Local government blog launches on 5th November... can you help?

ConservativeHome has two main objectives.  First, we aim to agitate for the causes set out in our manifesto - including 'the politics of and' and respect for grassroots opinions.  Second, we aim to provide more coverage of the Conservative Party than any other newspaper or website.

As part of the commitment to our second core aim - comprehensiveness - we recently launched our Parliament blog.  It's much less popular than the rest of the site - currently receiving an average of just over 600 visits a day - but we're going to persevere with it until at least the new year in the hope that its audience will steadily grow.  There are certainly great treasures in many parliamentary debates that go completely unnoticed.

Our next project is a blog dedicated to local government.  We're looking to recruit local councillors from across the country - district councillors, county councillors, Cabinet members etc - who will be willing to contribute short essays that will be of interest to readers from around the country.  The short essays could be about the impact of central government on local councils, interesting campaigning ideas, thoughts on localism.  Our aim is for this new section to become essential reading for Conservatives interested in local government and in wider ideas of localism.

Earlier today I spoke at a seminar for local councillors with Theresa Villiers MP and Dan Hannan MEP.  Dan noted that more or less every successful conservative party in the western world champions localism and aims to protect local traditions and independence.  Those aims must increasingly be the British Tories' aims, too.

One of the great successes of our time in Opposition at Westminster has been the renaissance of Conservatives in local government.  The 'local Conservatism' blog aims to build on that renaissance.

We've recruited about a dozen councillors so far as contributors.  We're still looking for a few more.  You need no technical expertise.  If you can use email that's enough!  Send us your thoughts once a fortnight or so and we'll post them.  Please email us now if you'd like to join our team.

Comments

[CCHQ Spy]

You should persevere with this Tim. Guido has said that you're on the way to making this website the in house journal of the Conservative Party. That's a bit of a stretch today but in two or three years time you could get there. Coverage of Parliament, local government and much more profiling of movers and shakers are all sensible steps towards toppling The Torygraph. Keep going.

[Editor]

Thanks CCHQ Spy and to the six councillors who have replied to this post during the evening.

I'd still particularly like to hear from councillors in Wales, Scotland and north east England...

Thanks!

[Derek]

I support this site 100%. The lower readership for the new additions is probably due to information overload. We simply do not have time to read it all!

Nevertheless it is still a very useful addition.

[Catriona Mackenzie]

I really enjoy reading this blog. I find it accessible and highly informative. Thanks.

[Bill Brinsmead]

COUNCILLORS IN WALES, SCOTLAND AND NORTH EAST ENGLAND...Should boycott this southern focused, Anglo centric website. And please stop patronising Conservative party members by using the term 'grassroots'.

[Editor]

Very constructive, Bill. Thank you!

[Comstock]

(if I might try and be a bit more constructive?)

Presumably your parliament section is just focusing on Conservative members? Surely there is a market gap for a site that gives coverage of all parties.

I'd love to know what my local MPs (both Labour)/MEPs (Lab, Tory and UKIP I think) etc are up to.

Again, ditto with my local council. I put my 'X' by whoever is the Labour candiate, but I don't have a clue what they get up to in between times.

(I realise you couldn't do this alone, but I wonder if that is the way to go with this-in conjunction with others)