THE name Danny Kruger will mean nothing to most people, because the former Conservative candidate is but a footnote in North-East political history.

However, ten years ago, he briefly led the headlines when he was forced to quit when poised to take on Tony Blair in Sedgefield after calling for "creative destruction in the public services".

A former Cameron speechwriter, Mr Kruger now has a jaw-dropping proposal to underline his former boss's commitment to 'One Nation' politics – the theme of yesterday's Queen's Speech.

He argued: "I would move the whole government to the North-East of England...and say if the recovery doesn't help the North-East it isn't a real recovery."

Now, I think we can assume Whitehall is not heading to Durham City – but the thinking nevertheless reveals the scale of the ambition of Tory modernisers, with that election victory in the bag.

Senior Conservatives are convinced that Labour has fatally lost touch with its heartland voters, leading to millions backing Ukip (if not the Tories).

Now shell-shocked Labour politicians are obsessing over a leadership election, allowing the Tories to seize the agenda with "compassionate policies", they believe.

Sure enough, the Queen's Speech had much to delight the modernisers, with a doubling of free childcare to 30 hours a week, lifting anyone on the minimum wage out of income tax, a commitment to the NHS and bold pledges on devolution.

The Queen was even persuaded to utter the phrase "Northern Powerhouse" (as well as "psychoactive drugs") – to much amusement.

Some Tories call it "blue-collar Conservatism", the Prime Minister prefers "the party for working people". Either way, the target is clear – traditional Labour voters.

So how realistic is this impudent aim? Well, even some Tories fear their policy platform – tax cuts for the best-off, tax credit cuts for the low-paid – make it a pipe-dream.

Contrary to Conservative fantasies, support for the party among the social classes C2 and DE actually fell on May 7. It was a victory founded on the older and better-off.

Also, the unavoidable truth is that poverty is sharply on the rise because of decisions in the last parliament – and measures yesterday will accelerate that alarming trend.

In particular, £12bn of welfare cuts will punish the low-paid on tax credits, the disabled and families, while the rich will receive inheritance tax cuts and a hike in the 40 per cent tax threshold to £50,000.

Moreover, the parliament will surely be dominated by two Bills to be published first today – to provide an EU referendum and hand major powers to Scotland.

They are coming first for the simple reason that they are the most important, constitutional upheavals and dramas that will dominate the political landscape and drown out most other issues.

If you doubt that, consider what George Osborne will be up to for the next few years, when he is not running the economy – which most would think is a full-time job anyway.

Yes, the Chancellor wants to create a Northern Powerhouse, but first he will lead the negotiations on reworking Britain's EU membership terms. That's another full-time job.

Mr Cameron will have to be a political conjuror beyond compare to make this a parliament remembered for winning over Northern Labour voters.