Daily Notes was produced by Conservative Central Office on a more-or-less daily basis for the duration of an election campaign only, for General Elections from at least 1922 through to 1987. It supplemented the Campaign Guide [for which, see above] which was a detailed compendium of information and which was itself a more detailed supplement to the Party's manifesto. Its purpose was to provide an up-to-date record of the progress of the election campaign, and to provide a quick and effective means of disseminating rebuttals of Opposition claims to Party activists.

As described on the first page of the first issue in 1922, 'It is intended for the use of Unionist Candidates' Agents and Speakers in all parts of the country. "Daily Notes" will supply up-to-date fighting material, and suggest useful points for platform, leaflet, or poster purposes. Effective answers will be given to statements by leading political opponents during the contest.'

By the 1970s methods of electioneering had greatly changed, and the need for more responsive material during the election campaign itself meant that Daily Notes came into its own and could keep pace with developments and offer a freshness which the bulky Guide lacked.

For 1951, responsibility for publication of Daily Notes transferred to the Conservative Research Department.