ConservativeHome

ConservativeHome
Type of site
 Blog
Created by Tim Montgomerie
Website conservativehome.com
Alexa rank 5,870 [1] (UK 10/2015)
Commercial No
Launched 2005
Current status Active

ConservativeHome is a centre-right political blog in the United Kingdom. It was first established by Tim Montgomerie in 2005 with the aim of arguing for a broad conservative spectrum, which is serious about both social justice and a fair competitive economy.[2] A second aim of the blog is to represent grassroots Conservatives,[3][4][5] and whilst being independent of the Conservative Party, is supportive of it.

Editors

ConservativeHome was first edited by Tim Montgomerie, prior to the 2005 United Kingdom general election campaign[6] with Samuel Coates as a deputy. Samuel left the blog in July 2008[7] 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.[8] In 2009, Paul Goodman - the former Conservative MP for Wycombe - became the Executive Editor of ConservativeHome[9].

In February 2013, Montgomerie announced that he would leave the site in April of the same year to become Comment Editor of The Times[10]. Goodman succeeded him as editor, and Mark Wallace joined the site as Executive Editor in May 2013.

Content

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.[11]

ConservativeHome was critical of the A list and believed that former Conservative Party Leader David Cameron was in danger of alienating working class Conservative voters,[12][13][14] and pressed Cameron for specific pledges on tax cuts.[15]

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.[16][17] The Conservative chairman Francis Maude described it during the leadership election as "the only place to find out what’s going on".[11]

The site supported a Leave vote in the 2016 EU referendum[18].

The site records a fortnightly podcast with Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg called 'The Moggcast'.[19]

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.[20] In 2011, Ashcroft sold PoliticsHome to Dod's and retained ConservativeHome.[21]

The site claims that it gets over two million unique visitors a year.[22]

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",[23] was soon criticised by the Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK (MPACUK).[24] 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,[25] but later reinstated.[26]

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.[27]

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. On 17 May 2012 the site announced its closure.[28]

See also

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ http://www.conservativehome.com/about
  3. ↑ "Conservative Home". blogs.com.
  4. ↑ Tory activists may get blog spot BBC News, 8 June 2006
  5. ↑ Battle of the conference blogs BBC News, 15 September 2006
  6. ↑ Bloggers ready for general election debut Used to raise campaign, Sunday Herald, 10 April 2005, by Steven Vass, hosted by FindArticles
  7. ↑ "ConservativeHome's ToryDiary". blogs.com.
  8. ↑ "Introducing Jonathan Isaby". ConservativeHome. 28 December 2008. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2016 – via the Wayback Machine.
  9. ↑ "Paul Goodman – Conservative Home". Conservative Home.
  10. ↑ "Conservative Home founder and editor Tim Montgomerie to edit comment pages of The Times – Press Gazette". www.pressgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  11. 1 2 Home boy Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine. Progress Magazine
  12. ↑ New Leader Tries to Update Conservatives’ Image – New York Times
  13. ↑ Tories vow to learn over A-list – BBC News, 31 May 2006
  14. ↑ Tories 'failing to recruit women' BBC News, 14 July 2006
  15. ↑ Cameron set to avoid tax giveaway BBC News
  16. ↑ William Rees-Mogg. "Too narrow, too wet, too dim". The Times. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011.
  17. ↑ To Blogdom, A Book, Weblog with Adam Boulton, Sky News Archived June 14, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  18. ↑ "If you want to Leave, vote with your heart today | Conservative Home". Conservative Home. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  19. ↑ https://www.conservativehome.com/highlights/2018/01/the-moggcast-episode-one-austerity-in-the-nhswill-be-very-hard-to-continue-with-however-much-there-are-limited-resources.html
  20. ↑ Lord Ashcroft buys into Tory site BBC News
  21. ↑ "ASHCROFT SHUFFLES PACK: LOSS MAKING POLITICSHOME SOLD FOR £0.00". Guido Fawkes. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  22. ↑ "2016 was another record-breaking year for ConservativeHome – here's to 2017! | Conservative Home". Conservative Home. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  23. ↑ Platform: Inigo Wilson: A Lefty Lexicon Archived 2007-01-16 at the Wayback Machine. ConservativeHome
  24. ↑ Not good PR man from Orange! MPACUK :: Muslim Discussion Forum
  25. ↑ "Orange spokesman suspended over 'racist' comments". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on September 4, 2006.
  26. ↑ ToryDiary: Inigo Wilson reinstated Archived 2006-10-28 at the Wayback Machine. ConservativeHome
  27. ↑ Tim Montgomerie, the man who takes the Conservative pulse, The Observer, 12 February 2012
  28. ↑ "conservativehome". Conservative Home USA. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
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