Outsiders looking in must be perplexed with the machinations going on within the Conservative Party. The outburst that took me most by surprise was Lord Howe's utterances this weekend about the leader losing control over the party activists. Lord Howe, most famous perhaps for his part in Margaret Thatcher's downfall, told David Cameron to get a grip of his Eurosceptic MPs and to ignore grass-root calls for EU re-negotiations.
It begs a fundamental question - should the leader be directing the grass-root thinking in a top down manner or should the activists be the ones establishing the party direction? However beyond that though, at the heart of the issue is what connection is there between the leader choosen by the party and the party rank and file? And the answer to that at present appears to be - not a lot. There seems to be a complete lack of trust by the general rank and file in David Cameron and his small metropolitan elite circle. The views of the rank and file seem increasingly disconnected with those of the leader.
Does the party therefore need a whole new rank and file or does it need a new leader? With members defecting in droves to UKIP and the extraordinary sight of a full page advert in the Daily Telegraph today from Nigel Farage inviting Tories to switch to his party, it seems that Cameron is jettisoning those members he doesn't want yet not replacing them with anyone else. He seem intent on destroying the bedrock of foot soldiers that do all the hard graft at election time - delivering leaflets, knocking on doors, getting the message out to an increasingly apathetic electorate.
Where does that leave me? Not that I'm important in any way, but it is my blog so I feel at liberty to ask, then answer the question. I've just come out of an County election campaign from which I would have been quite comfortable standing on either the Conservative or UKIP local manifestoes. That's not really surprising given that the UKIP manifesto was written by ex-Conservatives. One manifesto attracted 577 votes, the other 537 votes. The MP Nadine Dorries is suggesting in the 2015 General Election that candidates could perhaps stand on a joint ticket. I'm not suggesting for one moment that someone standing in my County division on a joint ticket would have picked up all 1,114 votes (577+537) but I'm guessing enough to win. Before I heard that UKIP was standing I felt quietly confident that I was in with a good chance, but the moment I heard that UKIP were putting up a candidate in the Division I knew in my heart of hearts that the battle was lost.
I'm not now going to jump ship and join the Farage crew. But I would like to see a change in our party leadership to someone who can work with the UKIP leadership to re-unite the right of centre in UK politics. Someone that the rank and file can feel confident is a true Conservative who represents their views rather than regards them as swivel-eyed loonies. When I see how our present leader runs the party, my eyes roll rather than swivel. Let's get our party back and put out a united message for the 2015 election. The alternative is a Milliband government with Ed Balls holding the (empty) purse strings. Conservative MPs - its over to you!
Monday, 20 May 2013
Friday, 3 May 2013
THE RESULT
The day of reckoning - Friday 3rd May, the count day. Gipping Valley Division was one of five divisions due to start counting from 9.00am with a result anticipated by 10.30am.
I arrived at the smart Trinity Park Conference Centre at about 9.15am with the verification of the ballot papers (ie. number of papers = number issued) already underway. At this point the ballot papers are clearly visible as they are counted, pre-sorting, and the first impression was a lot of votes for UKIP.
The votes are then separated into individual candidate piles and the three piles for Conservative, UKIP and Lib Dem seemed to be fairly evenly matched. My heart was in my mouth - could I possibly squeeze through with a tight win?
The answer regrettably was NO.
When every vote had been collated into candidate batches the final result was:-
Lib Dem 713, Conservatives 577, UKIP 537, Labour & Co-op 301, Green 100. So the County Councillor of twelve years, John Field was returned for another four year term. And the realisation that all my hard work had been in vain - another second place for me in a County election.
At least with 136 votes separating the first and second place I don't feel the need to beat myself up with 'what could I have done extra?' type questions. A few extra votes here and there wouldn't have bridged that shortfall. The un-answered question in my mind though remains - in a straight three way contest of Conservative, Lib Dem and Labour what might the result have been? But that of course is academic - one must play the hand one is dealt.
At local level the phrase VOTE UKIP get LIB DEM rings true just as VOTE UKIP get LABOUR is the likely result at national level. When I think to myself that in that conference centre full of people no one else there, and I repeat no one else there, could be more anti-EU than myself, then it becomes incredibly frustrating.
And when one of our local village stores effectively sponsors one of the candidates then I must continue to remember why I prefer to shop at the One Stop store in the village.
Thanks to those that helped out and supported me from the district office - a very small crew but a much appreciated one. And finally a big thank you to the 576 other people who like me put their X against my name.
I arrived at the smart Trinity Park Conference Centre at about 9.15am with the verification of the ballot papers (ie. number of papers = number issued) already underway. At this point the ballot papers are clearly visible as they are counted, pre-sorting, and the first impression was a lot of votes for UKIP.
The votes are then separated into individual candidate piles and the three piles for Conservative, UKIP and Lib Dem seemed to be fairly evenly matched. My heart was in my mouth - could I possibly squeeze through with a tight win?
The answer regrettably was NO.
When every vote had been collated into candidate batches the final result was:-
Lib Dem 713, Conservatives 577, UKIP 537, Labour & Co-op 301, Green 100. So the County Councillor of twelve years, John Field was returned for another four year term. And the realisation that all my hard work had been in vain - another second place for me in a County election.
At least with 136 votes separating the first and second place I don't feel the need to beat myself up with 'what could I have done extra?' type questions. A few extra votes here and there wouldn't have bridged that shortfall. The un-answered question in my mind though remains - in a straight three way contest of Conservative, Lib Dem and Labour what might the result have been? But that of course is academic - one must play the hand one is dealt.
At local level the phrase VOTE UKIP get LIB DEM rings true just as VOTE UKIP get LABOUR is the likely result at national level. When I think to myself that in that conference centre full of people no one else there, and I repeat no one else there, could be more anti-EU than myself, then it becomes incredibly frustrating.
And when one of our local village stores effectively sponsors one of the candidates then I must continue to remember why I prefer to shop at the One Stop store in the village.
Thanks to those that helped out and supported me from the district office - a very small crew but a much appreciated one. And finally a big thank you to the 576 other people who like me put their X against my name.
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
THE FINAL DAY OF THE CAMPAIGN
It doesn't seem that long ago that I wrote the number 52 on my calendar next to Monday 11th March, then 51 on the 12th etc. etc. The long countdown to the election on 2nd May. The weather was totally different - freezing cold winds, snow showers, hail storms whereas these last few days have been gloriously sunny - but the time has certainly flowed by VERY QUICKLY. Certainly my wife will be glad when its all over, any leaflets remaining put in the recycling and the dining room back to normal.
Since I last posted on here I've produced a second leaflet - a two sided black and white A4. Not the glossy affair that arrived from the Lib Dems (after a little persuasion from my wife we got a copy!) but with, I hope, an effective message. I'm very aware that the "squeezed middle" are the ones most suffering from the austerity aftermath of Labour's years of binge spending. Inflation continues but wages and salaries are in many cases are just not keeping pace. That's why I wholeheartedly support the decision to freeze council tax for four years. It won't be easy to do and there will be some difficult choices to make over that period but it is the right approach. I think most politicians don't really get how unpopular council tax is - unlike income tax and NI it isn't subtly taken from your pay before you see it, but is right there every month on your bank statement, teasingly staying in your account from payday until the 15th then whisked away by 'DD'.
My leaflet also sets out my local connections in an election where two candidates live some distance away - in Stowmarket and Debenham. My only reason for standing is to represent my neighbours and my community - what is their motivation I wonder in parachuting into the Gipping Valley?
There's work still to be done today to reach out to voters who haven't yet received my second leaflet. In a perfect world all those leaflets would have gone out yesterday and today as an "eve of poll" leaflet but the reality, with over 3,000 homes in the Division, is that it is at least a full week job.
I'll post again on Friday when all the ballot papers have been counted. In an election where the Conservatives are expected to lose seats not gain them, I can only grasp on the thinnest strand of hope. But for today and tomorrow at least, there remains hope.
Since I last posted on here I've produced a second leaflet - a two sided black and white A4. Not the glossy affair that arrived from the Lib Dems (after a little persuasion from my wife we got a copy!) but with, I hope, an effective message. I'm very aware that the "squeezed middle" are the ones most suffering from the austerity aftermath of Labour's years of binge spending. Inflation continues but wages and salaries are in many cases are just not keeping pace. That's why I wholeheartedly support the decision to freeze council tax for four years. It won't be easy to do and there will be some difficult choices to make over that period but it is the right approach. I think most politicians don't really get how unpopular council tax is - unlike income tax and NI it isn't subtly taken from your pay before you see it, but is right there every month on your bank statement, teasingly staying in your account from payday until the 15th then whisked away by 'DD'.
My leaflet also sets out my local connections in an election where two candidates live some distance away - in Stowmarket and Debenham. My only reason for standing is to represent my neighbours and my community - what is their motivation I wonder in parachuting into the Gipping Valley?
There's work still to be done today to reach out to voters who haven't yet received my second leaflet. In a perfect world all those leaflets would have gone out yesterday and today as an "eve of poll" leaflet but the reality, with over 3,000 homes in the Division, is that it is at least a full week job.
I'll post again on Friday when all the ballot papers have been counted. In an election where the Conservatives are expected to lose seats not gain them, I can only grasp on the thinnest strand of hope. But for today and tomorrow at least, there remains hope.
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