 On 28 March 2005, Montgomerie launched the ConservativeHome website in the period just before the general election campaign that year.With Conservative MP John Hayes, he also set up conservativedemocracy.com, which successfully co-ordinated grassroots opposition to party leader Michael Howard's attempt to abolish the "one member, one vote" rule in the 2005 Conservative leadership election.In September 2006, "The Independent" described Montgomerie as "emerging as a major player in Tory politics."