Conservative party

Where next for Tory modernisation? The first point is that it never ends. The Conservative party could not have survived and thrived as the longest standing and most successful political party in history without continually updating ourselves. Modernisation is one of our most important traditions. The second point is that modernising is not ideological. Still less is it about making ourselves less conservative or tacking to the left. Indeed, in the 1970s and ’80s modernisation was about detaching ourselves from an outdated corporatist consensus from which particularly younger people felt increasingly alienated. The third point is that it isn’t superficial or about appearances. It is about showing that we understand

William Hague is the man with a plan to deal with Ukip at next year’s European elections. At a fringe event hosted by the Conservatives in the European Parliament group this evening, Hague urged the assembled MEPs to take a tough message to the country, making sure they know what the Tories have done to reform and enhance our relationship with the EU. As James Forsyth suggested in the Spectator last week, the message the Tories need to adopt is part carrot, part stick, to unite the right. The Foreign Secretary seems to have listened to his advice. On the the electoral carrot, Hague suggested a pact was needed with the

Will any Tories except Cameron and Osborne applaud the Help to Buy mortgage scheme? At an IEA fringe event this evening, discussing lessons to be learnt from the recession, all the members present of the Free Enterprise Group of Tory MPs all conveyed their concern at the plans the Prime Minister has accelerated this weekend. Former banker Andrea Leadsom said she was ‘exceedingly concerned’ and suggested the property cap should be lowered from £650,000 to £350,000. Chris Skidmore agreed the cap is too large while Kwasi Kwarteng (leader of the group) said he was ‘uneasy about governments propping up credit markets in such a direct way’. The Free Enterprise Group

In Manchester this week, there’ll be much talk from the Tories about how they are gunning for a majority. But in private, many senior Tories will admit that being the largest party in another hung parliament is a more realistic aim. As Matthew d’Ancona reveals in the Telegraph this morning, there has been talk—albeit brief– between the principals about a second coalition. Matt also reminds us how, if it had not been for Cameron’s intervention, a mansion tax would have been imposed by the coalition. I suspect that if there is to be another coalition, the Liberal Democrats would insist on some kind of mansion tax. It has come for

Boris Johnson sure knows how to make the front pages. His interview in the latest FT Weekend Magazine — with the cover quote ‘for the first time in years, I wished I was in Westminster’ — is a prime example of his strategy. He wants to remain in the public consciousness without revealing anything new. He’s done it several times before, often in similar ways: 1. After a period of inactivity, give an interview which appears revelatory Boris flits in and out of the spotlight, particularly when he’s busy trying to run London. Then suddenly, he appears front and centre with ‘news’. In the FT’s interview, he says ‘during the

I was at a funeral on Friday and so late catching-up with the latest entertainment provided by UKIP. But, gosh, thank heavens for Godfrey Bloom. Not just because he and his ilk have injected some welcome craziness into British politics – the circus always needs new clowns – but because by doing so they have reminded us of the stakes involved. Bloom – last heard decrying aid squandered on feckless Bongo Bongo Land – one-upped himself with his talk of sluts who fail to clean their kitchens properly. Sure, there was something refreshing about hearing Nigel Farage admit all this amounted to a disaster for UKIP but the bigger point is that

This is not the backdrop that Ed Miliband would have wanted for Labour conference. Labour’s poll lead has—according to YouGov—vanished, Damian McBride is dominating the news agenda and there’s talk of splits and division in this inner circle. But, as I say in the cover this week, you can’t write Ed Miliband off yet. He has three huge, structural advantages in his favour. The boundaries favour Labour: Type Thursday’s YouGov poll, the best for the Tories in 18 months, into UK Polling Report’s seat calculator, and it tells you that Labour would be three short of a majority on these numbers. It is a reminder that if the parties are

Tory MPs are currently heading off to Oxfordshire for an away day. But the Tory leadership is keen to emphasise that this isn’t just another BBQ-style event. There will, they say, be a substantial policy element to it as well which could make things interesting as regular rebels Sarah Wollaston, Adam Afriyie and Peter Bone will all be in attendance. George Osborne, Theresa May and Jeremy Hunt will all hold policy surgeries. Backbenchers will be invited to offer their views on what the government should be thinking about doing in all these areas. They’ll also be presentations on the media environment by Craig Oliver and the new Number 10 press

134,000. That’s how many members the Conservative Party now has, according to Paul Goodman at ConservativeHome. Despite months of campaigning from the site, the only figure Conservative HQ would release is that 253,600 people voted for David Cameron as leader in 2005. Today’s number means that membership has nearly halved throughout Cameron’s eight-year term as party leader. Tracking the memberships of political parties is difficult, as they are under no obligation to release any details. The House of Commons Library released a paper in December last year, compiling all the figures they could find. From this, this is how memberships of the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties has dropped

Apropos of the current issue’s excellent cover story (‘The End of the Party’) about the hollowed husks that are today’s party conferences, I spent Saturday at the 2nd Conservative Renewal conference in Windsor. It was an interesting day, not least because what was intended to be a genuinely open meeting, though dominated by Conservative party activists, was boycotted by the Conservative party’s own leadership. Organised by Adam Afriyie and the Windsor Conservative Association and sponsored by the Conservative Home website, the keynote speaker was the former President of the Czech Republic, Vacláv Klaus. Other speakers came from a broad range of the conservative grassroots movements including the TaxPayers’ Alliance, Migration Watch and