ConservativeHome's Community

Richard Bailey

LOCATION... Bit of a nomad. Landed in Huntingdonshire – work from home (lucky me!).

SELF-DESCRIPTION... 34 yrs old. Married to Lara with two sons 8 & 7.  Run my own rural planning and development public relations business called Countryside Communications (.co.uk).   Spent 8 years as an Army Officer, served in NI, Bosnia, Kosovo and Germany. Became an Army PR spokesman in final service years.  Looked after Sky News and BBC News teams in Kosovo.  (Kate Adie was formidable!) and have pursued it ever since.  Ran the Lockerbie Trial press office, worked at CCO in 2001 general election, ran the Hutton Inquiry and Soham Trial press arrangements.  Countryman really and have left Westminster for the Shires. Local Branch Chairman. Candidate for District Council in 2004 – lost with a 21% swing in my favour. Standing again this May. Just 90 votes to overturn.

POLITICAL BELIEFS... Small government; low taxes; education, education, education; zero tolerance policing; talk softly, carry a big stick; family and community building blocks; the monarchy.

POLITICAL HERO... Trite but true… Churchill and Thatcher.  Not for everything they did but for their courage and conviction in capturing the moment and changing things for the better – permanently.  It’s integrity that I admire most, so if the cap fits, wear it.

FAVOURITE BLOGS... My blog. ConservativeHome (obviously),  Iain Dale's Diary, Tommy G, Once More, Burning Our Money, Guido.

James Maskell

NAME... James Maskell

LOCATION... Margate, Kent

SELF-DESCRIPTION... 22. Brought up in Thanet. Former FE Governor. Margate FC fan. Chessplayer.

POLITICAL BELIEFS... Libertarian. Small government, low taxes, Grammar School supporter, Eurosceptic. Conservative Party member, but definitely not a cheerleader.

POLITICAL HERO... Thatcher, Churchill

FAVOURITE BLOGS... Conservative Home, Thanet Life.

Julian H

LOCATION...London (near Putney)

SELF-DESCRIPTION...Young, good-looking, disturbingly intelligent and refreshingly modest.

POLITICAL BELIEFS... Classical liberal, advocate of localism. Regarding EU – anti-federal non-isolationist.

POLITICAL HEROES... Winston Churchill, Boris Johnson, Alan Clark, William Gladstone, David Cameron, A.H. Matlock. From the Enemy - Robin Cook.

FAVOURITE BLOGS... Liberal Views – cross-party liberalism discussion, Political Betting.

Jonathan Sheppard

LOCATION... Midlands - work in Nottingham, live in Chesterfield and Newark.

SELF-DESCRIPTION...  Work in Public Affairs for a Blue Chip retailer based in the Midlands. Held numerous positions within the party including Association Chairman, media adviser to a Group Council Leader in the South East, and currently act as unpaid adviser to a Shadow Minister. Stood for Parliament twice - most recently in the safe Labour seat of Bassetlaw.

POLITICAL BELIEFS... People know best; businesses create jobs, not Government. Stand up and be counted.

POLITICAL HERO... Andrew Turner MP - one of the best campaigners in the business, and someone who was prepared to give me a chance; Kerry Packer, Jimmy Goldsmith and Rupert Murdoch also quite inspirational.

FAVOURITE BLOGS... ConservativeHome, Iain Dale's Diary.

FAVOURITE CH CONTRIBUTOR... William Norton

Peter Cuthbertson

LOCATION... Darlington, County Durham; Studying at Essex University, Colchester

SELF-DESCRIPTION...  Finishing a degree in Philosophy, Politics & Economics while working part time for The Taxpayers' Alliance. Deputy-Chairman of Essex University Conservative Future and an experienced campaigner. Ran the blog Conservative Commentary from 2002 to 2005.

POLITICAL BELIEFS... Small government conservatism, pro-family, and strong support for the institutions and traditions of this country such as the monarchy, and laws made by Parliament rather than Brussels.

POLITICAL HEROES... Margaret Thatcher, Keith Joseph, John Mearsheimer

FAVOURITE BLOGS... ConservativeHome, PoliticalBetting.

John J C Moss

LOCATION... Home - Walthamstow, London. Work - Clerkenwell, London.

SELF-DESCRIPTION... Regeneration Property Developer; Father/Husband; Political Street Fighter.

POLITICAL BELIEFS... Less government, done better.

POLITICAL HEROES... Mark Steyn, and Eric Ollerenshaw - who is the best street fighting politician in London and is now charged with leading the party's rejuvenation in cities

 

FAVOURITE BLOGS... Graeme Archer's East End Life - an insight into how truly awful Hackney Council are and how much fun it can be to be a Tory, even in Hackney.

A H Matlock (Alastair)

LOCATION... Beaconsfield, Bucks.

SELF-DESCRIPTION... 70.  Married to Eudorah Colquhoun since 1958, six children and ten grandchildren (thus far). Investment Banking (retired 1992).

POLITICAL BELIEFS... Economic liberal, fiscal conservative with a libertarian tendency on social issues.  I have very strongly held religious (CofE) convictions that inform deep seated ideas about personal morality which I endeavour to live by myself, but I tend to think that people should be left alone to live their own lives so long as they are not causing harm to others. Tradition and the preservation of our great British institutions (such as the Monarchy) are very dear to me.

POLITICAL HEROES... Disraeli, Churchill, Thatcher, Iain Macleod (Who was perhaps the original Thatcherite - I think the 70s might have turned out differently for the country had he lived and been able to carry on as Chancellor) and Sir Ronald Bell (former MP for Beaconsfield who was a personal friend).

FAVOURITE BLOGS... ConservativeHome (naturally), PoliticalBetting, Guido Fawkes, Iain Dale's Diary, Dan Quixote. 

James Cleverly

LOCATION... Lewisham, South East London

SELF-DESCRIPTION... Born and brought up in sunny south London.  Working in magazine publishing and an Officer in the TA.  Happily married with two young sons and a hyperactive dog, part of a sprawling and loving family.

POLITICAL BELIEFS... A big believer in “And” politics.  Modern and traditional, tough and fair, rights and responsibilities, autonomy and support.

POLITICAL HERO... No one politician hits the spot; with a bit of gene splicing I might be able to create one.  Lincoln, Thatcher, Churchill, Dr King, Salisbury, Wilberforce and Reagan would have some DNA in there.

FAVOURITE BLOGS... ConservativeHome, Iain Dale's Diary, Guy Fawkes, One Man and His Blog

Selsdon Man

LOCATION... London

SELF-DESCRIPTION... Entrepreneur

POLITICAL BELIEFS... Individualist

POLITICAL HERO... Ronald Reagan

FAVOURITE BLOGS... Guy Fawkes

Andrew Woodman

LOCATION... South Derbyshire

SELF-DESCRIPTION... I'm a pretty straight kind of guy, to quote a phrase. Sport is my main pastime. Football, cricket and horseracing being my main interests. I'm also interested in the environment, reading and walking.

POLITICAL BELIEFS... I'm very interesting in the idea of localism and local accountability. I believe in liberty, free markets and opportunity for all.

POLITICAL HERO... Margaret Thatcher and David Cameron for obvious reasons. From a non-conservative perspective, Tony Benn, as he's one of the few socialists who have stuck to their principles even though I'm the political opposite of them. His diaries are a good read as well.

FAVOURITE BLOGS... Politicalbetting.com, Iain Dale, Guido Fawkes,
ToryRadio.com, and Wat Tyler's Burning our money.