Set by Dipak Ghosh According to Channel 4 News the Tories are thinking of changing their symbol. We asked for the reasons behind the change and your suggestions for the new logo

Report by Ms de Meaner

Welcome to the newbies Barbara Cairns and John Purkis, who, blow me down, has actually won! Hon menshes to Roger Iredale for his "blue giraffe", Robert Handyside for his "hooded figure with a scythe and bowl" and Anne Du Croz for her "avocado-coloured mobile phone" logos. The winners get £20 each (with the Tesco vouchers going in addition to the aforementioned Mr Purkis), except for J Seery, who gets only £10.

Looking forwards

The lit torch is now inappropriate as it consumes quantities of fuel and produces dangerous carbon emissions. Tories wish to conserve energy. To exemplify this, we are suggesting a new symbol - an ostrich with its head buried in the sand. It will not be in any recognisable colour and it will be surrounded by a dull haze. This typifies our new stance: we shall not give out any light, so that power stations can be shut down. Its deeper meaning is single-mindedness: we shall not be distracted from our purpose while our eyes are trained on the way ahead. What that way will be, we are as yet unable to discern.

John Purkis

Green, caring and sharing

The torch held in a strong, muscular hand and the red, white and blue are symbols of a macho, exclusive nationalism and imperialism of bygone ages.

We need a symbol that is green, caring and sharing, inclusive, attractive to diverse cultures, to the young as well as to the children of the Sixties. We need a modern symbol with a feel-good factor that brings people together, a symbol of emotional well-being and peace, of forgetting the past and living in the present: above all a symbol that represents our leader and all that he stands for. I'm thinking green, sharing, feel-good . . . I'm thinking cannabis leaves.

David Silverman

Thrusting and vigorous

Conservatives may think it's a torch, but in fact it suggests nothing more than an ice cream smothered in garishly coloured flavourings. The message is clear: the party is essentially frivolous.

A more potent symbol would be the familiar domestic plunger, not afraid to get its hands dirty, so to speak, its thrusting, vigorous movements when facing a crisis appropriate for a rejuvenated party, while in repose it stands proudly erect, instilling confidence. There is no mystery, no frills. This is a reliable, tested and indispensable tool, and every home should have one. The job it does is what it implicitly says it does: it sucks. The subtext is unambiguous - for a job well done, vote Conservative.

Watson Weeks

Two heads are better than one

The new symbol is a two-headed Janus-faced chameleon, each head wearing a reversed baseball cap, within a four-sided triangle. The image bears the motto: "Blatant opportunism learning from past stupidity within the framework of impossible promise."

J Seery

No 3949 Oscillate-a-bye baby

Set by Valerie Yule

We want lullabies to help develop babies' language abilities for the modern age.

Entries in by 28 September
E-mail: comp@newstatesman.co.uk

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