UR TV CAST

Are there really people who don’t believe in the House of Lords and don’t get by on the old school tie?3) Your elderly mother needs a hip operation but there’s a long wait on the NHS. Do you:a) Tell her to wait and ask for a job lot of painkillers?b) Tell her to wait but remind her that it will all be different with private managers?c) Go private. If it’s good enough for the Queen Mum and all that?4) You disturb burglars. They drop the telly, run off and leave you relatively unscathed. When the police arrive, do you:a) Give them a telling-off for not turning up for two days?b) Tell them you’re upset but comfort yourself with the knowledge that the culprits will be severely dealt with?c) Blame the “little louts” from the local council estate and buy yourself a shotgun?5) Your four-year-old is about to start school but results at the local primary are awful. Do you:a) Know instinctively that little Jimmy will do fine with your support?b) Move to an expensive house in a leafy cul-de-sac so he can go to another school?c) Think: “A four-year-old? Is that the little chap I saw with nanny this morning?”ANSWERSMostly As: You are not a Tory. Your responses could be seen to be rational and normal, if a little bit right on.Mostly Bs: You lean both ways IDS would be delighted to have you.

But don’t worry, you would be just as happy in Tony Blair’s New Labour Party.Mostly Cs: You belong to the Conservative old school. The top image-makers’ advice – find some charisma Interviews by Simon O’HaganTim Bell: Iain Duncan Smith is in a very difficult position because Blair is occupying so much of the middle ground, and much of the opposition comes from the left There’s not a lot the Tories can oppose Take PFI. If the Tories were honest with themselves, they would agree that public services should be provided by a mixture of public and private finance. And unlike Blair in his conference speech, the Tories never had the skill to say that if people got the services they wanted then they wouldn’t care where the money came from The Tories can learn from the way Labour won power. They could argue that there is a moral duty to remove a party that’s ruled so arrogantly.Lord Bell is chairman of Bell-Pottinger, and was Margaret Thatcher’s election adviser.Julia Hobsbawm: When even the Daily Telegraph is declaring a lack of confidence in Iain Duncan Smith, you realise that the unease has reached critical mass. To some extent they are in a lose-lose situation because despite criticisms of the Government, it remains essentially popular It comes down to the leadership.

A leader needs charisma, and the talk about a charisma by-pass in relation to Duncan Smith is accurate.Julia Hobsbawm runs communications consultants HMC.James Thellusson: What is different about the Tories? There are three routes they can go down: 1) to replicate the centre ground, but to be credible; 2) go further to the right, though right now the electorate is not ready to listen; and 3) keep their heads down and wait for events to swing their way. None is easy.James Thellusson is CEO of the PR company EdelmanPeter York: Tories have repackaged themselves – they’re called the Countryside Alliance. New Labour has stolen all the relevant bits of Tory clothing and created what marketing men call a “magic resolution” – a sweet taste and no calories. It’s very difficult for the Tories unless they abandon some part of the centre and create distinctiveness. The only way to do that is to go for wilder, woollier issues – the countryside, or race.Peter York is a management consultantIan Wright: Neither William Hague nor Duncan Smith has been able to establish a Conservative agenda.

Duncan Smith is not seen as anything like the equal of Blair So what can he do? He could go on irritating Blair He could train more fire on Cabinet members And he couldhope for events to turn his way. Don’t forget, the last time the Tories changed leader mid-term was in the run-up to war with Iraq.Ian Wright is vice-president of the Institute of Public Relations.Max Clifford: They need to build personalities in order to get people to identify with them. The reason for the success of Blair and Clinton is that the public takes to them. They need to create their own champion – someone the public will trust, respect and like.Max Clifford is a leading PR consultant..