ConservativeHome is a politically
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
news website and events company. 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
Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...
and a fair
competitive economy. A second aim of the blog is to represent grassroots
Conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
, and is independent of, but supportive of, the
Conservative Party.
Editors
ConservativeHome was first edited by Tim Montgomerie, prior to the
2005 United Kingdom general election campaign. In November 2008, Jonathan Isaby joined as a co-editor. In 2009,
Paul Goodman
Paul Goodman (September 9, 1911 – August 2, 1972) was an American writer and public intellectual best known for his 1960s works of social criticism. Goodman was prolific across numerous literary genres and non-fiction topics, including the ...
– the former Conservative MP for
Wycombe – became the executive editor of ConservativeHome.
In February 2013, Montgomerie announced that he would leave the site in April of the same year to become comment editor of ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
''. Goodman succeeded him as editor, and
Mark Wallace joined the site as executive editor in May 2013. In January 2020 it was announced that Wallace would become the website's Chief Executive.
In 2022, Wallace became Chief Executive of
Total Politics Group, owner of ConservativeHome, with Angus Parsad-Wyatt succeeding him as Chief Executive of ConservativeHome.
In 2024, following Paul Goodman's appointment to the House of Lords,
Giles Dilnot was appointed editor of ConservativeHome.
Content
The site took a leading role in co-ordinating grassroots support in opposing
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposi ...
's attempt to abolish the "one man one vote" rule in the
2005 Conservative Party leadership election.
[Home boy](_blank)
Progress Magazine
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, and pressed Cameron for specific pledges on tax cuts.
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. The Conservative chairman
Francis Maude
Francis Anthony Aylmer Maude, Baron Maude of Horsham, (born 4 July 1953) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who served as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2010 to 2015. He also served ...
described it during the leadership election as "the only place to find out what's going on".
"A Lefty Lexicon", a satirical article published in August 2006 on the site and written by Inigo Wilson, a man described as someone who "manages community affairs for a large telecoms company", was criticised by the
Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK (MPACUK). MPAC members discovered that Wilson was Community Affairs Manager for phone company
Orange, and pressured the company to dismiss him. Wilson was initially suspended for the comments, but later reinstated.
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.
The site supported a
Leave vote in the
2016 EU referendum.
The site previously ran a fortnightly podcast with Conservative MP
Jacob Rees-Mogg called "The Moggcast".
Business
In September 2009
Lord Ashcroft, the then-Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, took a controlling stake of 57.5% in PoliticsHome, the politically-neutral sister-site to ConservativeHome. In 2011, Ashcroft sold PoliticsHome to
Dod's Group, which he co-owns, and retained ConservativeHome.
In 2017, the website stated that it gets over two million unique visitors a year.
ConservativeHomeUSA
In 2010, ConservativeHome launched an American site,
ConservativeHomeUSA, which is edited by
Ryan Streeter and Montgomerie. Contributors included
John Thune,
Roger Bate,
Herbert London,
David Frum
David Jeffrey Frum (; born 30 June 1960) is a Canadian-American political commentator and a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush. He is a senior editor at ''The Atlantic'' as well as an MSNBC contributor. In 2003, Frum authored the ...
and many other
Republican and conservative think-tank and media figures. On 17 May 2012 the site announced its closure.
See also
*
Iain Dale – columnist
References
{{reflist, 30em
British political blogs
British political websites
Conservative media in the United Kingdom
Internet properties established in 2005
Organisations associated with the Conservative Party (UK)
Conservative websites