As Tory flutters begin to subside, the race to become the next Prime Minister’s Spokesman is hotting up. Given that the Tories have hinted at American-style televised lobby briefings to open up politics, someone with a pretty face as well as a way with words is needed. Andy Coulson is being deliberately sketchy about whether he will go to Downing Street or return to the Murdoch fold, if he does stay he will be wanting to be the person telling  the spokesman what to say. Cameron’s current spinner Gabby Bertin is said to have her eye on the job and apparently gets rather grumpy when people discuss other contenders, though there is no doubt that candidates are emerging. Henry McCrory shouldn’t be ruled out completely either.

The BBC’s James Landale, a fellow Old Etonian, has publicly denied he is interested in the job but his name keeps popping up. He was tipped for promotion at the BBC but Guido understands he privately hints he might be off elsewhere.  Talking of leaving the BBC, Boris’s man Guto Hari has been mentioned, he was supposedly first offered the job which Coulson eventually took, but is very loyal to the prince-across-the-water. Ian Birrell, the former deputy-editor of  The Indy is apparently rather close to Cameron and another mooted candidate.  Julia Hartley-Brewer of the Sunday Express is an outside bet.  Prize for most obvious brown-nosing (of late) has to go to The Telegraph’s Ben Brogan though, wired into CCHQ he has certainly written some pleasantly glowing pieces in recent weeks, one of the few journalists to refrain from having too much of a dig during the recent wobbles. His loyalty to Team Cameron when they were under fire will not have gone unnoticed…

UPDATE : When Guido was preparing the graphic above he eventually gave up on finding a picture of Gabby Bertin, Cameron’s seemingly very elusive Press Secretary. She is clearly quite good at her job as it took a good six hours for one to finally turn up. Sadly it is not the famed karaoke snap apparently out there.

It’s a rare moment any way.

George Osborne gave the CCHQ boys and girls a pep-talk yesterday in which he asked them if they could perhaps, maybe, please, “work harder”, and it seems to have paid off. Today’s attack on Unite has played out better than any recent engagements with the Labour.

Clearly done at short notice their  ”Charlie Whelan’s New Militant Tendency” dossier on the back of the BA strike is a comprehensive slamming of the choke-hold union money and officials once again have over the Labour Party. It says a lot about how far the Tories have really “changed” given their most proficient act this year has been old fashioned union-bashing.

Like the Ashcroft situation, Labour’s return to reliance on union cash was a ticking bomb. New Labour was built around keeping the unions at arm’s length, yet the leader of the financially stricken Labour Party has to sink to quiet mumbles on Woman’s Hour when he is forced to criticise them. Unite seem to have finally come to the conclusion the rest of the world reached long ago, that Gordon isn’t going to be around and they are willing to kick him while he is down with the timing of this strike. The unions are energised at the prospect of a Tory government and they mean business, with their £25 million war-chest, the only thing Unite will get out of this election is the chance to fill the green benches with their loyal stewards.

Eric Pickles told this morning’s press conference…

“Comrades, welcome to Transport House…”

CCHQ’s cardboard cut-out Charlies ain’t as menacing as the proper Charlie…

With the Osborne and Cameron operation moving over from the Norman Shaw building on the Parliamentary Estate  to CCHQ on the fifth floor of Millbank, it is interesting to note who has been given the chop. The latest floor-plan reveals the fact that, unannounced, Ashcroft has lost his much discussed “office” in the centre of operations.  He has been turfed out and it has been turned into a proof-reading area and editing suite, clearly they have decided it is more important to check the small-print.  A case of “thanks for all the cash m’lord, goodbye!”

The policy unit has been pushed further and further from the centre and replaced with even more spinners, which illustrates campaign priorities. Perhaps worryingly for the embattled shadow Chancellor his desk space is listed as “George Osborne / Hotdesk”, as is often the way with offices using temporary staff.  There are a mere 6 double-barrelled names listed in the 200 strong operation.  See, the Tories really have changed!

Downloadable PDF: here.

The Tories are today unveiling their technology manifesto. The “Google Government” talk of the last few years has become a promise, though it remains to be seen how it will be implemented. Francis Maude just told the launch that the next generation of Googles and Microsofts “should be British“.

Despite the best intentions of the fastest broadband network in Europe, without a real cut in corporation taxes, particularly on capital gains, research and development, the UK isn’t going to have a rival to Silicon Valley anytime soon…

The Guardian have tried doing a hatchet job on right-wing kiddy trainers the Young Britons’ Foundation.  Apparently YBF acolytes visited a firing range while in the U.S. to shoot off some AK-47s, so this means Dave is going to repeal the handgun ban. Well that was the line pumped by one Mrs Bob Marshall-Andrews, the wife of the stalwart Labour MP, who happens to work for the anti-firearms lobby. No mention of the relationship in the article though.

In Guido’s student days we went to actual war zones, not firing ranges, to shoot off Ak47s. Given that Eric Pickles just last Wednesday gave a speech to YBF, praising them and getting them fired up for the coming ground war, it seems somewhat pathetic for him to be trying to distance himself.  Guido was wondering what exactly is wrong with shooting off a few rounds?  After all a right-wing gun nut was Britain’s finest Prime Minister.  The Guardian make it sound like they are being trained for a military coup. They shouldn’t worry too much though, as Guido told the YBF audience just after Pickles had addressed them – they aren’t nearly extreme enough.

They should spend more time on the firing range and less time trying to climb the greasy pole.

There is growing resentment in some quarters with Michael Ashcroft, the feeling is that his Lordship has unnecessarily made difficulties for the Tories by waiting till this late moment to come clean.

There is also a concern that in deciding to sue, at this time, the Indy (over allegations of corruption) he is guaranteeing more bad headlines during the campaign.  He is being cut loose already, the Tories are ruthless about these things, CCHQ is briefing that

“Michael Ashcroft has said that he is standing down as deputy chairman of the Conservative party after the election to concentrate on his media and business interests. Under the ministerial code this would exclude him from holding a government post.”

In the words of Douglas Adams, the Cameroons are saying: So long and thanks for all the cash…

Peter Bingle has a point doesn’t he? Guido, like Bingle, talks to CCHQ insiders, spin-merchants, activists, media allies and wonks every day – almost all are agreed.  It has been shambolic since January and the Tories are on the back foot.

Examining Bingle’s critique point-by-point:

Ashcroft was an entirely foreseeable problem, Tory high command hoped that because they had squared the Electoral Commission they had buried the problem.  A strategic miscalculation based on wishful thinking.  It completely undermines the “Cameron cleaning up politics” message of financial transparency.  Told you so.

“Nobody knows what the Tory Party stands for any more.” Change is not an ideology, it is a process.  Repeating the word over and over again is not a substitute for communicating thought out policies.  Splitting the difference on policy, a.k.a. Finkism, might not scare off voters but nor does it get the vote out. Being 5% to the right of Blair with a dash of euroscepticism will not inspire people much.  Voters want change for the better. Shadow ministers offering only a change of management and almost no change in policy won’t get the voters on their feet cheering.

Bingle says the advertising has hurt the Tories.  In truth the advertising campaign posters have been mixed.  Adverts need to address voter concerns simply and memorably. Labour might be right – in the digital age do paper posters even work that well?

“What is the strategy?” Steve Hilton better communicate it to the rank and file in a way that inspires confidence.  There is striking irony in his top down diktats about localism, decentralisation, transparency and the importance of feedback in a post-bureaucratic age. Mandelson fights for his strategy from the front, Hilton sends memos from the back room.

Something Bingle didn’t focus on is policy development.  We are weeks from the election and the Tories have still not formulated the policies they are going to fight on.  No, really.  Even when they do announce a policy it frequently unravels.

Guido will give you an example of a policy announcement that is going to unravel.  We are told there will be a pro-business cut in the corporate tax rate, signalling that the Tories want to reduce the tax burden. We haven’t been given the exact details, just the gist of the policy.

Except, according to Mark Hoban, they will claw back the tax reduction by changing the treatment of various tax allowances such that the overall change will be revenue neutral.  The effective rate of tax on corporations will be unchanged.  It is change for the sake of a headline, a financial sleight of hand typical of Gordon Brown.  Most businesses would rather not suffer the administrative upheaval if they are not going to get any revenue benefit.  It is pure Finkism, signal an aspiration and promise to maintain the fiscal status quo.

Finkism is a product of fear.  Fear of losing again.  The Cameroons hoped that power would slip into their hands, they fear that if they do anything radical or bold they will lose.  There is the alternative possibility that if they don’t clearly communicate a message of “change for the better”, not just a change of personnel, they will fail to make a compelling case.  In only one area are they offering a radical change – education – with the result that the government is moving towards them policy-wise.  If the Tories offered a bold change from high tax, high spending policies the government would not be able to match them, voters would have a real choice.  Fink claims that voters don’t believe politicians promising tax cuts. That is not a failure of the policy, it is a failure of politicians to communicate credibly.

Guido tweeted last night that Carol Vorderman seemed to be going a little Palin-esque for her appearance on Question Time. It turned out to be more than just the look. For someone who has been on television for donkey’s years, her performance last night was less than exemplary. Reading constantly from CCHQ briefing notes she gave a blizzard of Tory lines.  As head of the Conservative “Maths Task Force” Vorderman seems to be edging towards a peerage, though this idea took a hit last night.  Clearly someone in the Tory high command is a fan though.

Who could it be that is guiding the rise of Vorderman? Well Guido remembers hearing a certain Lord, like many men of a certain age, had rather a soft spot for her even before she was brought into the fold.  Maybe in return for that peerage, Carol could help Ashcroft with his numbers…