- ConservativeHome
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ConservativeHome 
URL http://conservativehome.blogs.com/ Commercial? No Type of site Blog Created by Tim Montgomerie Launched 2005 Current status Active Conservative Home is a British 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]
Contents
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 is 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 Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party took a controlling stake of 57.5% in PoliticsHome, the company which owns and operates ConservativeHome.[15]
The site does not appear in the Alexa webratings as being within the top 100,000 British websites, and accordingly the number of visitors to the site is unclear.[16]
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",[17] was soon criticised by the Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK (MPACUK).[18] 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,[19] but later reinstated.[20]
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.[21]
References
- ^ Bloggers ready for general election debut Used to raise campaign, Sunday Herald, 10 April 2005, by Steven Vass, hosted by FindArticles
- ^ ConservativeHome
- ^ Tory activists may get blog spot BBC News, 8 June 2006
- ^ Battle of the conference blogs BBC News, 15 September 2006
- ^ http://conservativehome.blogs.com/torydiary/2008/07/samuel-coates-t.html
- ^ http://conservativehome.blogs.com/resources/2008/12/introducing-j-1.html
- ^ http://conservativehome.blogs.com/resources/2010/06/introducing-paul-goodman.html
- ^ a b Home boy Progress Magazine
- ^ New Leader Tries to Update Conservatives’ Image - New York Times
- ^ Tories vow to learn over A-list - BBC News, 31 May 2006
- ^ Tories 'failing to recruit women' BBC News, 14 July 2006
- ^ Cameron set to avoid tax giveaway BBC News
- ^ Too narrow, too wet, too dim - William Rees Mogg, The Times
- ^ To Blogdom, A Book, Weblog with Adam Boulton, Sky News
- ^ Lord Ashcroft buys into Tory site BBC News
- ^ Conservativehome.com - Site info Alexa
- ^ Platform: Inigo Wilson: A Lefty Lexicon ConservativeHome
- ^ Not good PR man from Orange! MPACUK :: Muslim Discussion Forum
- ^ Orange spokesman suspended over 'racist' comments - Daily Telegraph
- ^ ToryDiary: Inigo Wilson reinstated ConservativeHome
- ^ http://conhomeusa.typepad.com/
Categories:- Conservative Party (UK)
- British political websites
- Political weblogs
- Internet properties established in 2005
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