The Winter of Discontent and images of rubbish uncollected and unburied dead were used by the Thatcher governments to define the economic and social failure of the 1970s Labour Party. ConservativeHome understands that Tory strategists are considering a bold attempt to find a 21st Century equivalent that would define the Labour Party for another generation. […]
Just released by CCHQ and published in full below. In his message the Conservative leader promises that he won’t drop his green, social justice and international responsibility agendas but will "step up the pace" on them. He accuses Labour of losing its moral compass and of being "corrupted by power". Boris’ message is also pasted […]
It was being suggested at the beginning of November that David Cameron intended putting an end to members of the Shadow Cabinet retaining lucrative outside interests. However, the FT is now reporting that he has been forced to backtrack amid a potential rebellion from within the ranks. It cites one anonymous shadow cabinet member as […]
This morning’s YouGov poll, published in the Daily Telegraph, is surely the final nail in the coffin of any speculation about Gordon Brown calling a snap general election early in the New Year. After the Prime Minister bottled calling an election in the autumn of 2007, I have always taken the view that it would […]
In my earlier post about Gordon Brown’s performance at his press conference on CentreRight, I also mentioned that the Prime Minister failed to answer Ben Brogan’s question about whether or not he would honour Tony Blair’s previous promise to give David Cameron and the shadow cabinet access to the civil service as of the New […]
A senior member of the shadow cabinet has told ConservativeHome that the Damian Green affair had important lessons for the next steps of Tory strategy. He said that the Speaker, Metropolitan Police and Home Secretary all had had big questions to answer over how Damian Green had been subject to such a heavy-handed operation but […]
David Cameron is the Conservative Party’s biggest electoral asset. ConHome subscribes to Mike Smithson’s view that the Tories do better in the polls when the Tory leader is in the news. There is a real danger, however, that Mr Cameron is overdoing one part of his public role – giving speeches. He has given five […]
David Cameron was elected three years ago today, winning 67.6% of party members’ votes. He marks the anniversary by addressing a Conference of the Ulster Unionists. The Tory-UUP deal, overseen by Owen Paterson, is one of the high points of his leadership. Mr Cameron has consistently refused to take risks with the Union and has […]
Nick Bourne, the Conservative leader in the Welsh Assembly is today reported as saying that accepting devolution was a "Clause Four" moment for the party. He was, of course, making the comparison with Tony Blair’s abolition of the long-standing Clause Four of the Labour Party constitution which had committed his party to nationalisation – a […]
A week is a long time in politics, as the saying goes, and the last seven days are certainly testament to that. The week began with Alistair Darling’s Pre-Budget Report, which showed the country heading for record borrowing, and a devastating attack on the Government’s economic record by George Osborne. The following day, Nick Wood […]
Twice this week the Prime Minister has accused Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition of speaking out inappropriately. First came the moment during Prime Ministers’ Questions when Mr Brown took exception to David Cameron’s line of questioning about the failures at the heart of Haringey chidren’s services. And then yesterday, he expressed "disappointment" at George Osborne’s "partisan […]
Nearly a fortnight ago ConservativeHome began a discussion regarding the extent to which the Conservative Party should be bolder. We talked about a friendly debate at the highest levels of the party – between hares and tortoises. It’s been a debate that has appeared in mainstream media almost daily since. On the whole we believe […]
In a piece for today’s Telegraph Iain Martin urges David Cameron to be bolder. In The Spectator’s Politics column Fraser Nelson touches on similar themes – believing that Labour is exhausted and now is the time for the Tories to seize hold of the economic agenda. ‘How bold should the Tories be?’ is the big […]
That seems to be a question on the minds of many commentators at the moment. Peter Riddell noted yesterday that the Tories were still seeking the knockout blow. The topic is also on David Cameron’s mind. In a briefing to frontbenchers on Tuesday he said that he was working towards a 45% poll rating for […]
David Cameron has just been interviewed by Andrew Marr. He said that it "beggared belief" that Gordon Brown really knew nothing about the events that have unfolded over the last week. He accused Mr Brown of being a bigger spinner than even Mr Blair – noting that a statement by John Mendelsohn was only released […]