An outstanding piece by Kathy Gyngell. It was my misfortune to encounter Steve Hilton, David Cameron’s chief strategist – often described by the media as his ‘guru’ – at a meeting at Conservative Campaign Headquarters in 2006, early in my two-year-long consulting assignment. He flew into a blind rage at something perfectly innocuous I’d said. It was like watching a toddler having a temper tantrum. My embarrassment was shared by the two other men present at the meeting, one of whom was recently appointed a Conservative peer.

Opinions held by colleagues who had more frequent dealings with Hilton at CCHQ were near-unanimous. I was mulling over how to convey the sense of those opinions, when I noticed a comment by ‘CortexUK’ in response to Kathy’s piece. It conveys the gist of what I’d want to say:

Can we please just all accept that Steve Hilton is, was, and always will be, an egotistical and narcissistic idiot with ridiculous affectations and delusions of grandeur? Thanks.