By Andrew Gimson Follow Andrew on Twitter “Conservative Members of Parliament constitute the most elusive and mendacious electorate imaginable.” So says Robin Harris in his excellent new biography of Margaret Thatcher, Not for Turning, when he turns to describing how her own MPs got rid of her. Harris observes that the Conservative Party’s “somewhat bizarre rules” for […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. Cynics will say that now Edward Leigh has his knighthood in his pocket (so to speak), he will feel free to be as openly critical of the Government as he likes. But I think this would be to mis-read the significance of his sweeping dismissal on this site today […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. No political party should alter a bedrock institution without the following conditions applying – especially if it is the Conservative Party. A sizeable campaign to change that institution should be in place: in other words, there should be real evidence of public pressure. The Party should then discuss and […]
Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Even now, despite the economic difficulties, the Tories are still preferred to Labour on questions of economic competence. That's before any economic recovery. More people blame the last Labour government for the deficit than blame the Coalition. Cameron beats Ed Miliband on nearly every measure of what it takes to […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. This weekend of the “mad, swivel-eyed loons” row will swiftly be followed by Commons debate on the same-sex marriage bill. Will Conservative MPs accept Lord Feldman's denial, view the incident as yet another instance of media irresponsbility, and look more sympathetically on the measure – on which David Cameron […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. Andrew Feldman has issued a statement as follows: "There is speculation on the internet and on Twitter that the senior Conservative Party figure claimed to have made derogatory comments by the Times and the Telegraph is me. This is completely untrue. I would like to make it quite clear […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. There are activists in every Party whose eyes aren't entirely steady in their sockets. And swivel eyes, to mangle a metaphor, cut both ways – see here. But most Conservative members are normal enough. Tory activists are not untypical of the class which, if one takes a romantic view, […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. They divide a third, a third, and a third in our latest survey, issued last Friday morning, about whether to treat UKIP as a friend or enemy when the general election comes in 2015. The question was 34% believe that the party should form a pact with UKIP for […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. The next general election will not be concentrated in the counties, but it will decide the government. For this reason, voters will return to the two major parties, the Conservatives and Labour, one of which must lead in forming an administration, if not win outright. Turnout will rise, UKIP's […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. David Cameron's well-judged tribute to Margaret Thatcher won't make the coming days any less difficult for him. For although he will have a certain ceremonial position during the coming week, and a certain status as the leader of the party she once herself led, he also has certain difficulty: […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. The intention had always been that, at some point mid-Parliament, these committees would "go live" – in other words, start receiving submissions about what should be in the next manifesto. Next, those committees will consider what they've received. And finally, they will draw up manifesto recommendations, which will be […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Some think that newspapers don't matter much anymore. One of those people was once David Cameron. He was elected Tory leader without the support of a single traditional centre right newspaper. He stormed to victory over David Davis because TV's Tom Bradby and Nick Robinson – the long-serving political […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. They are Peter Bone, Douglas Carswell, John Glen, Anne McIntosh, and Bob Stewart. The new group was formed in the aftermath of the same-sex marriage bill second reading vote. The video above is introduced by my former constituency Chairman in Wycombe, Bob Woollard, who says that "it seems as […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter What should a manifesto be? Should it be an impressionistic sketch – all ideals, values, and themes, but with little hard policy? Or should be a detailed blueprint – a mass of whirring policy wheels and cogs? This was one of the questions that a panel of Mark Littlewood […]
Adrian Hilton is a conservative academic, theologian and educationalist. He writes a Daily Mail blog and is still agitating for Ann Widdecombe’s peerage. Follow Adrian on Twitter. “Please don’t feel guilty about betraying the Conservative Party, they’ve already betrayed you – and without a care.” With these parting words, David Meacock resigned his membership of the party he […]