Fresh pressure was heaped on Tory chairman Lord Feldman today after his popularity among Conservative Party members dived to an all-time low.
David Cameron is doggedly defending his ally against calls for him to quit over the “Tatler Tory” scandal, but Lord Feldman’s approval ratings have become twice as bad within a month.
Already the most unpopular high-ranking Tory, with December’s poll of grassroots members giving the Conservative chair a minus 16.7 rating, this month it fell to minus 34.4.
In December, Lord Feldman’s score in the ConservativeHome website’s survey saw the largest one-month fall and the first negative rating of this Parliament for any high-ranking figure.
Lord Feldman resisted pressure to quit over claims he did not adequately address complaints of bullying by Mark Clarke, a Tory activist once tipped for greatness by Tatler magazine. Party activist Elliott Johnson committed suicide in September having complained he was being bullied by Clarke.
Frontbencher Grant Shapps resigned and Lord Feldman faced calls to quit from Mr Johnson’s father.
Mr Cameron arrived today in Bavaria for EU talks with German politicians. He said: “It’s important this organisation shows it has the flexibility of a network.” Later, he will travel to Hungary for talks with prime minister Viktor Orban in Budapest.
