ConservativeHome's December survey is now live. We have moved to another new survey provider this month and this should mean that AppleMac users can complete the survey without the difficulties they experienced in November.
The survey now asks for your opinions on the performance of nearly all of the shadow cabinet. It would be good to know if this scale of questioning is too time-consuming for you or is worth the effort! Please let us know via email or by using the thread below.
Special questions this month focus on foreign policy - particularly on Iraq - and your preferred method of selecting the next Tory candidates for the European Parliament.
The question of MEP's needs to be expanded, is the party eurosceptic? or europhile?.
Can we have our independence and our Parliamentary affairs if we are a full member of the EU?
So much of the legislation that Westminster handles these days is driven by Brussels/Strasbourg and is not debated, which means that the people are unrepresented. MEP's suffer a time guillotine, which means that legislation in Brussels/Strasbourg is also not debated. Just nodded through by a bunch of donkeys.
Is this democratic and where do we stand?
Are we to push hard for a referendum? thus perhaps saving ourselves from the fate of having B-Liar as the first Commissar-General of Europe.
Perhaps this poll should have asked a straight question on the pro/anti position.
Otherwise an excellent polling.
Posted by: George Hinton | December 29, 2006 at 10:52
Works fine running Opera browser on MS Mobile 5 operating system.
Got stuck trying to run MS Internet Explorer mobile as the tick buttons did not show up in the "how well are they doing" grid and, by the time I had reached Lord Carrington it had become impossible to get a tick to appear anywhere...
Posted by: Cllr Graham Smith | December 29, 2006 at 11:39
Graham Smith: "By the time I had reached Lord Carrington it had become impossible to get a tick to appear anywhere..."
:-)
Posted by: Editor | December 29, 2006 at 13:54
[*FX* red face mode on]
Oh dear. Sometimes I only seem to open my mouth to change feet.
I most sincerely hope either that he is not one of your regular readers, Tim, or that he had a very generous sense of humour indeed.
Posted by: Cllr Graham Smith | December 29, 2006 at 14:45
The section on other members of the shadow cabinet isn't time consuming, it's just a bit pointless. Only a handful of them are getting any publicity, such as the excellent Caroline Spelman who has been very effective against Ruth Kelly. I've never even heard of Cheryl Gillan or Philip Hammond!
Posted by: Paul, Southampton | December 29, 2006 at 14:56
That's something in itself though is it not Paul? I do feel there is too much focus on the leader and not enough use of a pretty talented shadow cabinet.
Posted by: Deputy Editor | December 29, 2006 at 15:11
I agree with Paul about Caroline Spellman. It would be good if Spellman and
David Davies were "used" in the media a bit more
Posted by: Tory Solicitor | December 29, 2006 at 15:39
That's something in itself though is it not Paul? I do feel there is too much focus on the leader and not enough use of a pretty talented shadow cabinet.
Quite agree, Sam - I ticked the "don't know" column against a number of front benchers, and considered it something of an indictment. Not necessarily because they might not have done anything of merit, but because we have evidently not been good enough at comunicating the activities of the whole team.
I understand that the nature of modern politics is to concentrate on promoting with single-minded determination the one story that you want to make the evening news ahead of all else to get your message of the day over, but we do need to have a think about this.
agree with Paul about Caroline Spellman. It would be good if Spellman and
David Davies were "used" in the media a bit more
Especially if we can't tell the Shadow Home Secretary from the MP for Monmouth! Sorry, TS, common mistake and proably a typo I know, but it might just be symptomatic!
Posted by: Richard Carey | December 29, 2006 at 15:50
"I do feel there is too much focus on the leader and not enough use of a pretty talented shadow cabinet".
Hear, Hear, Sam. I agree with you entirely.
Posted by: David Belchamber | December 29, 2006 at 18:17
Given that I read the Telegraph every day, plus the Times at weekends, I was a little taken aback at the proportion of "Don't knows" that I ticked in the survey, as regards names in the Shadow Cabinet. Maybe I'm not reading the papers thoroughly enough...... or maybe the message just isn't getting into the media properly, whether as regards Tory policies or people.
Posted by: Ken Stevens | December 29, 2006 at 19:30
Several commentators above are correct in my opinion - the number of "Don't Know" options that I felt forced to tick should give us some cause for concern.
Ken, it's not lack of reading newspapers as I read the Times and the Telegraph every day. You are right when you say instead that the message is not always getting out from certain individuals as well as it should.
Maybe we should have both voted "Dissatisfied" for those people as a positive statement of displeasure rather than "Don't Know".
Also, I believe that the point was made on a recent thread about the options available to indicate allegiances. Although Tim/Sam seem to have slightly changed the options there is still no option for overseas Party members who are fully qualified to vote in Party ballots and UK elections.
Just a trivial point, and if the Editors are happy for the "Party Member" option to be ticked instead for members such as myself then I'll just carry on doing that...
Posted by: Geoff | December 29, 2006 at 20:38
Hi Geoff,
Tim is the polling guru but if you are a Party member then you are of course eligible to click on that option as I'm sure many overseas people do.
Posted by: Deputy Editor | December 30, 2006 at 10:53
Richard, I stand corrected!
Posted by: Tory Solicitor | December 30, 2006 at 11:19