Conservatives
Portrait of the week
Home Launching the Conservative party manifesto, David Cameron, the party leader, told voters he wanted to ‘turn the good news…
Campaign songs and the singers who wish they weren’t
Out of tune The use of a song, ‘Love Natural’ by the Crystal Fighters, at the launch of the Labour…
The Tories have survived a near-death experience. But they’re not home yet
At 5.45 a.m. Lynton Crosby holds the first meeting of the day at Conservative campaign HQ. The aim is to…
Call me insane, but I’m voting Labour
Quite often when I deliver myself of an opinion to a friend or colleague, the reply will come back: ‘Are…
Won't somebody please try to win this election?
The age of two-party politics is over: we know that because everyone keeps saying so. We are entering an era…
Is this election a Champions League game? Or Millwall vs Brighton?
I’ve been trying to think of a good football analogy to describe the battle between the two main parties as…
Why aren’t the Tories winning?
When launching the Conservatives’ campaign this week, David Cameron told party activists that the general election was ‘on a knife…
He’ll never admit it, but David Cameron is already plotting another deal with Nick Clegg
The Prime Minister could never admit it, but he’s dreaming of – and scheming for – another coalition
How (and why) we lie to ourselves about opinion polls
A strange ritual takes place on Twitter most evenings at around 10.30 p.m. Hundreds of political anoraks start tweeting the…
A typical coalition Budget – designed to put the Tories back in power
George Osborne usually tells his aides to prepare for each Budget as if it were his last. This time round,…
If you really love the NHS, you know it needs to change
To adapt Aeschylus’s aphorism on war and truth, the first casualty in a general election campaign is objectivity. Over the…
It’s now clear: David Cameron was never a real moderniser
I have a friend who was a Young Conservative. Just the one, I promise, and he’s grown out of it…
My plan for Question Time: mug up and fail anyway
I was invited on Question Time this week, which gave me a few sleepless nights. Natalie Bennett’s disastrous interview on…
No one wants to fight a national campaign. This will be the least general election in years
There’s normally an easy way to tell which party is losing a general election campaign. Whenever one side starts telling…
Zac Goldsmith: How my dad saved Britain
If you’re grateful not to be in the euro, it’s James Goldsmith and his ‘rebel army’ you should thank
In this election, won't someone please weaponise defence?
Britain is forfeiting its position on the world stage. With no national debate, we are surrendering our claim to be…
The Tories are coming to believe in David Cameron's election hunch
‘You did this,’ David Cameron repeatedly declared to Tory donors as he reeled off a list of the government’s achievements…
EastEnders wanted to show Thatcher’s Britain. These days it would make Maggie proud
How EastEnders became a positive reflection of Tory values
Proof that the schools revolution isn’t over
For those who assumed that the removal of Michael Gove as Education Secretary marked the end of the Conservatives’ scholastic…
Come on, Tristram Hunt, if you think you’re hard enough
For a brief moment earlier this week, I thought education might become an issue in the general election campaign. The…
Why the Greek election could decide Britain's next government
Before the eurozone crisis, Greek elections didn’t receive much attention in Westminster. At the moment, however, the polls from Athens…
Why no one will win on 7 May 2015
Whatever happens on 7 May, both main party leaders face disaster
The Krays, Dennis Nilsen – and Chris Grayling: a conversation with Sir Ivan Lawrence QC
Sir Ivan Lawrence QC on the Krays, Dennis Nilsen – and Chris Grayling
What David Cameron must do to win (properly this time)
Almost exactly five years ago, the Conservatives fired the starting gun for a general election — and shot themselves in…
Even Ukip don't dare break the unhealthy consensus on the NHS
There’s an irony about Ukip’s rise. Nigel Farage party’s popularity is driven by a widespread sense that the main parties…
