The central beliefs of Mainstream Conservatism

Tim Montgomerie

As part of the Mainstream Conservative project we asked the ConservativeHome Members panel to rate various beliefs on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 was "least central to Conservatism" 10 was "most central to Conservatism". Many of the beliefs were taken from Andrew Lilico's recent essay; "Mainstream Conservatism is a broader offering than Liberal Conservatism and most of us want to see the party promoting it". 1,551 Tory members took part and these are the results (with some of the more recent trends in Conservatism in magenta):

1. Limits on “nanny state” restrictions or interference with people’s private lives or mundane business conduct: 8.70
2. Strong defence: 8.59
3. Reforms to welfare that encourage greater independence: 8.56
4. A belief that EU integration had already gone too far and there needs to be renegotiation of our position within the EU: 8.42
5. Tighter control of immigration: 8.18
6. Low regulation and competition in the private sector: 8.17
7. Tough punishments for those convicted of crimes: 8.15
8. Tight control of inflation: 8.12
9. Welfare measures that protect the poor, especially the sick, severely disabled and very old: 8.04
10. Fairly low (but by no means libertarian) levels of public spending and tax: 8.02
11. Reforms to create more competition in the public sector (especially in health and education) so as to make public services work better: 7.82
12. Support for marriage as the ideal environment for raising children: 7.69
13. Protecting the Constitution from rapid change: 7.66
14. Opposition to ID cards and also to widespread use of CCTV: 7.28
15. A belief in improving the LOCAL environment (including recycling, preservation of green spaces and respect for wildlife): 6.64
16. Encouragement of charitable giving and volunteering: 6.43
17. International action to combat global warming: 3.67.