Totnes primary was Tories' biggest August media hit

During August we tracked the media hits of the Tory frontbench and then in the end-August survey we asked readers to rate which made the biggest impact. People could give the 'hit' a '1' if it was 'low impact' and a '5' if it had a 'high impact'. The list below is the average for each hit:

• 3.51: Result of the Totnes open primary ballot and the selection of local GP Sarah Wollaston (pictured)
  
• 3.36: Chris Grayling claims that parts of many British cities are drug-ridden and resemble scenes from The Wire
• 3.19: Michael Gove outlines Conservative plans to restore rigour to the system of exams and league tables, admitting there has been a "deterioration of standards"
• 3.17: Liam Fox shows how armoured, mine-proof trucks are not getting to troops in Afghanistan in a timely way
• 3.12: David Cameron sets out the reasons why NHS spending must continue to rise in real terms
• 2.85: Andrew Lansley exposes how many mothers are forced to give birth in hospital corridors, lifts etc.
• 2.76: George Osborne commends controls on bonuses in the non-nationalised banks
• 2.70: George Osborne makes speech to Demos claiming that Conservatives are now the true "progressive" party.
• 2.49: Theresa May calculates that the cost of worklessness since 1997 is £350bn
• 2.34: Michael Gove unveils proposal to put previous exam papers online as part of project to track declining standards
• 2.30: David Cameron calls for crackdown on availability and price of super-strength alcohol in visit to Hull
• 2.28: Andrew Lansley and Stephen O'Brien announce proposals to allow patients online access to their medical records
• 2.21: David Willetts exposes how the only building projects for further education colleges being given the go-ahead are in Labour constituencies
• 2.18: Nick Gibb exposes how many schools "have become "no-go" areas for pupils taking traditional A-level subjects such as maths, science, history, geography or languages
• 1.86: Grant Shapps publishes report into the postcode lottery that faces people seeking IVF treatments
• 1.86: Justine Greening highlights £100m tax hike for small businesses

Tim Montgomerie

[We only tracked intentional media hits rather than off-the-grid stories like Alan Duncan's 'rations' video].