Contents

Introduction

Executive summary

The review is divided into three main sections: observations on the campaign; observations on the Cameron approach to 'modernisation'; and observations on the inheritance from his years in opposition that Cameron takes into government.

THE CAMPAIGN

This election was the Conservative party's best opportunity in a generation and with a strong campaign it should have been won

The Conservatives never developed a strategic message for the General Election

The Conservative Party fought a good ground war, winning more seats than the average national swing would suggest

The election debates gave the Liberal Democrats by-election status, and disrupted an already disjointed Tory campaign
The Conservatives stopped losing on the economy but they didn't develop a strong or consistent economic message
The Big Society agenda is an exciting governing philosophy but it should never have been put at the heart of the Tory election campaign
No party ran a campaign responsive to the seismic impact of the expenses scandal - and to the prevailing mood of disillusion with Westminster politics

The Tory silence on the electorate's second biggest issue, immigration, was like Manchester United leaving Wayne Rooney on the substitutes' bench

Tax cuts twice reversed slides in the Conservatives' opinion poll rating

Team Cameron's success with the Murdoch empire could not compensate for continuing difficulties with the BBC

Because the Conservatives didn't fight Brown with the same ferocity that Blair fought John Major, Labour survived electorally

MODERNISATION

After three historic defeats the Conservative Party needed to change but modernisation in the first two years was unbalanced; core supporters were confused and the changes risked looking inauthentic

The big test for Cameron, given these tactical shifts, was whether he could convince voters that he was "the real thing"

By choosing not to define change, the Conservatives did not own it - leaving them vulnerable to the Liberal Democrats

LEGACY

One of Cameron's greatest legacies may be a new generation of Conservative MPs

The Conservative Party enjoys a massive financial advantage over Labour and the Liberal Democrats

Having two young and broadly similar politicians at the top of the Party remains problematic

The Tories failed to break through with three big voting groups

The nature of Cameron's leadership means that he'll have a difficult relationship with his own party

The tight circle around Team Cameron failed to build alliances with strategic opinion-formers

Cameron modernised the Conservative Party and drafted the most interesting post-Thatcher definition of Conservatism, reconciling it with One Nation conservatism

RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary of practical recommendations.

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More on the recommendation to create a separate Scottish party with its own policies and leader.

More on the recommendation to appoint a full-time professional pollster who will report unfiltered to the party leadership, ensuring all big initiatives are properly market tested so they are communicated in the best possible way.

More on the recommendation to establish an External Relations Unit that will develop much better relations with opinion formers in the third sector and conservative movement.

More on the recommendations for a full-time campaigns co-ordinator or conventional chief of staff.