Five good reasons....

If I was voting tomorrow I would vote for the proposals as I believe that they are the best alternative to the current system for these reasons:

1) Currently all students have to pay up front and under proposals no one pays up front

2)  Students only pay until after they graduate

3)  Currently the threshold is £15k to pay back but under the proposals this will rise to £21k

4)  Everyone will pay back less per month

5)  Students who were eligible for school meals as a school pupil, will get up to two years worth of fees free whereas under the current system all students have to pay.

We all have to remember that Labour left us with the largest budget deficit since the Second World War and there is no other choice than to increase fees.

The Government has said that last year, half of young people from the most advantaged areas entered higher education, compared to just 1 in 5 from the most disadvantaged areas. Under these proposals I genuinely believe that it will help poorer students go to university as the government will pay their fees for them. Currently there is no incentive for poorer students as they still have to pay fees and a lot of them are put off by going to university.

For the facts on tuition fees click here

Members party at the CFX 2010

After the CF Chairmen Training Day on Saturday we also hosted our Christmas Party nicknamed "CFX2010" by leading blogger LondonSpin
Over 200 people attended and danced the night away until 4am. Andrew Rosindell MP addressed us all and told us how CF led the way in regards to the main party.

For the first time in Conservative Future's history we raised £1,000 that we are putting towards activities in our 2011 work programme.






CF Training Day a resounding success

On Saturday we hosted a CF Chairmen Training Day. Over 70 Chairmen representing the Regions, Areas & CF Branches of the UK turned up.

We had a jam packed agenda with workshops and speeches from senior MPs, CCHQ staff, party Chairmen’s office and outside organisations such as the cross party political organisation NOtoAV.

The day ran smoothly and we all learnt a lot about the party’s direction and future over the coming year. CCHQ told us that it was the first time in a number of years that they were relying on us to provide help with the party’s new campaigns for the coming year as well as insight into policy outlines.

It was great to see so many people who had travelled from across the UK and I can’t wait to help the regions host their own training days next year.

To read this on the CF website click here

Hexham CF Branch quick off the mark with Operation Shoebox....

Hexham Conservative Future branch have been quick off the mark with Conservative Future's Christmas Social Action project Operation Shoebox.

Click here to watch their local MP Guy Opperman giving an interview about the project.

Keep up the good work guys!

Hexham MP, Guy Opperman on the campaign trail with local CF activists

Sending some Christmas cheer to Afghanistan

"We’ve all heard a lot about the Big Society. Some say it’s about getting involved in your local community or helping your neighbours in times of need or starting your own school. But how can you get involved?

This year Conservative Future have a packed full agenda of social action projects which you can get involved in. We will be unveiling our projects over the coming weeks and months and you will have the opportunity to make a real difference in your local community. Wether related to the environment, schools or care homes, I’m confident that Conservative Future will play a vital role, this is your chance to contribute directly to our Big Society.

Our first project is Operation Shoebox, where we will be sending gifts and personal messages of thanks to our troops serving in Afghanistan, all in time for Christmas. This is your chance to get involved, so come on, grab a shoebox and fill it with goodies - I know I will."

To find out more click here

To sign up click here  

The deadline is December 4th and 9th and please send your goodies that we can pack to CCHQ.

For the full address please contact Serene

　

I urge you all to get involved in this worthwhile project to show the troops abroad your support.

This year Conservative Future is proud to present our first social action project for Christmas; Operation Shoebox.

Headed by our newest member of the National Executive Serene John-Richards she said:

CF Chairmen Training Day programme revealed...

This Saturday we are hosting the CF Chairmen Training Day which is free for all CF Chairmen across the UK to attend.


So far we've got over 50 Chairmen signed up from across the UK which is excellent news but there are still more places available!

We've managed to pack in 10 speakers over five sessions into the day including: 

- Media Training with CCHQ Press Team (they trained the current Conservative members of the Cabinet)



Me speaking at Women's Training Workshop (May 2009)



- N02AV Campaign Briefing (this item is confidential so no video recordings or photos are allowed)

- Free lunch

- Workshops with topics including the CF Work Programme for 2011, how to make your branch a success and how to increase membership

- Various MPs and GLAMs giving addresses

For security reasons we need everyone to register in advance and you can do so here  

I look forward to seeing you on Saturday and please contact me if you require any more information.

 

Media Training Workshop at CCHQ (May 2009)

 

Saturday's Action Day in Croydon

London Conservative Future headed by Regional Chairman Nic Clark came down to Croydon for a Super Saturday. Held monthly across regions in the UK, these days have been a resounding success so far.

Gavin Barwell MP hosted the day and we went canvassing in Addiscombe as well as enjoying a pub lunch!

I had a great time and it was brilliant to see so many new faces.

Nic has written up the day here

The Full CF National Executive



The New National CF Executive 2010-11

I'm pleased to announce that three new members will be joining the Conservative Future National Executive.

In the past when the National Chairman wanted to co-opt people onto the National Executive it was done behind close doors. This is the first time that Conservative Future has elected these positions and as long as you were a CF member you were eligible to stand.

14 candidates threw themselves into the ring for three positions which is remarkable and shows just how many members want to get actively involved with the body of Conservative Future.

The campaign lasted 10 days and I received lots of calls and emails as one of the voters.

I wished everyone good luck and am pleased that I now have some more people to work with on the executive as there is a lot to do!

The winners were; Serene John-Richards, Peter Smallwood and Louise Powell and I'm pleased to be working with them over the coming year. All of them have a long history of campaigning and working hard for the party during local, general and European elections.

They were strong candidates and commiseration's to all those that did not win. I know that they will stay involved and there will be lots of opportunities in the future for them to get stuck into!

On our website Ben said: "Many congratulations to those that won their elections and I look forward to working with you...commiseration's to those that have unfortunately not made their positions. It was a really close election and there will be plenty of other opportunities to get involved in the future.

This is a great day for CF, democratic elections allowing people to get more involved with campaigns, events and social action. These elections truly show a new CF is here. We have a diverse team that shows CF is representative of modern Britain - showing that young people are really keen to get involved in politics."

A big congratulations to Augustine Chipungu who got elected to the position of Eastern Regional Chairman. I look forward to working with him also.

Our National Executive team now is made up of four women and three men. This is the first time in CF's history that a National Executive has more women than men on it and shows how much has changed over the years.

For an analysis, click here

For the results in full, click here

 



London CF Action Day

London Conservative Future is campaigning for Gavin Barwell MP in Croydon this Saturday.

As most of you know I used to be the Regional Chairman for London and had a lot of fun campaigning across London (and the UK!) in the last election.

Nic Clark is the new Regional Chairman for London and has an excellent committee supporting him.

This is their second campaign day since October and I will be joining them this Saturday and hope that you will be too.

Please email me at: clare.hilley@conservativefuture.com for the event details.

The 'old London CF' campaigning for Gavin Barwell MP during the election!

Porter should resign

What began as a peaceful protest over student fees quickly transformed into a hate-filled riot. As a result of these actions, the NUS has caused huge embarrassment for itself and for London, which has affected many hundreds of innocent bystanders.

The NUS organised and advertised this protest by calling it a ‘Demolition March’ - and they certainly achieved this aim. Whilst bricks and mortar can indeed be repaired, it is the reputation of the NUS that was demolished by yesterday’s violence. Hollow sound bites and pathetic excuses from the organisation’s President Aaron Porter speak volumes about just how out of touch the NUS is with it’s members. The only way to draw a line under this tragic state of events is for its current President to do the right thing and step down.

Exciting times for CF

It’s inspiring to see so many activists putting their names forward to join the National Executive Committee and help deliver the changes Conservative Future needs to reach its full potential. Looking at the names on the list, it’s clear we have a wealth of talent available across the whole organisation, whether the candidates are old or new. CF is only great because of the people that give up their time to run branches, recruit new members, develop its culture and this is why we’re delighted that three new people will be joining the national team.

There are however big challenges in the pipeline. We need to revamp many of our branches and give Regional Chairman the support they need to grow branches and help get more activists involved in the movement. I’ve been in CF for many, many years now, and I have to say this is the time where we need to pull together and prove to the party that we are a serious, hardworking and valuable resource. I wish all candidates the very best of luck and look forward to working with them in the very near future.

Nominations in full here

CF Needs You

I have been working very closely with CCHQ over the last few weeks to work out ways to fix our membership problem forever.

I know that some of you have already contacted me to tell me your views but if you haven't and want to get involved then please contact me on: clare.hilley@conservativefuture.com

Update on One Day Conference

Our first one-day conference took place on Saturday in South London, attracting over 70 activists. The event started at 10am with a coffee reception and a welcome introduction before the main speeches began. The audience listened to speeches from Ministers, a Secretary of State, a PPS and a newly elected MP. After a buffet lunch followed by a few glasses of wine, delegates questioned speakers and spoke frankly about what policies they wanted to see from the party over the next few years.

Guests included Conservative Future members who had travelled from Birmingham and Suffolk to meet the speakers and network with other young Conservatives. The event attracted key speakers including Immigration Minister, Damian Green; Decentralisation Minister, Greg Clark; David Evenett; PPS to Michael Gove; Licensing Secretary, James Brokenshire and local Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell.

Our conference was the first in a series that was held and due to its success we are planning to hold another one before Christmas and several others in the first half on next year across the country.

Please contact me if you think that we will be able to host a similar event in your region at: clare.hilley@conservativefuture.com

Thank you to our activists who attended and for those who joined us in the pub afterwards!

To read more on the national website click here



Independent wins £1.1bn budget of London Borough Council

Yesterday was polling day in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets for its first election of a directly elected Mayor.

Since May Labour have overall control with 41 Councillors out of 51 on the Council but will now have to work very closely with the new Mayor- who is their ex-Leader who they threw out six months ago.

Lutfur Rahman is the new Mayor and ran as an independent after he was deselected as a Labour party candidate. He was backed by George Galloway’s Respect organisation.  He served as Labour leader of the Council until he was removed 6 months ago and 8 former Labour Councillors and Ken Livingstone officially backed him.

There are current questions into whether Ken Livingstone will face deselection as the current Labour party candidate for the 2012 Mayoral elections as he backed a non Labour party candidate in this election.

Only 25.6% of the electorate voted and commentators are suggesting that because of this low turn out Luffur Rahman beat Helal Abbas by 12,029 votes which is a substantial amount.

A senior Labour party figure was heard declaring Tower Hamlets, “a Britain’s Islamic republic,” due to his links with the Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE) which believes “in transforming the very infrastructure of society, its institutions, its culture, its political order and its creed…from ignorance to Islam.” These claims have been refused by the new Mayor according to Andrew Gilligan at the Telegraph.

The results were as follows:

Helal Uddin Abbas, Labour party - 11,254
Alan Duffell, Green party - 2,300
John David Macleod Griffiths, Liberal Democrats - 2,800
Neil Anthony King, Conservative party - 5,348
Lutfur Rahman, independent - 23,283

First thoughts on CSR...

I am pleased with the outcome of today’s CSR and think that the ‘quad’ did a good job in very difficult circumstances. In the opening paragraph CSR it states that, “The Coalition Government  inherited one of the most challenging fiscal positions in the world,” which I think we all have to remember.

It continues: “Last year, Britain’s deficit was the largest in its peacetime history – the state borrowed one pound for every four it spent. The UK currently spends £43 billion on debt interest, which is more than it spends on schools in England. As international bodies such as the IMF and OECD have noted, reducing the deficit is a necessary precondition for sustained economic growth. Failure to take action now would put the recovery at risk and place an unfair burden on future generations.”

I am pleased that the NHS is protected and that £2bn is being out in for social care. I am also happy that a pupil premium is being introduced to support the poorest school children.

Main announcements of CSR today:

• 490,000 public sector jobs likely to be lost
• Structural deficit to be eliminated by 2015
• £7bn in additional welfare budget cuts & £2bn in universal credit.
• Police funding cut by 4% a year
• Retirement age to rise from 65 to 66 by 2020
• Additional £2bn in capital spending
• NHS budget protected; £2bn extra for social care
• Permanent bank levy
• Winter fuel allowance, free bus passes and TV licences for over-75 kept
• 24 quangos axed
• Ring-fencing of local authority grants to end
• Social housing reform with the aim to build 150,00 new affordable homes
• BBC licence fee frozen for 6 years (equivalent to a 16% cut for them)
• RAF & Navy to lose 5,000 jobs; Army to lose 7,00 and MoD to lose 25,000 civilian staff
• Schools to get a real term increase in funding
• Police cut by 4%
• Overseas aid budget to be protected and to rise to £11.5bn to meet UN commitment.
• Aid to China and Russia to stop.
• New 1,500 capacity prison scrapped but £1.3bn capital investment in prisons
• Introduction of a fairness premium worth £7.2bn to support the poorest children

Boris would beat Ken

Whilst on the YouGov website I came across this poll that I missed when it was published yesterday.


It shows that Boris Johnson is narrowly ahead of Ken Livingstone in the 2012 London mayoral race and is YouGov's first poll of London residents.

• Boris is ahead on first preferences, by 46% to 44%.
• On a forced choice between Boris and Ken, Boris beats Ken by 46% to 41%, with 14% saying don't know.
• 58% think Johnson is doing well as Mayor which is a very high approval rating.
• 40% of voters don't think that tube workers should go on strike.

We must all remember that in 2008, YouGov was the only company to correctly predict Johnson's election as London mayor with it's final poll correctly projected at 53% to 47%.

Working Class Tory has an excellent breakdown of this- read here

Public back government on cuts

A YouGov poll for the Sun finds:

• 60% of voters agreeing that the cuts are "unavoidable";
• 46% most trust the Tories to cut the deficit and only 20% most trust Labour;
• 48% most blame Labour for the current spending cuts, just 18% blame the Coalition;
• By 52% to 25% voters agree that Labour DOES NOT have a serious alternative to the Coalition's plan.

Upcoming CSR

Over the weekend I have received a few emails from CF members about the upcoming Spending Review on Wednesday asking what it’s all about and what I think about it so here goes.....

This year the UK will be borrowing £109 billion which amounts to £4,000 for every home across the country. Over the course of the current parliament, the total cost of overspending will be £292 billion. Remember that this is a result of Labour’s mismanagement of the economy that has nothing to do with the recession as Alan Johnson (Shadow Chancellor) detailed in his speech this morning.

In Labour’s last year in office the Government spent £600 billion which equates to around £10,000 for every man, woman and child in the UK. In 2014-15 the Coalition Government plans to spend £692.7 billion which equates to £11,500 per head. This shows that increased spending can occur against a background of cuts.

When the Coalition Government came to power they planned to cut government departmental budgets by 25% by 2014-15. The six key departments are: Education; Business, Innovation & Skills; Communities & Local Government; Justice; Home Office and Energy and Climate Change.

The budgets that have been ringfenced are for the frontline of the NHS, overseas aid and some education spending. On Saturday it was leaked that the Defence budget would only suffer a 7% cut which is a large reduction from the Treasury’s original forecast of a 20% cut.

Last weekend the think tank Policy Exchange wrote a report entitled ‘Controlling Public Spending- How to cut 25%’ which makes interesting reading 

The major conclusion that I took from this report was that the cuts could be a lot higher than 25% “To maintain the ringfences to health, international development along with the lower targets of cuts to defence and education it will mean that some departments may need a cut of at least 33%”

To read more on the Spending Review click here  and look on ConHome for opinion and commentary on this.

Howlett's first piece of press coverage

Well done to Chairman of Conservative Future, Cllr Ben Howlett for securing his first piece of press coverage in the Times student section.

To read in full then please click here

Since last week's recommendations there has been a series of opinion on ths issue. For those that missed the FT's editiorial on this:

"Browne is right to be radical: Lord Browne’s report into university finance is a genuinely radical document that would, if implemented, lead to a free-market revolution in higher education provision. Participation and standards should rise, the latter driven by sharper competition between universities. And these gains could be secured without disadvantaging the less well-off."

 

Meanwhile David Blackburn from The Spectator describes the proposals as "A sustainable and permanent solution"

 

"The Browne report is 'progressive'. He has done more than enough to ensure that the low earners won't be unduly hit. The political battlt has moved to those on middle incomes."

First Super Saturday announced

If you are free this Saturday then please support London CF in it's first Super Saturday campaign day in Tower Hamlets.

This borough is currently in the middle of a campaign period where local residents will go to the polls to directly elect their mayor. Our candidate is Neil King and the Labour campaign has been fraught with difficulties which make us optimistic for a good result on the 21st.

Free PIZZA & BEER LUNCH for all CF activists.

To attend click here

ConHome wrote an article about Neil King here "His victory would not only been good for the Conservatives but for the whole political process in Tower Hamlets"

Happy 85th Birthday to my hero...Lady Thatcher

It is Lady Thatcher's 85th birthday today and I am proud to say that I have met her three times. She was the first female Prime Minister in England and is a true Conservative.

Even at the BBC they managed to make a video of her achievements!

Here is a picture of us together at our first meeting back in 2002 when I was only 20 years old:

To celebrate her birthday today this picture is my profile pic on facebook and I think that this extract from her speech shows how the Big Society has always been part of our agenda:

(from Grant Tucker on Iain Dale's Diary)

“[The Big Society] is one in which people do not leave it to the person next door to do the job.
It is one in which people help each other.
Where parents put their children first.
Friends look out for the neighbours, families for their elderly members.
That is the starting point for care and support—the unsung efforts of millions of individuals, the selfless work of thousands upon thousands of volunteers.
It is their spirit that helps to bind our society together.
Caring isn't measured by what you say:
It's expressed by what you do.”

My view on the Browne Review

Yesterday Lord Browne (Head of BP until his resignation in 2008) published his report entitled "Securing a Sustainable Future for Higher Education" that gave recommendations for university funding. His review calls for:

- The current tuition fee cap of £3,290 to be lifted and for universities to be allowed to set their own price

- Universities which charge more than £6,000 a year will be hit by government charges but they could charge as much as £12,00 a year

- The salary threshold at which student loan repayments start should be raised from the current £15,000 to £21,000

- Universities that want to charge more than £6,000 will have to meet high standards of teaching and contribute more to poorer students

- No student would pay back their loan until they were in work with outstanding loans written off for 30 years

- Higher-earning graduates would pay back their loans at an interest rate equal to the Government's cost of borrowing, while those earning below the threshold would pay no real interest rate

I have mixed feelings about this review as I was the first person in my family to go to university and just managed to miss paying tuition fees that I campaigned against whilst at Lancaster University but I do understand that our universities need to be funded adequately.

Our CF Chairman Ben Howlett made a statement on behalf of CF and supports Browne's recommendations. He focuses on the neglect of higher education under Labour over the last 13 years as the major reason as to why university fees have to go up.

To be fair I agree with this sentiment somewhat as Labour did not invest into our universities and instead created targets that 50% of 18 year olds must go to university which is why at some universities the drop out rate is 25% as they did not want to even be there in the first place.

We should be investing in our universities and there are a few progressive proposals in the review that I support such as raising the threshold of repayment to £21,000 and bringing in extra grants and loans for the poorest students.

However one of the main reasons as to why I am a Conservative is because I believe that if you work hard and grab every opportunity you can then you should prosper. I hope that the idea of a loan will not penalise students who want to go to university as this will be very damaging in the national interest.

Personally I believe that full student grants should be brought back (as they were in the 80s) so that someone from a poor background who does not want to get into debt/cannot afford too get into debt can still attend university. 

Other views on the Browne Review in the blogosphere:

at tbg: "Education must be accessible to all, no matter how much money you have. It looks as if it'll be the middle classes not sending their children to university."

at ConservativeFuture to read CF Chairman Ben Howlett's statement in full

It's interesting to note that the youth movement of the Liberal Democrats is not toeing the party line on this one: "Fee Rise would be a disaster"



Let me know what you think.....

Read the report in full HERE

Social Action in Birmingham

This year I helped out with the party's social action project in the Alum Rock estate, east of Birmingham City. Alum Rock is an inner-city suburb, renowned for its vibrant Asian fabric and textile industry.


Leading up to Conference, Conservative volunteers have been involved in a number of smaller projects taking place in the Alum Rock area, focusing on health and education.


During Conference I helped refurbish a disused and rundown building called the 'Dolphin Centre' in Ward End Park. I painted the radiators white and at the end of conference the whole centre was renovated and it will provide much needed community, education and training facilities.


I am really proud that I was part of this excellent project and believe that we should all do more to help communities in need. Social Action is about people across the country doing their bit to help their local communities and building a better society for everyone. As a Conservative, Social Action is the very lifeblood of everything we believe in and stand for.


Here are some pictures of me at the project- enjoy!

Alum Rock logo

Myself, Jonathan, Serene & RC for London Nic at the centre

Nura and myself at the centre

Painting a radiator!

Our signatures (bottom right) on the wall of the centre

Changing Membership Forever

The reason CF is a fantastic organisation is down to its members. Our strength lies with our activists who work tirelessly across the country and provide the backbone that the party needs, mostly with little or no reward. As CF Deputy Chairman, with the portfolio for membership it is my responsibility to make sure that our members are happy, engaged, and receive training that will let them reach their full potential. In order to achieve this I need to first work out why turnout was so low in the recent CF elections.

Here are a few facts:

- CF has a membership of approximately 15,000 as any person who joins the Conservative Party that is aged under 30 is automatically becomes a member of CF.

- In 2008 our membership consisted of 12,000 members, 9,000 ballots were sent out and only 768 members voted.

This year most activists were predicting an increase in turnout as CF had gained over 3,000 members since 2008. However as only 200 votes were cast overall this meant that turnout was lower than last time at a disappointing 1.2%

This is simply not adequate and as I start my term of office I am aiming to have a turnout of at least 10% in the next CF national election. 

After consulting with members across the country over the past few weeks these are the major reasons as to why I believe turnout was so low:

1)    CF members were not aware that there was a CF election

2)    CF members who wanted to vote did not receive a ballot paper

3)    CF members who received a ballot paper did not feel the election was relevant to them thus did not vote.

4)    CF members were not aware that they were part of CF so thought that the ballot paper that they received was not intended for them

I believe that the main problem with this election was that communication between CCHQ, local associations and branches was inadequate. Back in July CCHQ contacted every local association across the country and asked them to send them a list of all of their members aged 30 and under; the date that the member joined the association; the member’s DOB and address. Some associations sent this data to CCHQ straight away but others did not, which resulted in CF members being denied ballot papers if they had joined via their local association.

When the CF members in question contacted CCHQ about not receiving a ballot paper during the election period, CCHQ was slow in responding to their request or did not respond at all which resulted in CF members who wanted to vote in the election being denied the chance which is simply unsatisfactory.

My frustration at this current system is that if you want to join CF then there are three methods to do it. Firstly you can join via a CF branch at your college or university, through your local association or through the main CF website where you pay your subscription online. The major problem in joining through these three methods is that there is no central database list of our members. The only list that CCHQ have is of the members who joined via the CF website. They rely heavily on local associations and CF branches to send the data into CCHQ so that additional members can then be added to the list. However the majority of CF branches and local associations do not send this data into CCHQ so the CF members in question simply do not exist.

This current system has been in place for over ten years now and it is quite simply inadequate and unsatisfactory and I believe that a radical overhaul is necessary. I am currently in the process of working out with CCHQ how a member can only join using one method but equally ensuring that local associations and CF branches get to keep the subscription money that CF members bring.

The Regional Chairman for Wales Grant Tucker is helping me out with this process as Wales was the most disenfranchised region in the country which is unacceptable.

Another thing that has struck me is that how many CF members were not aware of CF or that we had an election. This should be overcome by having a centralised database with all of our members on as we will be able to send frequent updates about CF activity in their area. I attended the Future Conference that the National Convention hosted last Saturday and they are proposing changes to the structure of local associations which would include making sure that there is a CF Officer on every association executive. This would help us out further as CF members in local associations would be able to be kept updated through their local CF Officer.

Lastly, the majority of CF members tend to ignore CF elections as they feel that it is not relevant to them as they are not at university and are young professionals. In order to change their perception we need to build upon our relationships with outside organisations like City Future, CWF, TRG, The Bow Group, CWO and other Conservative and conservative leaning organisations to provide the training and opportunities that our CF members need.

Lastly if you would like to help me out with this process of changing our membership database then please contact me at: clare.hilley@conservativefuture.com

Campaigning during the May election in Sutton & Cheam