The Deputy Editor of ConservativeHome answers all of your questions (in the order they were asked).
Anonymous: Is it true that Conservative Home is run by a bunch of evangelical, right wing Tories, who are yet to come of the closet?
Nope.
Matthew Dear: Hi Sam! Some people might be envious of the opportunity that you've had to get into this exciting and cutting-edge world. Is succeeding at something so new down to luck, or sheer bloody hard work?
Bit of both. As you say it is very exciting being at the confluence between politics and new media, and I do feel very fortunate of the opportunity. Frequent brainstorming helps us stay ahead of the curve in such a new industry. A lot of ideas don't work, it's just a matter of bashing on. It is hard work to sustain though, and you can't underestimate the mental burden of trying to be comprehensive as well as on top of breaking news. I imagine it's like being a newspaper editor but with more relentlessness as instead of daily deadlines you may need to update it at any time.
David Belchamber: Sam - it appears to me that the big differences between a government lead by DC and one by Labour have now emerged e.g. independence v dependence, emphasis more on society than economics, localism v centrism etc. One of my main contentions is that government is just as much about process as it is about vision.
I would therefore like to see some debate on ConHome about process: (i) can we demonstrate to the electorate's satisfaction that the tories will manage things like the NHS, transport, Defra, the MoD etc any better than Nulab, who by any yardstick have been shambolical and (ii) are John Redwood and his group actually working out what red tape can be eliminated, virtually from day 1, or will we have to wait until we are back in power before making a start?
Do you think that the time has come to start discussing the nitty-gritty, as well as the points of principle?
I agree that if New Labour has been anything it has been incompetent, but I see process as a detail of policy. The long-awaited policy groups are due to report over the next few months and they have had some talented people working on minutiae for some time now. I don't agree with those who think the Conservatives are merely a pragmatic party that's good at steering a sensible path in any situation and managing the government machine in an effective way. Politics, like conservatism, is much more than that. We are keen for the site to rise above the daily tit-for-tat of party politics and host more in depth debate of policy and philosophy. Getting 100policies going again would be a start, I'd appreciate any other ideas you have in this respect.
Michael Hewlitt: Firstly, great website that never ceases to provoke wide ranging debate.
My only concern is the way some threads get highjacked by the far right, who under anon feel free to post racist and extreme views.
Should postings have to use their real names? Or maybe we should follow America and adopt a 'three strikes and you're out' policy?
Thanks Michael. I think you have to be careful with your terminology, threads are never hijacked by the "far-right" and we will always delete racist and offensive comments (thankfully they are rare compared with other blogs but please do email us if you ever see one go up). It would be good if there was an easy way of verifying the identity of commenters, especially in cutting down the amount of moderation needed when candidates etc are discussed. The cost, however, would be that we'd lose some of the most constructive and insightful commenters who have to hide their identity for work reasons.
Rover: Conservativehome has done more for democracy in the Conservative Party during its existence than anybody or anything else has done during the existence of the Conservative Party.
Do you already know who is on it/would it be possible for you to find out who is on it/would you think it a good idea if you did know or could find out - to publish the full candidates list?
I don't have the full list no. There's no point in revealing info for the sake of having an exclusive (press hacks take note!), there's a lot we don't publish because doing so has no constructive value for conservatives. I think we'll cross this bridge if we come to it but my general feeling about whether to publish such things is that pursuing the privilege to represent 70,000 odd people is quite a public thing to do. CCHQ would certainly want it to remain secret for privacy reasons, and being open about selections does make life a little harder for some candidates. There are those who are registered as candidates in case they bag a safe seat and don't want to be outed as wannabe MPs if it doesn't work out, and also those who when applying to seats up and down the country would like to be able to tell each one that theirs is the one they really want!
malcolm: Sam, do you and Tim ever have editorial disagreements? If so, do you ever win any of the battles?
Yes and yes. Tim has the right to final say as Editor but for some reason he does trust my judgment as well. Basically - if there's an editorial position that is insightful, principled and proves to be right over time then I had a strong say in it. If not, I was overruled. I tend to put "Deputy Editor" at the end of posts that I was alone in writing anyway. We have similar worldviews but I'd say I'm generally less interested in the economic side of Conservatism, and am more positive about the "fluffy stuff" such as General Well-Being (Letwin's "sociocentric paradigm"). Party officials seem to have realised that I'm "good cop" and so they usually ring me when they need favours!
Graham Checker: Sorry to get personal Sam, but *WHY* have you done this? Why haven't you completed your degree? I'm interested in understanding your reasoning for this.
I appreciate your concern, it's a debate I frequently have with friends. I feel that going to university is something of an automatic conveyor belt for teenagers now, it's not what it used to or should be. I'd always felt that it might not be the best route for me and within a few months of starting I was doing ConservativeHome and a million other things so I was already distracted from my studies. I might still finish it off part-time, or I can always do the rest full-time if the time is right. Being thrown into the deep end has been a great experience for me and that outweighs any regrets I have about losing out on a couple of years of student life. I'm very relaxed about it.
Nicholas Slide: Sam - what was it like growing up in Liverpool as a Conservative, and what do you think the Tories need to do to get a councillor elected in Liverpool? Good work, btw, keep it up.
I wasn't actively Conservative until about 16 years old, which is young enough, so it didn't come up at school as no-one was political at that stage (please don't lower the voting age). I remember my primary school class being asked to walk to a certain side of the room if they supported Labour and another if Conservative. I was standing on my own, but only out of a vague patriotic sense that our government was Conservative therefore it should be supported! In terms of making gains at the locals, there is certainly potential because turnout is so low but we'd need a large mobilisation of students to target, say, Central Ward, to make much progress. I think the social responsibility agenda is perfectly suited to Liverpool's council estates and communal atmosphere, and there is also an opportunity to engage with the growing band of young professionals who live centrally. Liverpudlians are more tribal than most, however, and whilst there is still a feeling that the party did the city over in the 80s the Conservatives won't make serious in-roads.
Justin Hinchcliffe: Where would you position yourself within the Conservative Party? Do you ever join Tim for prayers?
I have very eclectic beliefs which don't fit snugly into any wing. Tim and I haven't prayed together but if we did we would probably pray that our work is having a positive influence on British politics.
Toby Harlon: Young, tie-less, Cameroonian, northern, internet-savvy. How long before you are one of Dave's boys in parliament??
Probably forever! I've developed something of a cynicism about people who aim to be MPs from a young age, they often have the wrong reasons for desiring it. There are a lot ways of influencing, I'm not too sure I'm best suited to that one.
Matt Kellett: Is it too personal to ask what your parents background in Liverpool was? Itd be interesting to see whether you are a silver-spoon Scouse Tory or a council estate conservative!
I have Scouse sailor blood maternally and Yorkshire farmer blood paternally. Whilst I was brought up within a mile of the docks in Liverpool I definitely have a strong Yorkshire element to my personality and my accent has been eroded over the last few years. I won't spin a sob story as is increasingly fashionable, but basically both of my parents were brought up in great material poverty and thanks to their dogged hard work I'm fortunate to have been brought up with more than they had. My Dad was a youth worker for twenty years and now works with my Mum running a successful small training business.
Pisaboy: Whether you carried on with your degree or not, what other careers might you have undertaken if you hadn't gone into politics? Have you always wanted to get into politics?
Politics has been what I've been heading into for sometime now. First thing I remember wanting to be was a policeman, and in teenagehood I had a grand plan to make hundreds of millions in the business world and put it all into a charity foundation. I've also flirted with the idea of being an army officer in either the infantry of military intelligence for some time, I'm already in the TA.
Anthony Broderick: Do you write for The Times as well?!
I don't, but a slightly older Sam Coates does. Unlike him I'm a Samuel so I should probably use that name more as I get this question almost every day (despite this photo). We had lunch a month ago to have a laugh about it and he's coming to a small birthday bash I'm having. Apparently he's been sat down by senior civil servants annoyed at his partisanship! Poor guy.
simon: Not a question- more a request:- get John Howard to write a piece on 'Australian Conservatism' and how it varies with Cambo's 'Conservatism'.
Good idea, although Tim's interview with Howard from last autumn pretty much covers his take on conservatism. I remember seeing him speak to CCHQ staff towards the end of the Tory leadership race, he was quite clearly more in line with David Davis at the time with his theme of energising the core vote and use of the ever-wise line that "you can't fatten the pig on market day". Tim and I are in fact supposed to be going to Canberra in August to build stronger links with Australian conservatives.
Beryl Markham: Hi Sam, what blogs do you read each day?
Not as many as I probably should. I know my way around the blogosphere and try to keep my finger on the pulse, but there's only so much blogging I can take! I tend to wander through a load of them in one go, especially since we started the 4pm Pick of the Web.
Screenburn: What parts of ConservativeHome are you responsible for? How do you and Tim decide what stories to focus on?
We take it in turns to do the morning newslinks, which are invariably finished by 9am when normal people are switching on their computers and pouring their morning coffee. We also make sure a ToryDiary is up by then, which is usually the most interesting story to come out of the papers that has a Conservative angle. I contribute to the ToryDiary posts and have overall responsibility for the YourPlatform, Events and CF Diary sections of the site.
Rosie77: What would you say are the biggest successes of David Cameron's leadership, and what are his biggest mistakes? Did you vote for him?
I could write a book on this subject! Cameron has moved the party into new/forgotten territory so that it has something to say on most issues that people care about (although Phase 2 is much-needed). I do worry that his pitch isn't resonating enough with people, especially at my end of the country, to get them to actively support the party rather then just not see them as selfish men in suits. I did back him and am glad to have done so.
