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		Leadership Election A Joint Statement from East Midlands Conservative MEPs - Monday 7th November 2005 IT HAS TO BE CAMERON! We have looked carefully at the two remaining candidates for the Conservative Leadership, and we have decided that David Cameron offers the Party the best prospect of returning to government at the next General Election. We will be voting for him, and we would urge all East Midlands Conservatives to vote for him too. Little to choose on policy Both men are Conservatives, so the policy differences are relatively minor (except for the EPP issue: see below). We believe that the choice hinges on personality and electability, and in our judgement, Cameron is well ahead. He would be the first Party Leader in recent years to create an immediately positive impression on the television with uncommitted voters. He has a little star-dust sprinkled on his Eton collar So is his privileged background a problem? We don't think so. It would be perverse if Conservatives rejected an excellent candidate because he went to a good school. It would be the worst kind of inverted snobbery. And Blair, after all, went to Fettes, one of Scotland's finest public schools Cameron can reach the groups the Party desperately needs to recover We believe that Cameron will appeal strongly to groups where the Party has lost traction and desperately needs to get it back. Critically, these include: •   Middle-class professionals who have drifted to the Lib-Dems • Young people who may currently not vote at all • Women, where our vote has slipped dramatically Against this, Davis says he will play well in the inner cities. But we are not convinced that this will bring in the volume of votes we need. Was Cameron damaged by the drugs stories? We think not. His firmness and dignity in the face of attacks from the press showed him in a good light, while many younger voters if they cared at all would be positively impressed by the fact that he had, as he says, "a normal university life". Cameron has made a clear commitment on the EU issue One policy difference that does impress us is Cameron's clear commitment to take MEPs out of the European Peoples' Party group in the European parliament. It may not be a big issue in the overall scheme of things, yet it sets out a clear marker on policy. But this is one of the few things a conservative Leader in the opposition can deliver. No longer will we talk a good euro-sceptic story in England, only to go and cosy-up to the federalists in Brussels. We are concerned that Davis has been equivocal on this issue, with some of his lieutenants telling sceptics "Vote Davis -- he'll have us out of the EPP in two years", while others tell former Clarke supporters "Vote Davis because he'll keep us in". We believe that politics should be based on clear principles, and we are not impressed by prevarication. If you share our views on these points, please give David Cameron your support. ROGER HELMER MEP CHRIS HEATON-HARRIS MEP