Andrew Young - CF Chairman Campaign

Bye, bye...

2006-09-15T03:24:00.000-07:00

Don't forget, The CF News is relaunching... stay tuned.

2006-09-14T08:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome to readers of the ever popular Recess Monkey

Whilst recording an interview with he and Guido for CF Radio, it became apparent that the Monkey has been well fed. I left my reply on his site for your reference.

Sad to say that the campaign, which had started from a good natured banter point of view went sour very quickly. Pity really - if there was a bright spot in all of last year it was the lack of cliquiness in CF. I hope this campaign doesn't mark the start of a fratricidal Y.C-style 'win at all costs' mentality. After all, we're all on the same side, as the Gipper (pictured above) said, "Never speak ill of a fellow Conservative"

This year has been tough in places, but from all the problems we have started projects that can continue till next year - an e-library, CF TV, CF Net and a revamped CF.com website and Copywriters team. I'm proud of the volunteers on those teams, from all over the country, of all ages and walks of life. They continue to amaze me with their dedication to making CF work better.

Guys - it's been nice working with you....

Coming soon...

2006-09-13T02:33:00.001-07:00

The CF News...

The Change Agenda: Training

2006-09-12T07:11:00.000-07:00

If there is a gap in our current organisation it's training.

At some level we are able to do every other aspect of the work we are supposed to, yet, strangely for the biggest youth politics organisation we provide little in the way of training for our activists and future candidates.

This year the Copywriters have held as many training days as the NME, Reigate managed to do the same - yet only one of these relied on a huge injection of funding. Which begs the question - have we got it right?

The annual training weekend was hugely well provided for, yet the number of attendees matched that of the less well funded student conference. Overall, National CF provided training for roughly 120 people this year, 120 of a few thousand eligible people. This needs to change.

Regionalisation will allow each region to attain a 'critical mass' of members at its larger events. I propose that each region should host a series of training days throughout its year. As well as the basics - on campaigning, canvassing etc. - more detailed training can be attempted, on public speaking and media skills.

Training not only provides skills, it also provides motivation and inspires people to greater efforts. A successful exec would take the initiative in getting a coherent programme of training out to its members, fulfilling its role as an enabling body and providing for a stronger future in the party.

Putting in place a coherent training programme this year can also set the stage for a year-on-year improvement, hopefully CF can reach a future point where we fulfil the role of providing candidates not just for council, but also for Parliament as well.

The Hustings Speech that never was...

2006-09-11T02:22:00.000-07:00

With less than five days to go the election is effectively over - with this in mind, and surrounded by old faces at the London hustings I decided to can the phoney theatrics and pomposity. Someone said lats week that I'm not a great self-publicist, and to tell the truth they're right. The disingenuousness of the campaigning doesn't sit easily with me, and the re-emergence of the YC-style shenanigans has been a stark contrast to the faction-free past year. Here is the speech that never was.

"It’s hard to believe a year has gone by, but in a way I’m glad.

I decided that putting my life on hold for another year, putting up with the constant deadlines, the problems, the lack of support from anybody is not the way to go.

For all its potential, CF is a failing organisation and will continue to be so until it makes a fundamental change in how it works.

The good thing about being a candidate for Chairman is that for a month and a half I get a captive audience. And so, at the risk of losing my place as the chairman candidate who is least ‘up themselves’ here is the solution to all our problems.

We must fundamentally change the balance between the regions and the centre, and in these vital nine months, the next chairman must regionalise this organisation.

The NME must stop acting as a super branch and become a service provider to the regions and regional coordinators must be appointed to bring area chairmen and the senior party together to plan the revival of CF across the country.

Long-term success will only come about by building up our grassroots, and regionalisation is the only way to do it.

There has been a lot of talk about experience, so here’s my experience –the record of the youngest candidate.

I’ve set up two teams of writers to allow us to update our website twice daily, created a national network of regional websites, redesigned and secured funding for a new CF website, started an e-library of best practise that can be improved on year-on-year, fought to hire our first long term intern Richard ‘Action’ Jackson and started an internet TV station – CF TV. All done for free.

120 volunteers, trained and working hard in a simple system that encourages them to just get on with it.

With every one of the 240 volunteers I have worked with over the past few years there comes a point when they stop asking “What do I do?” and start saying “Here’s what I’m going to do!” Imagine we had eleven regions with volunteers saying the same. At the moment our branch and area successes are lonely outposts, unsupported and unconnected. Hopefully with my work in the past few years I have shown what can be achieved by bringing people together.

The common thread that links all this work, is that in 2009, the date of the next general election, CF members will be using the tools I have helped put in place in 2006.

Imagine all seven people on the national exec had done the same this year?

Don’t get me wrong, the exec have worked hard. But those campaign days, those great events in trendy London bars will count for nothing in the long run, because for every event organised centrally our volunteers, our grassroots, lose the opportunity to learn how to do it for themselves.

Lots of central funding sounds great, but at the centre we are brilliantly funded. Teaching our branches and Areas how they can better raise funds is the key.

Campaigning in national Action days was fun, but each region must take ownership for its success at the polls.

Setting up individual branches is great, but CF is failing because we have no system to support the ones we already have. Being an area chairman is such a bad job that only 18 of 44 places have been filled –we can’t even give it away.

We need to stamp a regional identity on each CF branch and area, and within those regions coordinate events, training, fundraising and yes, targeted campaigning.

It won’t work any other way. Seven people based in and around London can work really hard, but lasting success only comes when people take ownership of their own success.

I am hoping that maybe, just maybe, the thunderbolt will strike – and that that idea will start to take hold, because if I’ve learnt anything from working with over 240 volunteers over the years, it’s that young people have such huge reserves of potential.

I need to use this opportunity to thank the volunteers who have been so generous with their time and energy. They are an inspiration to me and have kept me going in what has at times been a pretty crappy job.

And to you guys, the CF members who we’ll rely on next year – it’s been nice working with you."

Hustings Tonight

2006-09-08T03:25:00.000-07:00

Hustings tonight in CCHQ.

Sadly, you'll never know how I got on unless you're there, and a video even of my bit is not in the offing

7pm, don't be late...

The Change Agenda: Women 2 Win?

2006-09-07T05:47:00.000-07:00

Women work half as hard as men - They get it right the first time!!!

A weird situation at a recent planning meeting for a London branch. A discussion about how to hold a membership event aimed at attracting that vital group of young career women who we need to change the face of the party.

Weird in that all but one of those present were men, but that's the current situation we find ourselves faced with. This needs to change..

Labour fixed the problem by introducing all-women short lists. It worked in making their party more electable, but discrimination runs against Conservative instincts, so the A-List is plugging the gap. However, as James Cleverly pointed out, stretching a minority of the candidates so thinly is not a sustainable solution.

If CF was wondering what innovative useful function it could fill in the next decade, recruiting and retaining talented female candidates must be up there.

Not that CF is to blame. I predict that Karen Allen, a virtual unknown, will finish in the top three of the NME elections. CF members already recognise the need to change the membership for the better, witness the success of talented young women in reaching responsible positions within branches, despite being a much smaller proportion of the membership.

However, recruitment is too slow, and retaining talent, as with all things CF, is a chronic failing.

Recruitment: Targetted events in conjunction with Women 2 Win. Held on a regional basis. The aim is to get a critical mass of women attending the event and being enthused by the number of other young women in their position. The social aspect is a key part of CF and acts as an informal, but very powerful mentoring system.

Retainment: To maintain interest in involvement, CF must (as with all its members - more tomorrow) provide a logical path for career progression within politics. This is partly achieved by regionalisation and binding CF-age members to the senior party's planning at a local and regional level.

More importantly, CF must start offering a serious improvement in its training. One central conference per year is a shockingly poor track record. Regional one-day training events can help inspire our volunteers as well as equipping them with real skills. With so few opportunities to hone these skills, the ability of CF to provide them is a big plus which could effect a permanent change in attracting and developing our membership.

The Change Agenda: Digging In

2006-09-05T09:45:00.000-07:00

What are the problems of CF? Why do we seem to change only very slowly? Why can we not make more rapid gains as a youth organisation?

A CF member was chatting to me after the Manchester hustings and he blamed the CF elections. 'If only we didn't have elections every year we wouldn't lose so many talented people'

Well almost.

This year has certainly shown how weak we are nationally, as the Area Chairmen are unable to find successors. 18 of 44 places for Area Chairmen filled has to be an all-time low, and with the (sad) loss of Chris Wales from the NME candidates list there are fewer candidates than last year.

Part of the regionalisation plan is to force the issue and agressively recruit in empty spots, but I'm not keen on the idea of 'picking winners'. True success will be when CF starts replicating its success naturally, otherwise each election will mark the departure point for ever more ACs.

To start this process of rebuilding we'll have to start getting CF members dug in. For students this will involve getting student sabbatical officers elected, but more commonly, this will involve CF-age councillors.

The trick will be to engage the senior party, CF shouldn't act as a seperate organisation. Rather, the senior party needs to be provided with that capability to recruit and retain younger members. Working to compliment the senior party at every stage will help in that.

Importantly, I don't see CF's role as being a narrowly defined one. Yes we should do the envelope licking and leaflet dropping, but if that's all we can aspire to then it's a bit dissapointing.

CF has a social side that shouldn't be overlooked, but still far too few events. This is due to a lack of infastructure.

Same too with training, we should be able to hold training events in each region aimed at directly improving our activists skills and also finding the politicians of the future. Sadly, outside of London this is currently not the case - something we could change by implementing a regional structure.

Targetted campaigning - the vital project for all three candidates - will not take off simply through funding or sending the seven members of the NME to help out. A strong regional identity and simple system of management in each region could help to deliver this. We need to appoint the regional coordinators and have them bring together the senior party and Area Chairmen to help rebuild those grassroots.

Proof, if it were needed, came in the form of another conversation at the hustings. I met a former regional coordinator of the old YCs, who was, to say the least, passionate about CFs failing in the regions. She asked why we couldn't organise regionally? Then, a person in her position in the senior party could start thinking about funding CF activity on a regional basis.

All politics is local, CF should recognise that.

The Change Agenda: Policy

2006-09-05T03:58:00.000-07:00

Conservative Future doesn't have much input into policy for a few reasons.

For a start as a national organisation we barely exist, so whilst in some areas where CF is contributing they are a valuable part of the local organisation, in most parts of the country CF either doesn't or barely exists (the need for regionalisation to build up the grassroots all over the country couldn't be clearer).

Also, our communciations structure has, before this year, been to basic in the extreme. Hopefully CF Net and CF TV's linkage with the Tory blogosphere will help to plug that gap, but direct communication with the senior party is the other huge area for improvement.

However, young people should have some input into the debate about policy and there exists a huge opportunity to exploit new technologies to address this.

ConservativeHome has shown that policy debate can be conducted in a reasoned and dynamic way. Importantly, the Internet allows a fractured national organisation to collaborate more easily - and so, using the full plethora of communications tools (CF.com, CF TV, CF Net with help from CF Diary and Tory Radio) we can introduce those issues relevant to young people and have some debate on them before engaging directly with the senior party.

I am a great believer in the potential of young people - working with almost 120 volunteers has taught me the sheer potential they possess - and this also is a great way to allow CF to engage its more mature members.

Andy Stephenson

2006-09-04T13:30:00.000-07:00

I've known Andy since my time at GMCF. He has been a hard working member of the CF exec as well as a popular local activist and successful councillor. I wasn't at all surprised when he was selected for the A-List.

I don't know a single person with a bad word to say about him and it was obvious why he was chosen to chair the hustings as no-one else has as much respect as he does.

There is a vote on Thursday in Pendle where Andy will be in a closed primary. I know that quite a few members of the senior party read this blog, if you are able, or you have friends who would be able to vote, you will not find a more able and talented candidate.

Vote for Andrew Stephenson.

Manchester Hustings

2006-09-03T12:17:00.000-07:00

A great night, catching up with the GMCF guys. The turnout wasn't huge, which is why next year it would be great to hold the hustings earlier in the election, film it for CF TV and let everyone see it.

Below is a video of my speech, rushed, because as always, there's too much content. The camerawork suffered a little from what media professionals call 'inebriation', but I thought I'd let you see it anyway. The basic points for the full speech were:

We must radically change the relationship of the Regions and the NME making the NME a service provider to its regions.
I have a proven track record of setting up lasting volunteer led projects, to a long-term strategy.
To succeed in future elections we must enable our grassroots, this does not involve chasing short-term schemes for short term gains.

Campaign video removed

Endorsement: Anna Appleton, Secretary West Wirral

2006-09-01T16:27:00.000-07:00

I first met Andrew at the spring forum in Manchester and was struck by his enthusiastic and encouraging manner. He made sure that people were introduced to others from neighbouring areas so that they could form useful contacts and thereby organise regional events.

Andrew’s promotion of regionalisation will ensure CF’s increasing effectiveness and appeal to those outside London. Andrew has shown those of us not living in the capital that he is capable of achieving much through his work on CF TV and radio.

He is clearly an experienced officer in CF and has many personal attributes that will make him a successful leader for this organisation. He has identified changes that need to be made to guarantee that CF becomes a professional and impressive body and I feel confident that my vote will be going to the right candidate.

Anna Appleton

Bye Bye Dave

2006-09-01T16:19:00.000-07:00

This just in from Bigze's website

Labour's attack machine set up the 'Dave the Chameleon' website to bash D.C.

Labour's focus groups showed that David Cameron would be vulnerable to attack over his modernisation agenda. Bad idea - the website has now stopped being updated.

R.I.P Labour's Spin Department.....

CF Support

2006-09-01T06:22:00.000-07:00

A busy few days, so apologies for not keeping the blog up to date. Off to Havering tonight and hustings in Manchester on Saturday - if you're going to either, I'll see you there.

CF Support is the name for the four teams of volunteers who are helping to contribute to CF. Based all over the country but collaborating over the Internet to deliver services for the benefit of all our members.

Copywriters Teams - Two teams of writers who allow CF.com to update its website twice a day. Before it was two articles per month, now 700 articles later the teams are larger than ever before and able to take on other tasks, like script writing for CF TV

CF TV - A multimedia website run by volunteers aimed at using new technologies to capture an emerging market in online broadcasting. All run for free, and a great way of raising the profile of the organisation.

CF Net - The final big project. To bridge the gap in communication at a local level, CF Net will allow branches to advertise their events on a regional site, maintained by a team of tech savvy volunteers. Unlike our exisiting sites the regional sites can be modified on a weekly basis, providing a greater flexibility.

These projects comprise almost 120 volunteers working to improve CF. I'm standing in this election to make the point that the future success of CF relies not on a fractured system where each small part pursues short-term gain, but on bringing together the seperate elements into a dynamic organisation that works.

CF Net

2006-08-31T03:04:00.000-07:00

Article on CF Diary - Here

Conservative Future is proud to announce the launch of its new tool to help improve our communications nationwide

CF Net is the name for a group of eleven regional websites, designed to help put you, the members in touch with other young Conservatives in your local area. Each site will carry national CF news, contact details of chairmen, info on events and links to members websites. Eventually, the regional sites will link directly into the newly redesigned ConservativeFuture.com website

Importantly, every chairman within the region will be able to post directly to the site, allowing you to see what they are up to, add your comments and get in touch.

The project is run by a team of website moderators who will soon be offering help in allowing you to get started with your own simple websites. For the moment, they will take any links, contact details and news for events to post on the site.

To find your local website, simply type in www.conservativefuture.com/ followed by your region name. (need help finding your region, use the postcode finder - http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=people.find.page)

London - www.conservativefuture.com/london
South East – www.conservativefuture.com/southeast
South West - www.conservativefuture.com/southwest
West Midlands - www.conservativefuture.com/westmidlands
East Midlands - www.conservativefuture.com/eastmidlands
North East - www.conservativefuture.com/northeast
North West – www.conservativefuture.com/northwest
Yorkshire - www.conservativefuture.com/yorkshire
Eastern - www.conservativefuture.com/eastern
Wales - www.conservativefuture.com/wales
Northern Ireland - www.conservativefuture.com/northernireland

The sites are undergoing a constant process of improvement, and so we are relying on your input.

CHAIRMEN – If you would like to register to contribute directly to your area page on your regional site, please email your website moderator, details on the home page of each site.

Registrations will be confirmed and access granted from October 1st when the new Area Chairmen take their positions.

For the Record: CF Radio interviews the candidates

2006-08-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

I had hoped to do this for hustings, but it is sadly out of bounds. So here it is, your once in a lifetime chance to hear the candidates for the 2006 CF Chairman election speak.

Listen to my bit here

This election will be dissapointing in that by the time most people have voted, the total debate and discussion will be on the short side to say the least. Having spent a year putting together a team of volunteers with the skills and the equipment to be able to broadcast live events it seems a waste not to use them.

Regardless, if you are lucky enough to live close to one of the hustings venues, I'll see you there.

UPDATE: Tory Radio interview today, expect to see it on Friday

Hustings

2006-08-29T05:16:00.000-07:00

The Manchester Hustings will take place on the 2 September @ 7pm - KRO BAR, 325 Oxford Road, Chorlton on Medlock, Manchester M13 9PG.

http://www.kro.co.uk/control.php?_command=/DISPLAY/67/1

Just to confirm that the London Hustings for the CF Elections will take place at CCHQ, 25 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0DL on Friday 8 September at 7pm.

All Chairman candidates will have an opportunity to speak for 3 minutes each. All NME candidates will have an opportunity to speak for 1 and a half minutes each. This will be followed by questions.

Contested Area Chairman candidates will have an opportunity to speak (in London) for 1 and a half minutes each.

This will be followed by questions. Email Richard Jackson at richard.jackson@conservatives.com so your name can be added to the guest list (this only applies to the London Hustings).

Sign Up Campaign: This just in

2006-08-29T04:26:00.000-07:00

A member has got in touch to express his dismay at the problems with receiving a ballot. I am in the same boat despite being registered in my home constituency for the past two years. The sender has asked to be kept anonymous.

I am writing to express my concern that I did not automatically recieve a ballot paper for the national Conservative Future elections currently underway; I have been a member of the XXXX Association continuously for at least five or six years (in addition to a couple other constituencies with which I have connections), and I know you have always had an up to date address on file for me because I always receive the Blueprint newsletter in the post.

Furthermore, you correctly have me down as being of Conservative Future age since I receive emails from you regarding XXXX CF events. So I am surprised and disappointed that I did not receive a ballot paper for the CF elections - it is my understanding that CCHQ asked associations for lists of CF members and cannot therefore understand why I did not get a ballot paper.

This morning I have had to phone the CF office in CCHQ, where it was confirmed that I was not on the list of registered CF electors, and only now are they processing a ballot paper for me. I have always found the XXXX office extremely efficient in comparison to other associations, so am doubly confused as to how this lapse occurred.

Anon

(Disenfranchised? - to request a ballot email richard.jackson@conservatives.com)

Endorsements: Richard Holloway - Publicity Officer - CF Sheffield

2006-08-29T02:08:00.000-07:00

Richard is a member of a hard working and professional CF student branch. students like those in Sheffield are able to make a huge difference to the fortunes of the local party. It is easy to overlook students or, at worst, regard them as a nuisance. However, our student branches, with a little guidance, could prove to be the key difference in winning elections in target seats.
"Having worked with Andrew on various projects, I can attest to his hard working and determined nature.

His keen vision for an professionally run CF, while unglamourous, is exactly what is needed. I am relatively new to the party and doing my utmost to campaign in Sheffield. The strong, regional focus that Andrew is pushing for is the only way to enable the talents of so many CFers to be fully harnessed."

Richard

For your amusement...

2006-08-28T13:42:00.000-07:00

Candidates Greg Stafford (NME and London West) and Matthew Richardson (NME) have hit upon the perfect formula for electoral success. I think Matt would be a good addition to the NME- his sense of humour seems to be ironclad.

Enjoy the below campaign email sent to OUCA members..... (P.S - let's see your comments)

"Dear OUCA Member,

As you may be aware, the Conservative Future annual elections are upon us once again and we are both standing for the Executive. Both of us were heavily involved in OUCA before we went down in 2004, (Matt has been OUCA Returning Officer and Greg, OUCA's candidate for the Holywell Ward) and are still regularly in touch with OUCA and its members.

OUCA has always had a healthy disrespect for Conservative Future and rightly so. The organisation provides few benefits for such an ancient and august institution as OUCA and it is usually incompetently managed. However, having left Oxford we feel that CF might benefit from a few decent people trying to turn it round and so that is why we have decided to stand.

We will certainly make sure that OUCA members who are also CF members will see the benefits of our election!!

Even if you think CF is a waste of money or at best an irrelevance, we would kindly ask for your support in the election. We will try to make that difference!

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us.

Best wishes,

Gregory Stafford Matthew Richardson
St. Peter's College St. Peter's College
Gregory.stafford@btinternet.com matthew@matthewrichardson.com
07973 119 625 07838 150 180
www.gregstafford.net www.matthewrichardson.com

VOTE STAFFORD AND RICHARDSON FOR CF NME

For the weekend: Vote or Die!!!

2006-08-25T07:23:00.000-07:00

First election bulletin yesterday, I'm off to Somerset for the weekend

Email: andrew@andrewyoungcampaign.com , will pick up emails on Monday.

I've noticed that as the election goes on more people are getting worked up. This is understandable. Outside of London (and even inside) frustration and a lack of support leave people feeling let down.

But it's not that the NME don't work, it's that a lot hard work they do is on the wrong direction. I hope with the internet projects I have started this year there is a partial solution (more details on ConHome next week), a lasting legacy that makes our communications better in the long run.

The NME needs to look to the long run with all the work it does, and cut out anything that distracts from the key tasks of building up the capability of the grassroots to thrive. Everything we do next year should be to found a lasting change.

I hope that this year's frustration can translate into something constructive, and that whatever the result, there will be a massive change in how the NME works. Lasting change is possible, and now is the time to start it.

P.S - As I may not be able to post over the weekend, here's an educational video on the value of voting. Enjoy!! (Not Safe For Work)

P.P.S - Use the email function on the bottom of this post to send it to your friends

Bees to Honey

2006-08-25T01:29:00.000-07:00

Battersea CF last night.

Battersea is the youngest constituency in the country and the Wandworth Conservatives perhaps the best organised in the country.

Here's the weird thing. Of all the constituency chairmen, only one is over the age of 35. Hence, what counts as Battersea CF (rightly, associations are flexible in defining what their CF includes) is responsible for keeping the party in winning ways.

At the next election, Battersea looks certain to be taken by the Conservatives, this will be down to the efforts of a young association leadership - but not too young. The average age last night was in the late-20s/early-30s, this is what, in Battersea, counts as CF.

To succeed as an organisation, CF must extend to these older members. Currently, the younger demographic dominates CF. This is understandable - during the wilderness years it was student branches that kept CF afloat - but there is a real benefit to having a 'youth' organisation for people much older as well.

How to do it then? Well for a start this doesn't have to involve punishing students. Rather than pursue a negative policy of exclusion, the aim should be to attract new members in the right age bracket. This involves tailoring the event to the audience.

A suggestion I think that has legs is the idea of a revived 'City Circle'. A networking organisation aimed at getting young professionals involved. Importantly, this allows for targetted recruitment events - inviting the young professionals from large companies to meet with the shadow cabinet member relevant to their profession, and recruiting shamelessly.

The Jesse Norman event was such a success because it was obviously a brainy, policy-focussed discussion. This had the natural effect of attracting an older crowd, tailoring events in this way allows members to decide for themselves what they want to go to. That should be the emphasis we focus on.

CF Radio Tonight and Battersea CF

2006-08-24T08:10:00.000-07:00

CF Radio will be interviewing the candidates for Chairman tonight.

Were I allowed any influence I would also have recorded hustings to allow members to see how their future representatives cope under pressure and how they tackle the difficult questions. As it is the Chairmen will have 7 minutes to sell you their ideas on how they would run the biggest political youth organisation in the UK.

Update: Bit of a disaster, the interview lapsed into an unfocussed and frankly boring to and fro. Look out for the absolute clanger, I mention Regionalisation only once or twice despite it being the key to the campaign. - doh!!

CF Diary: Why I am standing for Chairman.

2006-08-24T03:25:00.000-07:00

See CF Diary next week when I will be writing a more detailed piece on the work I have been doing this year

WELCOME - To visitors from Conservative Home. Have a flick through the busiest campaign website - updated daily.

Here you will find the most detailed manifesto for how we can set about transforming CF for the better. Keep checking back for campaign updates and all the news from the election trail.

On nearly all the issues I agree with the NME and Chairmen candidates about what should be done - in fact you can probably flick through the manifestoes of this year and previous years and agree yourself. However, the barrier to preventing a permanent improvement in CF's fortunes has been how we are run.

I am pledging to begin in these next nine months a process of decentralisation. Setting the NME up as a service provider that facilitates the strengthening of CF at its lowest levels.

Beginning with CF at a regional level for most of the country (with the potential to do the same at Area then branch level in future years), we will embed the principle of self-reliance and of the centre regarding its role only in the context of how it helps the grassroots.

This is the radical change I am talking about - if you believe, as I do that, this change is the only way to deliver a sustainable revival in CF then send me an email your support is welcome.

And to those of you already snapped up by the other candidates - I realise that I came into this campaign late, and some of you have been signed up for perhaps four months with the other candidates, but, if you want to break the cycle of low expectations, perhaps the real change you can make is in your support.

Endorsement: Anne-Marie Gregory, Chairman Portishead Central

2006-08-24T01:44:00.000-07:00

I’ve known Andrew since I first became a CF copywriter quite a while back now. I’d like to offer him my endorsement as the ideas which he has are exactly what Conservative Future requires.

Not only does he have ideas he has worked very hard sorting out and providing a lot of support for Media Teams, Copywriting Teams and the recent CFTV & CF Radio projects.

I agree with many of his views, especially those on regionalisation, as it is imperative members nationwide feel involved. As it stands there are many areas which have little or no involvement in CF activities as many seem to take place in London. Regionalisation will give the chance for members who would not have normally wanted to get involved on a national scale get involved within the local community and who knows maybe even boost our membership numbers.

I’d like to finish by wishing Andrew all the best in his campaign to become CF National Chairman.

Anne-Marie Gregory
Chairman Portishead Central

Anne Marie is one of the hard working young women that are helping to transform the face of the Conservative Party. CF and her local party have benefitted from her efforts, CF must make the effort to attract and retain many more like her.

Andrew