Alex Massie Alex Massie

New Tories: Eurosceptic, Gay Friendly, Barely Unionist and Definitely Not Libertarian

Conservative Home’s survey of 144 of the Tory candidates most likely to enter parliament after the next election is very interesting. It’s hardly a surprise that the Tories want British history to be taught in schools, nor that they’re in favour of school vouchers and strongly euroscpetic. Nor is it an enormous shock that 48% of them say they would have voted for Barack Obama in the US presidential election (that says more about the state and temper of the contemporary Republican party than it does about either Mr Obama or the Tories).

But it’s a sign of how the times have changed that 62% of the Class of 2010 think that same-sex couples should enjoy the same benefits as married heterosexual couples.

And it’s also striking that 46% of the next generation of would-be Tory MPs say they are “not uncomfortable about Scotland becoming independent”.

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