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Blue Warrior
Hampshire
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I've had dealings with two of the nominees : Steve Bell and Charles Heslop. Both are hugely supportive to local volunteers and Associations and genuinely believe in communicating views upwards aswell as down the chain; they will certainly be getting two of my votes.
If we want a bit of energy at the heart of the party, then we really do need these two people sitting on the board.
Candidates confirmed for the National Conservative Convention elections
By Jonathan Isaby Nominations closed yesterday for the five elected National Conservative Convention officer positions which also afford thm a place on the Party Board. Jeremy Middleton was unopposed as NCC Chairman Fiona Hodgson was unopposed as NCC President And fIve candidates have been no...
Hear Hear!
It's time to end Rose Garden Politics
by Paul Goodman Soon after the Coalition was formed, David Cameron and Nick Clegg gave a memorably chummy press conference in Downing Street's rose garden. Its easy tone and style reflected the relief which most voters will have felt at getting rid of Gordon Brown, and the hope with which man...
I simply do not see how it would have been possible to field or ask residents to vote for a 'Coalition Candidate.'
If the Conservatives did not stand a candidate then we would perhaps have been asking residents in OE&S to vote Lib Dem (not for the Coalition) or vice versa.
If one person had stood under a 'Coalition' banner then how would they have been chosen and to whom would they have been answerable? The local Conservative Association or the local Lib Dem Executive?
The only workable way for a 'Coalition Candidate' to be selected would be via an Open Primary; but then, who foots the bill?
Either way, the emergence of 'Coalition Candidates' can only further erode the role of Associations and the party's grassroots.
It's time to end Rose Garden Politics
by Paul Goodman Soon after the Coalition was formed, David Cameron and Nick Clegg gave a memorably chummy press conference in Downing Street's rose garden. Its easy tone and style reflected the relief which most voters will have felt at getting rid of Gordon Brown, and the hope with which man...
I completely agree, Elaine; particularly with regard to your first point.
The problem these days is that the term 'conviction politician' is more pertinent to MPs being dragged through the law courts.
79% of Tory members do not want Coalition to continue beyond the next election
Tim Montgomerie Poll of 1,787 members from 30 November to 2 December 2010. At some point in this parliament the Conservative Party will need to decide if it becomes a liberal or a mainstream centre right party. Sir John Major recently suggested that the Coalition should continue after the next...
"Countries like Norway still have to implement 90% of EU law to trade with the EU and comply with their standards."
Does this mean that China or the USA or myriad other nations also implement 90% of EU law to trade with us too? I think not.
The referendum Britain really wants is on leaving the EU
By Tim Montgomerie In today's Daily Telegraph Dan Hannan MEP and Ruth Lea launch a campaign to win a referendum for the British people on whether the UK should remain a member of the European Union. Noting that "the decision to hold a referendum on the voting system has surely killed off, once a...
Could you name another Parliament who is not allowed to initiate legislation and where it is essential to be unelected in order to do so?
This is the fundamental reason why the EU is a uniquely undemocratic democracy.
The referendum Britain really wants is on leaving the EU
By Tim Montgomerie In today's Daily Telegraph Dan Hannan MEP and Ruth Lea launch a campaign to win a referendum for the British people on whether the UK should remain a member of the European Union. Noting that "the decision to hold a referendum on the voting system has surely killed off, once a...
Oh dear.
Who took responsibility for regulating the banks away from The Bank of England?
Who was the biggest advocate of 'light-touch' regulation for the banks and personally took the decision to allow it?
Gordon Brown.
Some people have very selective memories.
The New York Times sees Cameron as "Slasher of Government Bloat"
By Tim Montgomerie When a serious newspaper from overseas looks at British politics they tend to separate the wheat from the chaff and give their readers a bird's eye view of what really matters. There's not much focus on who's up and who's down. There's little speculation. It's just the big p...
I agree completely Rupert.
While there is possibly widespread acceptance that the 'airwar' was not as good as it could and should have been, the disparity of results across the country indicate that this cannot be attributed as the sole reason for the failure to achieve an overall majority.
Graeme Brown: Why didn't we the general election? Reflections on the campaign from the coalface of a Midlands marginal
Graeme Brown was the Conservative candidate in Dudley North from September 2009 until the General Election. He cut Labour’s majority from over 4,000 to 650. With a Conservative Prime Minister in office, it is understandable that the result of a General Election held less than two months ago a...
Well said.
Pragmatism has won the day and speaking to people earlier today (non-political people), they all seem rather impressed with how David Cameron has managed the situation.
Appointments to the Cameron-Clegg Cabinet
The full list of Cabinet appointments has now been published: Prime Minister - David Cameron Deputy Prime Minister - Nick Clegg Chancellor of the Exchequer - George Osborne Foreign Secretary - William Hague Secretary of State for Education - Michael Gove Secretary of State for Work and Pensions...
But he leads the most popular party in the country, so should be included in any future government; anything else is a political elite stitch-up and the public will view it in the same way.
How can policies such as Health (English only matter) be up for negotiation when the Conservatives secured an overwhelming majority in England?
Clegg blinked; why did Cameron?
Driving back home I heard Radio 5 Live describe Gordon Brown's statement as "statesmanlike." I hadn't heard it at that stage, but of course it was nothing of the sort. As ever, Party calculation predominated. And by colluding in it and asking for talks, Clegg made himself vulnerable. Brown's res...
I guess it depends what you mean by 'looking after the environment'.
Looking after the environment should be focused on recycling (reducing waste), energy efficiency (reducing waste), and the protection of our natural environment.
All of the above are core conservative beliefs and where it departs from the left is when we start to talk about carbon taxes and the like.
There are very good reasons for being an environmentalist, but they do not include the 'mentalist' view on carbon emissions being the root of all evil!
Council byelection result
Just one from yesterday: Mid Suffolk District - Haughley and Wetherden: Green 444, C 176, Lib Dem 51, Lab 32, Ukip 25. (May 2007 - C 354, Lib Dem 309, Green 122). Green gain from Con. Swing 33.2% C to Green.
There may well have been some movement in Portsmouth, although that is conjecture, but it would have to be pretty seismic to have a discernible effect on the results.
In 2008 the Conservatives in Portsmouth polled more than Labour & Lib Dems combined, so while this may have been the high point, any slips since then would still leave us in a strong position and I know that many of the Conservatives in Portsmouth have been working very hard week in, week out since then.
The battle for Portsmouth
Portsmouth Conservatives are not only hoping to gain two Parliamentary seats but also to gain control of the Council from the Lib Dems. The Council Tax is £1,352 at Band D and is being frozen this year. However the timing of that freeze looks pretty cynical after the 4.9% increase last year. Loo...
I do apologise, Elaine, I should have been more specific. I was referring to your statement that 'Portsmouth is a basket case'.
The battle for Portsmouth
Portsmouth Conservatives are not only hoping to gain two Parliamentary seats but also to gain control of the Council from the Lib Dems. The Council Tax is £1,352 at Band D and is being frozen this year. However the timing of that freeze looks pretty cynical after the 4.9% increase last year. Loo...
I don't think that that is a fair comment Elaine. At best it is 50% accurate.
The battle for Portsmouth
Portsmouth Conservatives are not only hoping to gain two Parliamentary seats but also to gain control of the Council from the Lib Dems. The Council Tax is £1,352 at Band D and is being frozen this year. However the timing of that freeze looks pretty cynical after the 4.9% increase last year. Loo...
You obviously don't know him then!
The battle for Portsmouth
Portsmouth Conservatives are not only hoping to gain two Parliamentary seats but also to gain control of the Council from the Lib Dems. The Council Tax is £1,352 at Band D and is being frozen this year. However the timing of that freeze looks pretty cynical after the 4.9% increase last year. Loo...
Very well argued, Nick.
Similar brutal assessments of the record of this abysmal Government should be forthcoming over the campaign ahead.
People will only vote for change if we explain WHY change is so desperately needed. It's a two-prong approach.
Nick Herbert MP: What the Government's dog tax debacle tells us about this Labour administration
Nick Herbert is Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. When we launched our campaign and advert last weekend against Labour’s idiotic plan for a dog tax, one or two sage commentators told us that we had better things to do. So Labour are introducing a new tax...
Do all the troops vote Tory?
If they did, you could hardly blame them after they way they have been treated by Gordon Brown over many years.
They weren't nicknamed 'the borrowers' by the Americans for nothing!
Eric Pickles calls for the Electoral Commission to give Returning Officers an "unambiguous steer" that not counting votes on General Election Night would be in defiance of Parliament
I noted earlier in the week that the latest amendment to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill appears to give a massive amount of leeway to Returning Officers wanting to delay general election counts until the Friday morning - unless the Electoral Commission issues robust guidance to ...
A truly fantastic campaign video!
Positive and upbeat with varied content and professionally produced.
Sincere congratulations and all the very best in your campaign, Annesley.
Annesley Abercorn launches a campaign video for his bid to regain Hazel Grove from the Lib Dems
Annesley Abercorn, chairman of the Bow Group and Conservative candidate for Hazel Grove in Greater Manchester, has today released a campaign video summing up why he would make a better MP for the seat than the incumbent Liberal Democrat. Watch it below and look out for endorsements from David Cam...
Many thanks.
Should be useful in discussions with a couple of PPCs.
A ten point plan to put the Tory election campaign back on track
ConservativeHome.com polled 2,352 Tory members on 22 and 23 February. The results of that survey inform this post. (1) Don’t panic! The Tories are still 7% ahead in the ConHome Poll of Polls. We’re almost certainly further ahead – where it counts - in the marginals. If the election was held tom...
Tim, could you point to the evidence that immigration is the number two issue for voters.
I am not asserting that it doesn't exist, but would like the evidence to hand when talking with some people.
A ten point plan to put the Tory election campaign back on track
ConservativeHome.com polled 2,352 Tory members on 22 and 23 February. The results of that survey inform this post. (1) Don’t panic! The Tories are still 7% ahead in the ConHome Poll of Polls. We’re almost certainly further ahead – where it counts - in the marginals. If the election was held tom...
The posts above are unfortunately true and we should be careful of lobbing bricks from our glass house on this one.
Penge deserves better
The Bromley Times reports that Cllr Karen Roberts, a Labour councillor for Penge and Cator Ward, has only attended one of the seven full councils meetings over the past year. She receives £11.300 in allowances. Of course this sort of problem is not unique. Under the Local Government Act 2000 a ...
Congratulations Sam.
After the sterling efforts you made in the Gosport Open Primary I knew it was only a matter of time before you landed a seat.
Well done, you will be a huge asset on the green benches.
Sam Gyimah adopted for Surrey East
Sam Gyimah has been adopted for Surrey East. He will inherit Peter Ainsworth's projected majority of 15,921. Bullet points on Sam: Former – Chairman, CareerAbility Ltd; CBI Entrepreneur of the Future Current – Director, Workology Former President of the Oxford Union, Bow Group Chairman and As...
I can't believe that people think that more politicians is the answer. I'm not quite sure that the public at large would agree.
What they want is equality and fairness. This can be easily delivered via 'English votes for English MPs' and a review of spending formulae for different parts of the UK, rebalancing it properly to address need rather than geography.
Brown's hung parliament strategy enters final phase
The Tories may be wobbling in the polls but Labour remain a long distance from being able to win an outright majority. Labour is at 29.8% in the ConHome Poll of Polls. Labour's only hope of staying in power is via a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. Brown's deathbed conversion to holding a r...
Therese Coffey would be an outstanding candidate for Suffolk Coastal. Hardworking, committed, intelligent and articulate and with a real passion to make a difference on the ground.
Having campaigned with Therese during the 2009 Euro elections, I am sure that her views on the EU will go down very well if this is indeed a euro-sceptic constituency.
Don't let Therese slip through your fingers, Suffolk Coastal!
Final six for Suffolk Coastal
This morning I can reveal the six finalists for the nomination to succeed John Gummer as Conservative candidate in Suffolk Coastal. They were chosen by the association officers (not CCHQ), and will battle it out at a special general meeting of the association on Saturday February 6th. They are: ...
1.
Maria Hutchings in Eastleigh has been fighting very hard and gave up full-time work to concentrate on being a full-time candidate. She is meeting and working with local residents every day and her television appearance where she tackled Tony Blair about the lack of provision for children with special needs was exceptional.
2. Singling out one reason why I would like to get rid of Chris Huhne is difficult, but how about the fact that he setup and runs the Lib Dems 'Conservative Attack Unit'.
3. The majority is just over 500 and this constituency also had the iwantareferendum.com campaign stage a referendum in Eastleigh, which saw a huge turnout against the Constitution/Lisbon Treaty, which must be of relevance in fighting against such an ardent federalist such as Chris Huhne.
ConHome launches fundraising campaign to defeat Liberal Democrat MPs
I've previously described Liberal Democrats as the bindweed of politics. Once they've invaded territory they are very hard to displace. As I wrote on Tuesday, a vote for the Liberal Democrats is now Labour's best hope of clinging to power. Up until the General Election ConHome will be attempt...
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