 In 2004, with Iain Duncan Smith and Philippa Stroud, Montgomerie established the Centre for Social Justice to take forward the work on "compassionate conservatism" that Smith had begun as party leader.Following the tradition of people such as William Wilberforce, the Earl of Shaftesbury and Richard Oastler he aimed to make the condition of the poor a priority.He established a social action project called "Renewing One Nation" which helped Duncan Smith focus on these issues.