Guido hears that Janet Daley’s article about the rudeness of Cameroons did the Whitehall round via email chains very quickly yesterday afternoon. One Westminster figure who is in and out of No.10 on a daily basis whispered to Guido last night that many of the characteristics detailed by Daley rang true with plenty of disgruntled advisers and one time Dave fans. The freezing out over minor criticism is the Cameroon trait that is apparently irritates the most, with anecdotes of text messages being sent to advisers at midnight informing them that something in their patch will be announced first thing the next morning.

And now Dave’s former guru Philip Blond, a man who was very much in vogue a few years ago, has penned a devastating critique in today’s FT entitled “modern conservatives make plebs of us all”. It’s not pretty:

“Conservatives on both sides of the Atlantic are narrowing opportunity, concentrating wealth and protecting monopoly interests. The centre right has almost ceased to do majority politics. It defines national interest in terms of the already powerful and increasingly abandons the middle and lower classes to their fate. They are persuaded by past fictions that what is in the interest of the winners percolates to those below them. In short, conservatives are unknowingly creating an oligarchy, one which will make us all plebs. By following the interests of a vested minority, conservatives may not win a general election for years. Of course, this is not conservative intention or wish but the rhetoric should not conceal the reality.”

Blond told Guido this afternoon:

“This is not a personal attack. It’s a remark about how conservatism is risking never being popular again. None of this is a personal attack, but the right is in a mess. Something has gone horribly wrong.”

Guido understands the PM has read the article, he doubts Dave will see it like that…