Storm over Tory splits

News that a few members of the Conservative Party are considering thinking about possibly setting up a new political party has sent shockwaves through the blogosphere. According to Peter Cuthbertson of Conservative Commentary, a "libertarian" party would be: "...a gift to Labour that would last a decade, retaining a failing, useless government in power unnecessarily." Peter Briffa of Public Interest said: "These goons are only 'libertarian' in the same sense that the Guardian is. i.e. Not at all." While Andrew Dodge of Dodgeblog felt that the whole thing was a hoax. He said:"The Portillo supporters seem to be trying to sucker the true libertarians by giving them a few carrots."

However, the not-yet-new party is not entirely without support. Arch libertarian, Paul Staines said in a post to the LAF (registration required): "Contemporary politics is boring, the mainstream spectrum is narrow. The fact that libertarian Tories are described as centre-left is a breakthrough - it means that we are no longer arguing about liberal economics, but civil liberties and the liberty of the individual."

He continured:"This is fertile territory to win over people who consider themselves left-of-centre. I can envisage a libertarian electoral coalition emerging over the next decade or so along those lines."

Ian Duncan Smith is the leader. Alan Duncan is the one who's gay.