Part of the reason that the Conservatives did so badly in 1997 and 2001 was because a lot of people who had voted Conservative in 1992 stayed at home during those two elections. Mike Smithson argues that one of the reasons why the Tory leads in the polls are so high nowadays is because they are intending to turn out (and vote Conservative) at the next general election.

Women entrepreneurs believe the Conservatives are the best party for supporting small business, with many complaining that Labour has not made a positive difference to the sector, according to a new report.

Barely in time for the 4 June 2009 vote, the UK Conservative Party has launched its campaign for the European elections ─ with David Cameron calling for a national election. Incidentally, the Tories have also published a European Election Manifesto. The Conservatives call for a modern European Union with pledges such as keeping Britain outside the euro, repatriating social and employment legisla...

The UK is the only country in the west where women vote more conservatively than men. In the US, Italy, Spain, France, Canada etc. women always swing elections for social democratic or liberal parties. But in the UK, women always swing elections for conservative parties. Can anyone shed any light on this?

There was a time when David Cameron said the Conservatives did not need all-women shortlists because they were selecting enough women without them. According to ConservativeHome, those days seem to be over. The website says that, although up to 60 Tory MPs are likely to be women if Cameron wins the election, 85% of selection contests in the last six months have been won by men. The candidates'...

The Conservatives claim to have achieved a democratic first after holding Britain's first ever "open primary" election to select a candidate for a Devon seat at the next general election

On the Today Programme this morning, Sarah Montague kept pressing Sammy Wilson of the DUP on whether his party would enter into an electoral alliance in certain seats with the new Conservative and Ulster Unionist grouping. Wilson suggested that the DUP would stand but would welcome it if other unionists stood aside. But that’s not going to happen. The Conservatives are determined to contest ...

Gary Titley MEP fires a broadside at Cameron’s Conservatives in Europe: “…Tories are still Tories. David Cameron might claim they have changed, but we see the real face of the Conservatives in the European parliament. In the last year alone Tory MEPs voted against fighting the trafficking of women, energy efficiency, the Fundamental Rights Agency and

Over at Conservative Home, Jonathan Isaby has the scoop that Lynton Crosby—who managed both the Tory 2005 general election campaign and Boris’s mayoral run—will run the Libertas campaign in the European elections. This puts him in direct opposition to the Conservative party. Many in Westminster expected that Crosby would return in 2010 to perform the same service for the Tories t...

And just when you thought that things couldn't get worse for the Ulster Unionists, they do. The Ulster Unionist's only MP, Sylvia Hermon, has indicated that she will not stand under the party's new banner at the next general election. The UUP has linked up with the Tories to contest elections as Ulster Conservatives and Unionists, but Lady Hermon said she was "disappointed". "At the...