He will defend Stephen Dorrell’s 2010 majority of 15,029 in a little over three months’ time.
The Association will makes its decision tonight.
They include a former local association chairman, two advisers to Theresa May and a judge.
The current enthusiasm for income tax cuts is in danger of getting out of hand.
In answer to Mark Wallace, here’s how to use policy and people to secure long-term success.
We suffer today from the short-termist decisions of Tories decades ago. How will we leave a better political inheritance?
On financial sector taxation, house construction and social mobility, the party has not sufficiently appeased the instincts of the electorate.
The list of hopefuls includes two businesswomen, an NHS psychiatrist, three barristers and Theresa May’s SpAd.
Follow David on Twitter. I’m really proud of the work that we’ve done over the past few years at Policy Exchange. We’ve really helped to set the political and the policy agenda across the board over the past few years – showing that think tanks can, and do, make a positive difference to public policy. […]
David Skelton is the acting Director of Policy Exchange. Follow him on Twitter. Universities Secretary David Willetts has caused controversy by suggesting that white working class boys should be considered in the same way as ethnic minorities in university admissions. This provoked howls of anguish from those who suggest that such an idea stifles meritocracy. But Willetts has […]
David Skelton is the Deputy Director of Policy Exchange. Follow him on Twitter. Last Thursday, the Conservatives lost their deposit in Manchester Central – they came in a distant third and only five votes ahead of UKIP. It illustrates the depth of the ‘Northern crisis’ that has bedevilled the Conservatives since the 1980s. The Tories have […]
David Skelton is the Deputy Director of Policy Exchange. Follow him on Twitter. David Cameron’s support for gay marriage has provoked the opposition of a number of Tory MPs, with opponents lambasting the proposals as “metropolitan”, “out of touch” or “unconservative”. It’s pretty clear that the first two monikers aren’t true – polls show that gay […]
David Skelton is Deputy Director of Policy Exchange. Follow him on Twitter. A fellow North Easterner living in London alerted me to The Times’ interactive map of the town and cities deciding whether to have an elected Mayor today. Here it is: It presents a slightly unconventional (i.e. geographically ignorant) view of the North. Newcastle, for example […]
Dave Skelton is Deputy Director of Policy Exchange and a "passionate North Easterner". Follow him on Twitter. It’s the North East derby this weekend. Like every Sunderland fan, I know that those 90 minutes are going to be nerve-wracking. In a region like the North East, where football is under the skin, the result matters […]
“Conservatism at its best is both pro-business and pro-worker, both rewarding entrepreneurship and ensuring that work pays.”