Part-time jobs for the shadow Cabinet are a full-time weakness for the Tories

The saga of the shadow Cabinet and their second jobs took another turn today with a report in the FT that David Cameron will not force them to give up their outside interests. This strikes me as a mistake. A general election is less than 18 months away and the part-time nature of much of the shadow cabinet—15 of its 31 members have jobs other than their ones as an MP and a shadow minister—is a vulnerability just waiting to be exploited by Labour. The problem is compounded by the fact that many of them holds job that would be easy to demonise in an election campaign.

Reportedly, it was fear of shadow Cabinet unrest that led to Cameron backing away from a confrontation over the issue. This reflects badly on both Cameron and his team; Cameron should be strong enough to confront them and the shadow Cabinet should be hungry enough for power to make the sacrifices necessary to maximise the Tory’s chances of winning.