I was a little dismayed at first with the way you framed Caroline Elliot's campaign as a big-tent Tory effort. From what I could tell at the time, Elliot's partisans online were everywhere pushing the idea that, unlike (say) Milobar or Fulmer, she was a "real conservative". Why she chose to do this form within a Kevin Falcon-sized glass house is beyond me.
I think her campaign sent a lot of mixed messages, which contributed to her eventual loss. In comparison to Findlay she definitely was aiming for a bigger tent, but she also played the "only real conservatives" game despite her well known history with the centre.
I was a little dismayed at first with the way you framed Caroline Elliot's campaign as a big-tent Tory effort. From what I could tell at the time, Elliot's partisans online were everywhere pushing the idea that, unlike (say) Milobar or Fulmer, she was a "real conservative". Why she chose to do this form within a Kevin Falcon-sized glass house is beyond me.
I think her campaign sent a lot of mixed messages, which contributed to her eventual loss. In comparison to Findlay she definitely was aiming for a bigger tent, but she also played the "only real conservatives" game despite her well known history with the centre.