Don’t give your opponents ammunition

There is yet another story about Lord Ashcroft’s role with the Tories in the Guardian today. This time the news is that Ashcroft gave David Cameron a ticket to and a flight home from the Rugby World Cup final in Paris.

At the risk of coming over all hair-shirt, this strikes me as a mistake. Ashcroft’s organization is obviously playing a key role in the marginals and going a long way to neutralise the incumbency advantage that MPs have but this kind of personal association risks fostering the impression of a party overly reliant on the largesse of one individual. Labour have obviously decided to make a big deal out of the Ashcroft connection and it seems foolish for the Tories to add any fuel, however small, to the fire.