ConservativeHome

ConservativeHome
Web address http://www.conservativehome.com
Commercial No
Type of site
 Blog
Created by Tim Montgomerie
Launched 2005
Alexa rank
 5,870 (UK 10/2015)
Current status Active

ConservativeHome is a UK political website started by Tim Montgomerie prior to the 2005 United Kingdom general election campaign,[1] that aims to represent UK grassroots Conservative opinion.[2][3][4]

Editors

ConservativeHome was first edited by Tim Montgomerie, with Samuel Coates as a deputy. Samuel left in July 2008[5] to become a speech writer for David Cameron, and is now the party's head of digital. In November 2008, Jonathan Isaby joined as a co-editor.[6] In 2009, Paul Goodman became the Executive Editor of ConservativeHome. He was the Conservative MP for Wycombe between 2001 and 2010.[7]

Agenda

The site took a leading role in co-ordinating grassroots support in opposing Michael Howard's attempt to abolish the "one man one vote" rule in the 2005 Conservative Party leadership election.[8]

ConservativeHome was critical of the A list and believes that Conservative Party Leader David Cameron is in danger of alienating working class Conservative voters,[9][10][11] and has pressed Cameron for specific pledges on tax cuts.[12]

It was credited with the most accurate record of MP affiliation during the 2005 Conservative Leadership election, and it also was the first to reveal the names on the "A-list" of candidates.[13][14] The Conservative chairman Francis Maude described it during the leadership election as "the only place to find out what’s going on".[8]

Business

In September 2009 Lord Ashcroft the then Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party took a controlling stake of 57.5% in PoliticsHome, the company which owns and operates ConservativeHome.[15] In 2011, Ashcroft sold PoliticsHome to Dod's and retained ConservativeHome.[16]

The site claims that it gets 250,000 unique visitors a year.[17]

Controversy

A Lefty Lexicon, a satirical article published in August 2006 on the site and written by Inigo Wilson, a man described as a "community affairs for a large telecoms company",[18] was soon criticised by the Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK (MPACUK).[19] MPAC members discovered that Wilson was Community Affairs Manager for phone company Orange, and pressured the company to dismiss him. Mr Wilson was initially suspended for the comments,[20] but later reinstated.[21]

In February 2012 ConservativeHome called for Andrew Lansley to be replaced as Health Secretary and for the Health and Social Care Bill to be abandoned.[17]

ConservativeHomeUSA

In 2010, ConservativeHome launched an American site, ConservativeHomeUSA, which is edited by Ryan Streeter and Montgomerie. Contributors have included John Thune, Roger Bate, Herbert London, David Frum and many other Republican and conservative think-tank and media figures.[22]

References

  1. ↑ Bloggers ready for general election debut Used to raise campaign, Sunday Herald, 10 April 2005, by Steven Vass, hosted by FindArticles
  2. ↑ "Conservative Home". blogs.com.
  3. ↑ Tory activists may get blog spot BBC News, 8 June 2006
  4. ↑ Battle of the conference blogs BBC News, 15 September 2006
  5. ↑ "ConservativeHome's ToryDiary". blogs.com.
  6. ↑ "Introducing Jonathan Isaby". ConservativeHome. 28 December 2008. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2016 – via the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ "Paul Goodman – Conservative Home". Conservative Home.
  8. 1 2 Home boy Progress Magazine
  9. ↑ New Leader Tries to Update Conservatives’ Image – New York Times
  10. ↑ Tories vow to learn over A-list – BBC News, 31 May 2006
  11. ↑ Tories 'failing to recruit women' BBC News, 14 July 2006
  12. ↑ Cameron set to avoid tax giveaway BBC News
  13. ↑ William Rees-Mogg. "Too narrow, too wet, too dim". The Times. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011.
  14. ↑ To Blogdom, A Book, Weblog with Adam Boulton, Sky News Archived June 14, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  15. ↑ Lord Ashcroft buys into Tory site BBC News
  16. ↑ "ASHCROFT SHUFFLES PACK: LOSS MAKING POLITICSHOME SOLD FOR £0.00". Guido Fawkes. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  17. 1 2 Tim Montgomerie, the man who takes the Conservative pulse, The Observer, 12 February 2012
  18. ↑ Platform: Inigo Wilson: A Lefty Lexicon ConservativeHome
  19. ↑ Not good PR man from Orange! MPACUK :: Muslim Discussion Forum
  20. ↑ "Orange spokesman suspended over 'racist' comments". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on September 4, 2006.
  21. ↑ ToryDiary: Inigo Wilson reinstated ConservativeHome
  22. ↑ "Conservative Home USA". Conservative Home USA.
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