Vote for a new Tory logo

William Norton: "Following press reports that the current party logo was to be replaced, Conservative Home last week launched its own campaign to suggest an alternative.  We wished to demonstrate the wealth of creative talent to be found among the wider conservative movement, and to rescue this story from the sneering clutches of the BBC Today Programme.  It was also an interesting experiment in the wisdom of crowds to see what a large and diverse group of people thought (or, were prepared to claim in public) represented the best future image for the Tories.

The response has been impressive, and has provoked a lively debate about the image of the Conservative Party and the values for which it stands.  Whether this exercise is approached as a serious re-branding project or as light relief, the various submissions received on this blog, and on a parallel thread on Iain Dale's Diary, covered a wide sample of written and visual submissions to an exceptional standard and broadly broke down into a number of themes.

 

Just like the leadership election, the great and the good have whittled these down to a short-list, and this is your opportunity to select the final winner.  Each one is the submission which the judges considered best represented a particular theme emerging out of the debate (and also just like the leadership election - the judges' decision on the short-list is final)... "

(1) Representing the theme of environmental awareness and creative intelligence:

 

Ted Coffin's two dolphins

(2) Representing the theme of sturdy reliability and inter-generational dependence:

 

Krieg Barrie's Oak Tree (v. close selection between several possible finalists here)

(3) Representing the theme of proud national diversity within a single unitary state:

 

Ash's multiple-entries:

 

(4) Representing the theme of innovatively fashionable 1970s retro taste (or, if you prefer, defiantly reactionary bloody-mindedness):

 

M H Thatcher of Grantham:

 

(5) Representing the theme of social justice and harmonious class co-operation:

"Something involving hands"

OK, so this one doesn't actually have a picture: the judges' combined view was that hands made for a good subject, but we weren't quite there yet with the submitted images, and if this one wins the polls we'll throw the competition open again for suggestions on this theme.

 

You can vote by emailing [email protected]

Simply type your choice of logo into the subject heading.  The choices are DOLPHINS, OAK TREE, FOUR NATIONS, TORCH or HANDS.  The result will be revealed at 9am tomorrow.

Comments

[Ian Galletti]

REORGANISATION

We trained very hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams we would be reorganised.

I was to learn, later in life, that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganising; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress whilst producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralisation.

Petronius Arbiter
210 BC
Please let's keep the torch.

[James Maskell]

As Ive said before, if our Dear Leader wishes to show others what he thinks about the country, a simple one finger salute does the trick pretty effectively. Then he can truly be "down wid it"!

[Sabrina]

I don't think any of them are any good, they all look ridiculous to me. Just keep the tree, okay?

[Sally Roberts]

I vote for the dolphins. Sorry Guido, I didn't notice they were Bonking Dolphins but then perhaps I need to put my contact lenses in before I boot up in future!!