Stop thumping the tub, you're putting off women, Tories told
TUB-THUMPING speeches, the climax of selection contests in the Conservative Party for generations, have been axed by David Cameron to try to increase the number of women MPs.
New rules sent to 100 target seats this week say that set-piece speeches must be replaced by an interview in front of the full membership, to be conducted by a local dignitary, journalist or professional from outside the party.
The traditional barn-storming speech is thought to give men, with their deeper voices and often lengthy experience of public speaking, an advantage.
Speech-making is my achilles heel but I think it's requisite for an MP. Either you get better at it or compensate by being very good in other areas.... Then again politics is changing fast. Turn out for public meetings is very low. Getting your message to voters via the media is more important..... Then again, media cover meetings and won't be kind to a poor speech-maker. No. This seems like a mistake to me. What do you think?
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Here's what I think: Cameron should thank whatever God he believes in that Baroness Thatcher has pretty much withdrawn from public life.
I'm sorry to say this, but if you can't even 'preach to the converted' in a moving, convincing and inspiring manner you're going to get slaughtered on the campaign trail. I've seen it time and again - and it doesn't matter whether you have a penis or a vagina.
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