Progressive regress is obviously not a way forward !

Dear Shadow Minister,

Yes full marks for raising the Oxford Union debates. Someone like Moggs would certainly fill the articulate credential.

As for de-platforming I did like this response.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jfTaIW8mq

Shadow Minister,

There are quite a few names that come to mind -
although not sure if all of them would be
classified as strictly "conservative."

People like Reinhold Niebuhr, John Rawls,
Milton Friedman, deserve a mention.
So do - Richard Rorty, Oliver Wendall Holmes, Jr.
I'd add J. K. Galbraith, T.S. Eliot, to the list
as well as Arthur Schlesinger Jr. Albert Einstein.

Then there's Walter Lippman, Tom Hayden, Edward
Said, Louis Brandeis, Ben Shapiro.

Shadow Minister,

The Berkeley Forum may be of interest:

http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Forum

Great modern day Australian conservatives;

Pauline Hanson, please explain, I can't!
Barnaby Joyce, a male version of Pauline Hanson with hay seeds!
George Christensen, the member for the electorate of the Southern Philippines, and Minister for Chinese Relations.

From the past;

Stanley Bruce, 8th Prime Minister of Australia, like a true conservative Stanley liked to wear spats and a straw hat, even though others had given up the fashion 20 year earlier. So confident of winning the 1929 general election, Stanley got on a boat and choofed off to London during the campaign. Unfortunately things didn't work out all that well for poor Stanley, not only did he loose the election, he lost his seat as well. It took almost 80 years before another great conservative PM came along to emulate the deeds of Viscount Bruce of Melbourne in the form of Little Johnny Howard. Little Johnny, not wearing spats and a straw hat, but rather green and gold tracky dacks and joggers, also lost an election, and his seat as well.

Dear Paul,

You've hit the nail on the head with your list
- they are a most
uninspiring, talentless and simple-minded bunch.
The best amongst them would probably be the now
defunct - Cory Bernardi.

Not a Menzies amongst them or a Winston Churchill.

Actually Jason Briant - a research fellow at the
Institute of Public Affairs (previously Executive
Director at the Menzies Research Centre)
- wrote a rather interesting article a few years ago,
but still relevant today on the future challenges for
conservatism in Australia:

http://www.ipa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/archive/57-3-thefuturechallengesforconservatism.pdf