Spelman on Ancram

Thank you to everybody who left questions for Caroline Spelman, not least because a team effort on these occasions helps create the air of a lively mind without necessarily putting in lots of hard work.

I'm afraid you're going to have to wait for our November issue to hear what the Party Chairman says about the best strategies for making news headlines in the run up to the election and the assertion that the party has gone lukewarm on the issue of an EU referendum but, to whet your appetites, here's a snippet about her views on Michael Ancram's "simple political creed":

"He gave a personal view on what Conservatives have stood for, and that will be different from somebody else's personal view of what Conservatives have stood for. I don't entirely share his views and I don't agree with his criticism of David Cameron ­ I don't think that David Cameron has damaged the Thatcher legacy.

I have an open door policy for people to come and say what they think should change and what they think we should do differently. These are all ideas that we can capture, but they are things that should be said in private if politicians are going to be responsible about their position within the party and the use of that position to articulate their views."