Now Dave's 'dog whistle' guru is calling the tunes

Spin doctor: Cameron's message to immigrants this week 'is pure Lynton Crosby' (pictured), says a Tory MP of Peter McKay's acquaintance

David Cameron’s message to immigrants this week — that they won’t get council houses for five years, and will have to pay to visit a GP — has a familiar ring.

A Tory MP of my acquaintance says: ‘This is pure Lynton Crosby, Cameron’s political guru.

‘He’s the Australian spin doctor famous for insisting politicians need “dog whistle” messages to summon voters back to the fold.

‘You may remember that he gave our then leader, Michael Howard, the same advice about immigrants in 2005. He said it wasn’t racist to talk about immigration. 

‘It didn’t work then, but that might have had more to do with Michael Howard than the message. It did work when Crosby got the [former] Australian PM John Howard to talk about immigration. And it could work for Cameron this time.’

Only the most dogged Leftists think it right that recently arrived immigrants — or visitors from the EU come to that — should be eligible for a full range of social welfare benefits.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats have trimmed their sails on this topic after discovering from private polls what voters of all classes think on this subject. They’re more open to the idea of restricting some benefits.

Even migrants now settled here think new arrivals should establish themselves, and pay some tax, before becoming eligible for welfare. I saw some of them saying so on a London TV news show last week.

But will it work? Even if the new rules become law — and I don’t see how they can if applied to EU  visitors — won’t councils unsympathetic to the Government find ways around them?

  More... New immigrants told: You must pay to see a GP – and can’t have a council home We'll fight EVERY seat at next General Election, vows UKIP leader Nigel Farage as he dashes hopes of a Tory pact SATURDAY ESSAY: Why we on the Left made an epic mistake on immigration

Neither do I have much confidence that those who run our welfare system are on top of fraudsters, who seem able to get those ineligible for benefits — and some who don’t exist at all — on the public payroll without difficulty. And isn’t it all a bit late? Surely it would have been better to control the numbers coming in instead of issuing falsely low figures about them.

‘Labour can be blamed for the huge upsurge in immigration,’ says my Tory source. ‘They lied about how many were coming in, and did nothing about the pressure this was putting on the welfare budget.’

Speaking for the people: Only the most dogged Leftists think it right that recently arrived immigrants - or visitors from the EU come to that - should be eligible for a full range of social welfare benefits

True enough, but the Tories were HM Opposition. Shouldn’t they have shouted this from the rooftops? Instead, Cameron sought to ‘detoxify’ the party by hugging hoodie-wearers and huskies, and wouldn’t touch the subject of immigration.

‘Yes, but what people will remember is that Labour caused the problem, as they did with the banks,’ retorts my source. ‘I think Cameron, with Crosby’s help, could now be on to a good thing.’

Cameron’s right in one respect, certainly. He has to get his own people back on board. Every week, I meet Tories who swear they’ll never vote for Cameron again. Mostly, but not wholly, they’re put off by the gestures he’s made to keep the Coalition together.

His speech this week might help. And another small event yesterday won’t harm him — Eddie Mair’s interview on the Andrew Marr Show with London mayor Boris Johnson, whom some disappointed Tories think might be their saviour.

So Cameron has three things going for him: a guru teaching him to dog whistle voters, a party rival about whom questions are being raised, and an election opponent, Ed Miliband, whose only experience of Government was as a loyal Gordon Brown bag carrier.

  Different focus: A 'friend' of former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham has said the star will never sing again

Former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham (pictured on her last performance — at the Olympics closing ceremony) will never sing again.

So says a ‘friend’, who tells The People: ‘She has nothing but love and respect for all the girls and the journey they went on together. Now, though, her focus is on her family and her fashion business.’

A wise head on young shoulders. She’s firmly established in her own right, not at the beck and call of vulgar rock promoters.

She has more money than she’ll ever need, and a career dependent on no one but herself.

True, she doesn’t smile much. But that’s because she looks better sulky.

Former Labour deputy premier John Prescott says ‘a straight-talking Yorkie friend’ suggested to him that it was time the Queen stood aside and enjoyed ‘a long and fulfilling retirement’.

Why attribute this idea to a friend? Perhaps because Prescott’s a privy councillor, who is required to be loyal to the monarch. He was asked to tea with the Queen on his appointment. She received him in a room off the Palace gardens. A flunkey arrived to say all was set, referring to a function outside.

‘Who do we have today?’ HM inquired. ‘Archery For The Blind,’ replied the aide. ‘Better get the corgis in,’ advised the Queen.

Maybe she’ll ask Lord Prescott round again to supervise the target when the blind archers return.

  Did you watch the grisly ‘two Popes’ photo opportunity on  TV? Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict cuddled, prayed and ate lunch together  for the cameras. 

I can see what’s in it for Benedict. He remains a Pope, with all the trappings but no work to do.

But what’s in it for Francis? Having his predecessor lurking in the Vatican shadows, second guessing his decisions, can’t be a comfortable feeling.  On the other hand, he can hardly evict the old German.

His best course, at 76, would be to insist on similar treatment when he feels he’s served long enough.

  Europe's MoT failure

New MoT rules issued by the EU will mean big repair bills for motorists. Defective warning lights, faulty car seats and airbags will result in MoT failure if not repaired. 

Who dreams up these new rules? Car industry types, who make huge amounts of money from them. They lobby MEPs and EU officials, getting the Government to make us buy their goods. 

Our own Government could — as in other areas — say we’d prefer to  issue our own rules. But they won’t.  They’ve sold the pass, despite the anti-EU noises they make.

So how about them insisting that those who make the faulty equipment take more responsibility for it when it goes wrong. In other words, pay for it. It mightn’t go wrong so often then.

  Why Pryce is no Fred the Shred A Labour MP has written to the Prime Minister saying it is 'profoundly unacceptable' for Vicky Pryce to hold the title of Companion of the Order of the Bath

A Labour MP has written to the Prime Minister saying it is ‘profoundly unacceptable’ for Vicky Pryce — jailed along with her former husband, Chris Huhne, for taking his speeding penalty points — to hold the title of Companion of the Order of the Bath.

Cameron’s spokesman says: ‘The Prime Minister’s view is that it is a matter for the Forfeiture Committee.’

The Honours Forfeiture Committee — mostly senior civil servants — considers cases where an individual has been jailed for more than three months or has been struck off or censured by a professional body for failings relevant to the granting of the honour.

Last year, it stripped former banker Fred Goodwin of his knighthood after he guided RBS to the brink of collapse in 2008.

Ms Pryce didn’t behave well, either, but — unlike Goodwin — she has  been punished.

I think removing her honour — given for her economic work — would be mean and petty.

Former broadcaster Richard Marson has written a book alleging that two Doctor Who producers, now dead — John Nathan-Turner and Gary Downie — preyed on young male fans who visited the set.

Marson claims he was propositioned personally by Nathan-Turner. ‘He got a bit frisky, shall we say. I was a bit taken aback. I was only 17 and he said to me: “You’re so ******* provincial.” ’

Marson says he was sexually assaulted by Downie, who, he adds, would seek out good-looking male fans whom they called ‘doable barkers’ and have them queue  outside his office.

The BBC says: ‘Clearly allegations of this nature are very serious.’

It advises anyone with information to contact Dame Janet Smith, the former High Court judge who is conducting a review of the late Jimmy Savile’s activities.

Dame Janet’s ‘review’ sounds a relaxed, informal affair. Not like Lord Justice Leveson’s aggressive, televised media inquiry, resulting in suggested restrictions that would, in effect, give the Government control of the Press. Something’s very wrong here, isn’t it?

  Birleys leave a bad tasteThe family of the late society restaurateur Mark Birley are in dispute because his daughter, India Jane, has auctioned her father’s belongings rather than keep them — or distribute them among relatives, friends and members of his staff.

India Jane says she felt she had to carve out her own space, and her father would understand. But brother Robin, cut from Mark Birley’s will after hiring a private detective to check on India Jane’s then boyfriend, thunders: ‘Everyone is appalled. I could understand if my sister was desperately in need, but the opposite is the case.’

Surely this laundering of family linen in public is what would appal Mark Birley.

He was supposed to be an avatar of good taste.