Tories accuse the prime minister and chancellor of alienating MPs with a high-handed manner
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Tory MPs are accusing David Cameron and George Osborne of behaving with 'sneering condescension' towards their colleagues. Chris Ratcliffe/EPA
Downing Street was clearly caught by surprise when Tory MPs from all wings of the party lined up at the 1922 committee on Thursday to denounce the coalition's plans to reform the House of Lords.
One mole tells me that speeches by three Tory MPs in particular showed the depth and breadth of the opposition:
• Gary Streeter, a former minister in John Major's government, warned that Lords reform could be as damaging to David Cameron's as the Maastricht treaty saga was to Major. My mole said Streeter is "as mild as you get" in the Tory party.
• Bob Walter is one of the few remaining pro-Europeans who supported Ken Clarke in his various Tory leadership bids. He is described as "about as One Nation as you can get" in the Tory party.
• Penny Mordaunt, a young and loyal MP elected in 2010, highlighted the unease of the new intake.
The whips were left in no doubt of the strength of feeling among backbenchers and ministerial aides, as Patrick Wintour and I reported this morning. The rebels received a boost today when Ed Miliband told Patrick Wintour that he supports one of the main measures they hope will scupper the plans – a referendum.
But Tory MPs are also making clear that deep flaws have been highlighted in Nos 10 and 11 over the last few weeks as the Budget has unravelled. James Forsyth has written about this in his Spectator column this week.
But I am told that three weaknesses have been identified:
• The "sneering condescension" of Cameron and Osborne. One Tory tells me:
Everyone outside Dave and George's magic circle is met by this sneering condescension – MPs, ministers, journalists. You saw that it at PMQs with Dave's put down to poor Douglas Carswell. This means that when the going gets tough there are few people out there to support them. Even little Handjob [new nickname for Osborne's former chief of staff and Tory MP Matt Hancock] has been looking a little sheepish recently.
• Lack of core set of beliefs. One Tory tells me:
Margaret Thatcher made mistakes as all prime ministers do. But once she had got rid of the Wets there were numerous MPs who would be there out fighting for her when the going got tough. The reason was simple: they knew she believed passionately in what she was doing and she had a vision. With this lot you don't know what they really believe. So if Dave doesn't really know what he thinks how can he expect anyone to stand up and shout about it? His vision just seems to be to make it to No 10.
• Laziness. A Tory says:
They are lazy and life in Downing Street and the Treasury is all too cosy. Everyone is reading the Damian McBride blog on how to avoid pitfalls in a budget. All chancellors make mistakes in budgets. Gordon Brown had his 10p [tax rate] and 75p [increase for pensioners] muck ups. But that was not a bad record for ten years. Ken Clarke imposed VAT on domestic fuel. But this lot have mucked up because nobody has done the basic political diligence on the budget.
All prime ministers become remote and are criticised for failing to tour the tea rooms. Cameron is probably more accessible to his MPs than Thatcher ever was. But Tory MPs do not feel, to borrow Thatcher's famous phrase, that the prime minister is "one of us".