Only 12% of Tory MPs name "Cameronism" as their political philosophy. That's not entirely surprising – because "Cameronism" is a term that most people have never even heard, let alone tried to define – but the novelty of the expression can't be the only explanation for the figure, because Conservative candidates are happy to describe themselves as Cameroons.
The figures come from a ComRes poll published in the January edition of Total Politics (which should be on the magazine's website soon).
ComRes asked Tory MPs (excluding those who are standing down at the election) which strand of Conservatism best characterised their political philosophy and gave them five choices. These were the replies:
One Nation Toryism: 38%
Thatcherism: 26%
Cameronism: 12%
Cornerstone (moral traditionalists; named after the Cornerstone MPs' group): 6%
Libertarian: 3%
ComRes then put the same question to a sample of Tory candidates in winnable seats. The results were quite different:
Cameronism: 43%
One Nation Toryism: 22%
Thatcherism: 19%
Libertarian: 7%
Cornerstone: 0%
This looks like a significant split. But is it really? Candidates who were selected after Cameron became party leader might be expected to identify with him. MPs who were first elected to parliament in 2005, or perhaps many years before, probably formed their political philosophy long before they even met the member for Witney.
The real surprise is that 38% of the parliamentary Conservative party identifies with One Nation Toryism, a philosophy that until recently was seriously out of fashion in the party. But Cameronism could be easily described as One Nation Toryism for the internet age and so there may well be little or no ideological split at all.
For the record, ComRes received replies from 69 candidates and 34 MPs.
