Cameron's 'audience fix'

Jan 22 2010

HAMMERSMITH: Tory leader David Cameron's recent appearance in Hammersmith took place under a veil of secrecy, as Conservative organisers tried to stop the event being hijacked by campaigners angry over their party's housing plans.

Allegations of audience-fixing made their way on to the internet last week, after members of Hands Off Our Queen Caroline Homes - which is fighting to save a riverside council estate from redevelopment - were first promised seats and then told at the last minute that they had not made the cut.

They claim that, when they arrived at the meeting in St Paul's Church, excuses for refusal ranged from the geographical location of their homes to the fact their names had not been drawn out of a hat - a virtual hat, that is.

"Baffling, frustrating and completely lacking in transparency," wrote one member who faced rejection. "Conspiracy, incompetence or just bad luck? Who knows, but we were not impressed."