Cameron’s mortgage

There was something entirely predictable about the mortgage on David Cameron’s constituency home getting drawn into the expenses scandal. Even Tory MPs supportive of the line Cameron has taken on this issue have, in private, pointed to it; noting that Cameron himself had found the most politically palatable way to make the system work for him. (It should be stressed that Cameron’s claims for mortgage interest are completely within the rules).

Grumbling about Cameron’s own arrangements have grown as some in the Parliamentary party have become suspicious that Cameron is using the crisis to get rid of unwated members of the old guard. Undoubtedly, Cameron has come down particularly hard on those claiming for things like moat cleaning, swimming pools and estate management that have made the Tory party look like the toff party. Cameron knows that if this perception takes hold it could do immense damage to the party.