipeout
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Will America recognize a Palestinian state?
Today's Big Question Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the move. Some see it as the only route to peace.
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Fasting to burger buffets: the weird and wonderful diets of politicians
Why Everyone's Talking About Rishi Sunak reportedly starts his week with a 36-hour fast
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Why your local council may be going bust
The Explainer Across England, local councils are suffering from grave financial problems
By The Week UK Published
-
Rishi Sunak and the right-wing press: heading for divorce?
Talking Point The Telegraph launches 'assault' on PM just as many Tory MPs are contemplating losing their seats
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet, The Week UK Published