[James]

Big Brother Derek backs Cameron

By Ollie Stone-Lee
BBC News political reporter at the Conservative conference in Blackpool


Derek Laud says being gay and a Tory are among his minority groups

Conservative leadership challenger David Cameron has secured the backing of one of Britain's most famous Tories - Big Brother contestant Derek Laud.

Mr Laud told a Tory conference fringe meeting he did not think any of the would-be leaders would make it past the auditions of the reality TV show.

But the gay ex-Tory speechwriter said: "A very significant number of women vote in the Big Brother contest.

"Good looks are very important and David Cameron is very attractive."

It comes after Mr Cameron told the conference in Blackpool he wanted to switch on a whole new generation to the Conservative Party.

Jacuzzi politics

Mr Laud, who worked for former MP Michael Brown and helped write some of Margaret Thatcher's speeches, was speaking at a Countryside Alliance fringe meeting about the power of minorities.

He said he was a good candidate to speak about the issue since he belonged to a long list of minorities himself: he was gay, black, a fox hunter and a Conservative.


"The Conservative Party has not appeared to be authentic, the body language does not appear to support what they say" - Derek Laud

The Tories, he said, could learn from the Big Brother phenomenon - something he had pondered when not watching Anthony and Makosi's antics in the hot tub in the last series of the show.

He said he had proved popular on the show - surviving 10 of the 11 weeks - because he had "authenticity".

"I was being real," said Mr Laud. "The problem that the Conservative Party has had for some time is that it has not appeared to be authentic, that the body language does not appear to support what they say."

He said the public perception of the party was that it was obsessed with small issues that bore no relation to ordinary people's experiences.

Hunt group's impact

Mr Laud said minority groups should not be treated any differently from anybody else and argued it was involving individual people which mattered.

But shadow environment and rural affairs secretary Oliver Letwin said minority groups could have a "colossal seismic impact on British politics" by their impact on elections locally.....

Full article here - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4311070.stm

I've heard that Derek has been commenting on the Conservative conference on Radio 5 Live recently. He's also speaking to the Cambridge Union on October 26th. Story.

[cc100]

Hes backing the wrong man Im afraid.

Id go for Clarke

[Ruth]

I would too, but Clarke will be 70 by the time of the next election. I won't be voting for the Tories anyway.

[bananarama]

Clarke is an old has been. He has the baggage of a failed Tory party...

I don't Vote Tory any longer. Did for the first half of my voting life but have not done so for the second half.

If I had to consider what would be best for the Tory party I would gamble on the younger "Cameron". The Tory party needs to give up it's love affair with old has beens and ultra right wingers who are on another planet bar earth.....

Older polititions may have experience but they also have baggage and are set in their ways and ideals...No good for the party or country..

A younger man would soon get experience and would bring some not so rigid view points into their mind set.....

Now that I have solved all the problems of the Tory party I will now watch the telly......Or sleep while the telly is on...

[Red Moon]

They need someone young if they are going to win. I think derek is backing the right man.

Red

[James]

Derek is writing articles about this contest here - http://uk.news.yahoo.com/hot/t/tory-...ip/derek1.html

[Red Moon]

Thanks for that James.

I don't I will end up voting of the Tory party until I'm at least 60. But I do like want to see someone standing up against the Government.

[cc100]

I would go for Cameron out of the two.

We need someone to stand up to Blair.

[CharlotteSometimes]

But by the time it matters, it will be Gordon Brown he'll be up against.

[cc100]

Gordon Brown wont be picked as the new leader, in my opinion.

It might just be Alan Milburn.

[CharlotteSometimes]

I think it will go to Brown. I hope so, too. He's just forgotten that he used to be Socialist, whereas Blair never was.

[cc100]

Tony Benn said the New Labour is the smallest party in the UK. Its old Labour that make up most of the party. When the public see this, Labour will be out on their ears.

[CharlotteSometimes]

The public already know it, just as they know that the tories are predominately a far right party hiding behind a centralist mask. They know that a tory government would mean the dismantling of the NHS, a grossly mismanaged economy and a freeze or abolition of the minimum wage. Barring an entirely unexpected incident of epic proportions, we'll have a Labour government for a good while longer yet, thankfully. It may not be Socialism, but it's the next best thing.

[Ruth]

I can't see the Tories getting in for some time yet, and I hope I'm right. I know there are a lot of Brown-haters, but I think Gordon Brown will make a good leader of Labour too.