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My colleagues on the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ News channel's Straight Talk have been talking to David Davis, the former Tory leadership contender, now on the backbenches.

He gave presenter Andrew Neil an interesting - at times ominous - taste of the state of mind of many of those sitting with him on the Commons benches behind Coalition ministers.

Andrew Neil: Was the Chancellor's decision to increase the limit in capital gains tax to 28% - it went up from 18, there had been talk it may be 40, 50 - was that a victory for you and the Tory backbenches over the Liberal Democrats?

David Davis: I don't think a victory over them, I mean, it's quite interesting, we tried to design this, whatever you want to call it, I don't know whether it's a rebellion or a difference of view, to really be a precursor to what's going to happen over the next couple of years, you know. The coalition has got a way of negotiating with the Liberal Democrats, it's got most of them in government, it hasn't really got a way of negotiating with the Conservative Party so we tried to have a rational debate, talk not in ad hominem terms about Liberal Democrat or Tory interests but try and say, why is this wrong, because it won't raise enough money, if you went to 50% it will actually lose money in truth, because it'll punish people just retiring with their nest eggs. All those arguments, and we tried to make these arguments in ways that would appeal both to Liberals and to Tories, and I think broadly, we did which is why we got, I guess, two thirds of what we wanted.

AN: Do you agree with what one Conservative backbencher said to me, which is that the Coalition, and Mr Cameron in particular, they need to realise that the Tory backbenches are the third arm of this coalition. You've got the Tory government ministers, you've got the Lib Dems, we want to be regarded as the third leg of this coalition.

DD: Yeah, I think that's fair and I think what we're going to see over the coming four or five years is a lot more of this public debate. Interestingly, you see, I think the new politics is not going to be about doing away with spin, we're always going to have spin, governments do. It's not going to be doing away with the sort of controversial politics, it'll be about the way we conduct the public debate, and there's going to be a long running set of public debates over everything, from healthcare through tax policy to industrial policy in as much as there is one, through to Afghanistan and Europe. Those are going to have to be conducted in the public domain. We're going to have to learn to have a debate without having an argument, and that's going to be quite interesting.

AN: So there has to be a Tory backbench voice that Mr Cameron has to take account of, as much as he does the Liberal Democrat voice?

DD: Well, there are hundreds of Tory backbench voices, and yes, he will have to pay attention, and he's got to deliver, to deliver his programme. He's going to have to pay attention to those, and actually, that's no bad thing. It'll actually improve government. I mean, you can't just make all your government ideas and manifesto up over a weekend of high stress negotiation which is what the Coalition agreement was. It's got to be subject to sensible amendment as you go along, and I think that's what I think will happen.

AN: Well, he made an agreement with the Liberal Democrats, does he de facto need to make an agreement with the Conservative backbenches as events unfold?

DD: Well, he started with our manifesto so hopefully he had them with that. I think it's a question of being modified as we go along.

You can see the whole thing on the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ NEWS Channel on Saturday 3 July at 4.30am, 2.30pm and 11.30pm; and on Sunday 4 July at 1.30am and 11.30pm; and on Tuesday 9 July at 3.30am.

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