The ConservativeHome manifesto

To advance the centre right as the new home of progressive politics: Who extended home ownership to Britain’s poorest families?  Margaret Thatcher.  Who has led the world against human trafficking?  George W Bush.  Who turned the tide on crime’s ‘inevitable’ rise?  Rudy Giuliani.  Who appointed the head of one of the world’s leading human rights agencies as his chief foreign minister?  Nicolas Sarkozy.  Whether it’s school choice, welfare reform or market-led solutions to pollution and poverty it is the centre right which is now the home of ‘solution politics’.  The left’s indifference to values and its support for a large, centralised state make it ill-equipped to fulfil its historical promise.

To argue for a conservative coalition that is broad and deep: To establish itself again as the natural party of government, the Conservative Party must be a one nation party – representing all of mainstream Britain’s hopes and concerns.  ConservativeHome’s ‘And Theory of Conservatism’ describes how conservatism can and should embrace the breadth of causes that are represented in the shields that crown this website: home and family; the creation of wealth; compassion for the vulnerable; law and order; the significance of every human life; religious freedom; conservation of the natural environment; the importance of culture; patriotism; international engagement; and political involvement.

To respond to the most serious challenge of our time – Islamic fascism: The world changed on 9/11.  Some people have recognised that.  Some have not.  The threat of Islamic fascism is different in nature from previous forms of terror.  The followers of Wahhabism – the heirs of Sayyid Qutb - do not want a place at the negotiating table.  They wish to blow up the table.  They aim to destroy all pluralism and diversity.  Evil men have always populated the planet but today they have easier and easier access to devastating and portable weaponry.  The threats are so grave that the civilised world needs to rethink the security architecture that is no longer adequate for its protection.  The United Nations, for example, has consistently failed to confront terror and genocide.  It is also unable to understand that today’s threats are so grave that they have to be pre-empted militarily and ideologically.

To argue for a Conservative Party that embraces the localism and democracy that it recommends for the nation: ConservativeHome first came to national attention when it helped to defeat former Tory leader Michael Howard’s attempt to scrap the right of members to elect the party leader.  Since then we have published the A-list of elite candidates that the leadership wanted to keep secret and unsuccessfully opposed the party’s attempt to limit members’ right to select MEP candidates.  We believe in an open and inclusive Conservative Party where decisions about candidates and policy involve the widest possible cross-section of the British people.

To provide a platform for all strands of opinion within the Conservative Party: Although ConservativeHome has its own worldview it is welcoming of alternative perspectives.  All views are invited on discussion threads as long as they observe the comments policy - including its zero tolerance of racism, homophobia and bad language.  The Platform provides friends and members of the party with an opportunity to initiate debate on a subject of their choice.  Disagreement with ConservativeHome’s editorial line is welcomed.  The seven contributors to the Columnists section represent all strands of the conservative coalition.  Some are hardwired into Project Cameron.  Some are more socially liberal and more actively concerned about climate change than ConservativeHome.

To embrace the internet’s revolutionary impact on political parties: In the television age politics became increasingly centralised.  A few large parties, a few journalists and a few broadcasters decided what we consumed as voters.  The internet is decentralising power on a scale that we are only just beginning to appreciate.  The blogosphere is providing a platform for coalface practitioners to challenge conventional wisdom.  It is exposing mainstream media error and bias.   It is interactive where television encourages passivity and it is diverse where television is narrow.  If the barriers to entry in the field of comment have already been swept away, the next stage of the internet revolution will see the political parties lose their monopoly if they do not become the online arms of their once natural supporters.