Tag Archives: Conservative Party

David Cameron’s next EU challenge: renegotiation, Telegraph, 26 May 2014

Tory MPs may have agreed not to panic in the light of Ukip’s big win, but that doesn’t mean David Cameron isn’t going to come under a huge amount of pressure from them in the coming days and weeks to do … Continue reading

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The Conservatives will face many challenges after the votes are counted in the European Parliament election, LSE British Politics and Policy Blog, 9 May 2014

To say the Tories are unlikely to do as well in May 2014 as they did in June 2009 is a bit of an understatement. Five years ago they topped the poll, getting just under 4.2 million votes or nearly … Continue reading

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‘Are Tory activists weeding out “moderate” MPs?’, Political Studies Association Blog, 6 March, 2014 (with Paul Webb)

When two Conservative MPs were deselected in rapid succession by their local constituency associations, it marked to some a welcome assertion of grassroots rights and power.  To others, it was no such thing.  Instead the move was an inevitable consequence of … Continue reading

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‘David Cameron shouldn’t bank on Angela Merkel to sort out his EU issues’ Guardian, 26 February, 2014

Angela Merkel and David Cameron didn’t get off to the greatest of starts: one of his earliest decisions as party leader was to pull Conservative MEPs out of Merkel’s party’s group in the European parliament. But their relationship seems to have … Continue reading

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‘Should cagey Osborne flex his electoral pectorals?’, The Conversation, 4 February 2014

Who lives at Number Ten Downing Street? The answer is of course… George Osborne. While his official residence may be next door at Number Eleven, it is he and not David Cameron who lives in the flat above the Prime … Continue reading

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‘Tim Yeo’s deselection: Is this the start of a Tory Spring?’ Telegraph, 5 February, 2014

The result of the ballot of local members was decisive. After a long and bloody deselection battle with his constituency association, the sitting MP had to admit defeat. Tim Yeo, Suffolk South, February 2014? No. Nigel Nicholson, Bournemouth East, 45 … Continue reading

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How the countryside could lose David Cameron the 2015 general election, Telegraph, 1 November 2013

Quite how they conducted their poll, I’m not sure – they never got back to me.* But the Countryside Alliance is claiming that around a fifth of its members have fallen out of love with the Conservatives. And not just because … Continue reading

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For his speech, David Cameron will surely lean on ethos, pathos and logos, Guardian, 2 October 2013

The pressure is on. David Cameron’s closing speech to his party’s conference will be his eighth as Tory leader, and his MPs and grassroots supporters are hoping that he can top Ed Miliband’s effort in Brighton last week. While they are bound to be … Continue reading

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What happened to Tory modernisation, Telegraph, 30 September 2013

As David Cameron finally delivers on his promise to recognise marriage in the tax system and announces yet more action on immigration and welfare, it seems like a good time to ask whether – despite the valiant efforts of commentators … Continue reading

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Five things you may think you know about the Conservative grassroots but actually probably don’t, Ballots and Bullets, 24 July 2013

The problem with doing any kind of social science is that the data you collect end up confirming what people already assume is the case. This is not bad in itself. There’s nothing inherently wrong in providing empirical evidence for … Continue reading

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