Warsi

London, July 3: David Cameron yesterday stepped up the Tories’ modernising drive by becoming the first party leader to appoint a Muslim to an Opposition shadow cabinet.

Sayeeda Warsi, 36, a British-born Muslim of Pakistani origin who has been nominated for a peerage, was named the 10th most influential Asian woman in a poll this year. At the 2005 election, Warsi, who is married with one child, was the first Asian woman to be selected by the Tories to fight a parliamentary seat. She will be responsible for community cohesion.

But Cameron’s attempt to regain the political initiative with a wide-ranging reshuffle is undermined by the release of a poll today which shows that 40 per cent of Tory activists are dissatisfied with his performance as leader. In January Cameron’s approval rating was 82 per cent.

The survey of 1,300 party members on the Conservativehome.blogs.com website shows that Cameron, with a satisfaction rating of 58 per cent, is paying a heavy price for the row over grammar schools and the failure of his front bench to land any blows on Gordon Brown.