Conservative Future

Worcestershire CF Call for Change at GenEVA

guest author — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:57:01 +0000

By Chris Morrall

Last week beginning Tuesday March 2nd saw Worcestershire Conservative Future kick off its new campaign at the flagship CCHQ GenEVA callcentre to boost the pledge base of Worcestershire based PPC’s. They began with Mark Garnier, the PPC for Wyre Forest.

We linked up with City future, interns, volunteers to campaign on behalf of Mark Garnier, PPC for Wyre Forest. The Wyre Forest Constituency is famous, being the only current seat to host an Independent MP, Dr Richard taylor elected in 2001.

The three evenings of campaigning proved a resounding success with well over 1000 calls made and nearly 500 voting intentions recieved, this, achieved in less than 6 hours of canvassing was a great achievement and the group look to expand its operations and lend support to other PPCs in need of support. Credit goes to the Geneva staff including John Hazzlewood and John Benjamin for making this happen and helping the campaign run smoothly.

Thanks also go to Nick Vaughan ex Conservative Future Chairman, Ed Clifton Brown (son of Geoffrey Clifton-Brown – Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Investment) Dan Yates of City Future and Starbuck Coleman and Amy Bannister staff for Andrew Rosindell (the Shadow Minister for Home Affairs) who all campaigned tirelessly throughout the week!

Next step for Worcestershire CF is to continue the campaign for Mark Garnier in London and to start off the campaign at its sister headquarters in Coleshill, Nr Birmingham next week! We also hope to offer support and assistance to other PPCs in the Worcestershire area – so anyone needing help contact worcestershire@conservativefuture.com

Spring Forum ‘Brightons Up’ Conservative Campaign

Clare Hilley — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:15:17 +0000

With just weeks to go before the general election, the Conservative Party couldn’t have picked a more vibrant and forward-looking town than Brighton to hold its Spring Forum for 2010. The conference centre was buzzing with ideas and aspirations as activists gathered for one last time before voters head to the polls to decide on the next Government.

David Cameron delivered a bold and striking address to delegates, clearly defining the modern, progressive vision of the Conservative Party and the plan for change we will deliver for our country. This was in stark contrast to Gordon Brown’s tired, disinterested and backward looking campaign, which offers more of the same dithering and debt and not a sparkle of innovation or change.

The polls are tight, and we have all have a very tough fight on our hands, but we must pull together to convince voters we can offer a genuine alternative to this decaying Labour Government. Our action teams from London Conservative Future have a rigorous and relentless timetable of action days and telephone canvassing sessions lined up, and it’s essential that as many people as possible join in and make a difference.

The next action day is on Saturday 13th March for PPC Mary Macleod in Brentford & Isleworth. To register your attendance please contact Daniel Emmet Gulliver on 07738583302 or click this link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=385928465399

Saturday 20th March is and action day for PPC Mark Clarke in Tooting. Please RSVP by going to this link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=337917162478

Friday 26th-28th March is another London CF road trip and this time we’re going to Hereford to help PPC Jesse Norman in his fight against the liberals. To RSVP email london@conservativefuture.com

As always every Tuesday evening we host a GenEVA session from 6.30pm for one of our PPCs in a marginal seat that we must win and to register your attendance at these sessions then please contact Peter Cuthbertson at: peter.cuthbertson@gmail.com

Want to stand for NUS elections?

Helen Roberts — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:59:37 +0000

Student Life’s new target it to expand our remit from focusing primarily on setting up new CF branches, to engaging directly with Student Unions across the country.

Up until recently I was working at CCHQ and loving the buzz and excitement at the prospect of a Conservative government. But, the general election is not the only election just around the corner where the Conservatives have the chance to make gains. The National Union of Students is well known as a Labour Students strong hold. It seems the opportune time to start the fight for Conservative students to be representative’s at the most powerful and influential Students’ Union in the country.

As a former Students’ Union hack I can vouch for the hard work of so many sabbatical and executive officers who work tirelessly to help improve students’ experiences at university. Whether it be helping keep down costs at the university bars or in your halls, or whether it be campaigns to keep libraries open for longer or campaigns to improve teaching standards, the chances are, when real change happens at your university, the Students’ Union has had a lot to do with it.

This is why I urge you all to consider standing in the upcoming NUS elections; it is a worthwhile organisation with considerable influence and Conservatives should get stuck in.

We already have a candidate standing for Sabbatical (clear here to join his Facebook fan page) but we are looking for Conservatives to stand for Block of 15. Deadlines for standing is the end of March so time is ticking as you need to have lots of endorsements and a manifesto sorted by then.

If you are interested in standing for Block of 15 or as a delegate at your university then please contact me on helen.roberts@conservativefuture.com

CF Voter Registration Drive launched

Edward Hallam — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:00:36 +0000

Further to Owen’s recent post that 50% of students will not vote, a study published last week by the Electoral Commisson suggests that the 17-25 year old age bracket has the lowest level of voter registration. A shocking 56% of young people are not on the electoral roll. It’s one thing if students haven’t been engaged to vote, but even worse if they aren’t even enfranchised! The is the cornerstone of our democracy, and yet a vast tranch of the age range from which Conservative Future’s membership is drawn isn’t even entitled to be a part of the democractic process – regardless of who they vote for.

So today we’re launching a CF Voter Registration initiative as part of our General Election “Time to Get Involved” campaign. We’re urging all CF members to carry out a ‘friend audit’, if you like, and make sure that everyone you know is at least registered to vote, even if they don’t vote, or don’t vote Conservative. They owe it to the untold millions of Britons and non-Britons alike who made the ultimate sacrifice for our way of like to endure to “be bothered” about at least registering to vote. In some countries, voting itself is a daring and revolutionary act.

Our sixth form university branches might even like to take it one step further and try flyering, etc, fellow students to make sure they’re registered.

Do take a look at the Time to Get Involved. It already has several different ways for CF members to play an active roll in bring change to our country in the upcoming General Election – and over the coming weeks we’ll be expanding the ways you can get involved.

Let us know who it goes, keep us up to date with your efforts and we’ll post your hard work for change here on ConservativeFuture.com

Conservative candidates will stand in this year’s NUS elections

Michael Rock — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:02:21 +0000

As most of you will know, students form a significant component of the CF membership and we have activists working with student unions up and down the UK.

This April the National Union of Students have their annual elections, and I’m pleased to announce that for the first time in years there will be Conservative candidates standing in these elections.

We are looking for additional candidates for the ‘block of 15′ that form the part-time component of NUS’s leadership, but are proudly supporting Kit Friend as a candidate for the role of Vice President (Higher Education).

Kit has the benefit, as I do, of having a pun-friendly name and we’ve suggested a few options, including running a facebook campaign to find a slogan, which I understand has been a successful tactic previously…

Helen Roberts, who is helping organise Student Life, will be writing a post soon with more info on these elections; and how you can stand as a Conservative candidate. We’ve got a team here to support you so there’s no excuse if you are keen to be involved with the NUS: it’s Time to Get Involved!

Celebrating Commonwealth Day

Christian May — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:21:33 +0000

If you’ve opened a paper, turned on the radio or watched TV today, then you can’t have failed to see that today is International Women’s Day. I think it’s important to highlight the plight of women in under-developed nations, and to look again at the massive health and economic challenges that many women face around the world.

However, here in the UK the occasion is being used by Labour’s rabid “equality” agenda to slap men around for not employing enough women, or for lingering too long on Page 3 of The Sun. I wish they’d spend half as much energy celebrating Commonwealth Day, for it is today, and the liberal middle-class guilt about Britain’s colonial past means that not a lot of people are mentioning it.

One person, however, was not going to let the day pass without a few wise words. Her Majesty the Queen has delivered her annual Commonwealth Address, to all those fortunate enough to have her as their magnificent Head of State. In her address, the Queen speaks of the massive importance of technology in bringing her Commonwealth together.

Developments in communication mean that the world is accessible and connected; whether it’s a medical centre in the Himalayas or a school in the South Pacific. The Queen also speaks of the great benefits that communication technology can have on the fortunes of small businesses, and general economic development. Perhaps most strikingly, we are told that over half the population of the Commonwealth are under 25. It is this generation that takes Facebook, Blackberries, Twitter, YouTube and the internet for granted in most countries. But we can see the incredible effects of the internet in places like Iran, where the “Green Movement” communicated with the world via Twitter and YouTube. I’ve seen for myself the great work that Commonwealth projects are delivering around the world, bringing young people together for lasting partnerships. This is what should be celebrated.

For millions of young people, the Commonwealth gives them a chance to be part of something bigger than their village, town or country. It represents a shared history and a bright future. Members of Conservative Future, and young people in general, should know more about the Commonwealth and the great work it does in uniting young people all over the world.

Activists raise £9,500 for the Poppy Appeal

Edward Hallam — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:02:19 +0000

It with great pride that I can announce today the efforts of CF members raised a grand total of £9470.15 for the cause.

For many CFers late October and early November means one thing in particular: The Poppy Appeal. Last autumn was the third year that CF activists have given up their time to help out the Royal British Legion with its flagship fundraising event, not as a political activity but simply as people with the time and willingness to do good without gain. This year we expanded our reach from London, where our involvement began with my own branch, Cities of London & Westminster, and encouraged other branches to take part.

In the West Midlands Birmingham University CF members collected £1500, whilst in Essex Castle Point CF raised £372.82, and in Hertfordshire Hemel Hempstead CF gathered £772.33. North Wiltshire raised £231.

Last week I attended a gathering of the St George’s Branch of the Royal British Legion, and accepted on behalf of my team the Certificate of Outstanding Achievement for raising £6594. Whilst it bears my name, it in fact recognises not my sole achievement but the collective efforts of my Cities of London & Westminster CF through over nearly 20 nights of collecting. We almost doubled our efforts compared to last year, and have taken our collective total since 2007 to date to over £13,000.

November 2010 seems somewhat distant – and we have a lot of work to do before now and then, but I hope CF members will once again take some time out from politics this autumn to again demonstrate how much we value our armed forces and their families.

Conservatives launch iPhone app

Michael Rock — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:26:05 +0000

The Party has launched a General Election iPhone app for activists and voters.

Available to download for free on the Apple ‘App Store’, the tool will help CFers keep up to date with the latest news from the campaign trail.

Features in the launch version of the app include:

User-friendly guide to all the key policy areas.
Ability to telephone canvass friends and report their voting intentions back to the Party.
Simple mechanism for donating directly to the Party.
Easy way to watch all the latest WebCameron videos.
Virtual ‘Swingometer’ featuring a UK map getting bluer as our percentage share in the General Election increases.
Automatic Twitter updates from the Conservatives and integrated access to the Facebook page.

Jeremy Hunt commented:

“Once again, the Conservative Party is at the forefront of digital innovation in UK politics. This iPhone app will help both existing supporters and floating voters learn more about our policies, connect with us on social networks and share political news with their friends.

“Whether it is on websites, social networks or mobiles, we are the only Party that has fully embraced new technology in the run up to the General Election.”

Download the app today!

Young people turn to the Conservative Party for change

Michelle Donelan — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:12:26 +0000

Standing in my local corner shop huddled by the cornflakes – I withstood Nick Ferrari’s attempts to brand us as aloof and unappealing to the youth of today. I explained that Conservative Future is the largest political youth wing in the UK because the Party is really striking a cord with young people by listening and offering change, plus the opportunity to take control back of our own lives.

I flagged up our national campaign ‘Time to Get involved’ and explained that we are organising a number of events and initiatives across the country to encourage activism and help get the Conservative Party into power to bring about the change that this country deserves.

CF and the party as a whole are in touch with society, down to earth and inclusive – we need to make sure that the voter knows this! So get involved!

Click here to listen to the interview

Spring Forum – has put a real spring back into the campaign

Michelle Donelan — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 23:02:14 +0000

Spring Forum was something quite different this year – the atmosphere electric! The event can be somewhat of a let down compared to Conference but this year was anything but – in fact a prominent member of Liberal Youth even described it as “buzzing” and had chosen our event over a Liberal one!

There was a great sense of commitment to a clear vision, a vision for government and for the first time in years, a vision that could be realised in just a few months. However complacency was not on the cards and the PPC for Brighton Pavilion had even prepared leaflet packs for delegates to deliver.

What was also striking this year was the vast number of CFers, who were all very engaged and energetic. It was lovely to see so many of you there talking about your recent campaign activity and future plans. However we still managed to have some well earned fun at our reception and the Party for Change – it was great to unwind but there was a sense that we all knew we couldn’t let our hair down yet – as there is much work to be done.

The weekend culminated in David Cameron’s speech which reminded us all that not only do we want to win for Britain – we NEED TO WIN FOR BRITIAN!

We all left Spring Forum knowing that we’re all behind our plans for government – but now we have to ensure that the electorate knows our plan so that they can all get behind them too.

So please keep campaigning, keep canvassing and keep on spreading the message that we want to bring change to Britain – as David Cameron said “let’s get out there and win it for Britain!”