Working for a Conservative Future

Editorial

By the Webmaster

Hi,
    For those of you who don't know me, I was the secretary of the Committee for 2000-2001, Philip Stobbart, on whom fell the prestigious task of putting together the Society's web site as we pass into the third recorded Millennium. I decided, and the Committee lethargically agreed, to include in the site an editorial for members of the Committee or guest writers to express their views on topical matters or things in general. Well what could be more topical than a general talk on what the Society has done in the two years I have been a member of the society, and what we will continue to do as, I hope, you attain that utopia that is Conservative Future UCL membership.

Fast, reliable news on the new developments in politics get passed around and discussed in our meetings. Near the end of the 99-00 year, I was able to take advantage of a message from our man in central office, David Loader, to locate and attend a Conservative Future rally in the Committee room of the Palace of Westminster itself. The event was free and involved speakers such as Norman Tebbit, Michael Ancram, William Hague - fresh from Prime Ministers Questions, and a whole plethora of speech writers and party activists filling in when ever a silent moment came. The speakers took questions from the audience, nominally one from Birmingham university, but we London colleges took our moment. This year saw a reception in the Palace of Westminster, including visits from members of the Shadow Cabinet such as Dr Liam Fox, Shadow Secretary of State for Health and the Shadow Chancellor, Micheal Portillo.

Our central London position means that we are close to both the seat of power in England and the best restaurants the West End can offer. We took advantage of both in 99-00 - the previous Committee happily filling up several evennings with a good meal and get-together for the whole society. In November 2000, we expanded on this, including in the House of Commons reception when party activists from many other Colleges and Westminster joined us for the Imperial College run event. The Committee are always open to your suggestions on who we should invite, both to these events and the more formal speaker events, don't be afraid to make contact with Them! Even non-members can call in as long as they pay a pound for the privilege, so since you can be a part of the fun, send your suggestions to them. We will listen.

Taking advantage of our proximity to Westminster, in 99-00 we visited the Palace to have a talk delivered to us by the shadow Defence minister, Ian Duncan-Smith, providing his views on the Labour-Conservative divide and how to run the MoD. Afterwards, he took us downstairs and obtained passes for us to go into Stranger's gallery and listen to the proceedings in the Commons - an amusing and insightful experience. He also offered us tickets for the House of Lords, but we were unfortunately too late as the day's session had already come to an end, and their Lordships had already departed. Oh well, better luck next time...

Of course, one thing we will always have is a fantastic selection of speakers from the world of politics. 99-00 saw Michael Howard (with a Special Branch bodyguard), Anne Widdecombe and John Redwood. John brought with him a case of editions of his new book which he happily signed and sold to the poor students at a reasonably extortionate price. Yes, I bought one. We will continue to bring you the very highest quality of speakers, not just Tory MPs, but columnists, activists and other notable supporters of the Party. In 2000-2001, we heard from such people as John Bercow, John Stafford and Dr Liam Fox. We always try not to repeat ourselves from year to year, rotating the speakers to keep the interest of past members, and introducing speakers that wouldn't normally be asked - maybe a member knows an activist whom he/she knows is a wonderful speaker who could keep the society enthralled for ages, talking about his job and various experiences, these people we need to speak at our society metings.

For those on the spot and ready to move at any instant, we can satisfy you as well. In the first few weeks of the last Committee's life, the Conservative Party launched its 'Keep the Pound' event. To get their web site, www.keepthepound.org.uk, known, the Party organized a launch in a cyber-cafe on New Oxford street. The night before, the grapevine was activated to motivate Conservative Future ranks all over London, and make us converge on the cafe and create a large audience to cheer on the party officials as they typed in their allegiance. I arrived at the unholy hour of eleven O'clock - not student friendly - to see the grand throng, a selection of people to represent the body from every college in the University of London, which, considering our own ranks of fifty people, should have been huge. Three other students looked back, huddled around one rather modern looking steel table, one of them with a cappuccino. To show how committed the other colleges were, one of the three I came across was our own president Emma Varley. Still, we saw William Hague, Michael Portillo and Francis Maude - Hague was even able to greet us all personally. We then tore the place apart, having been told they had no further use for the keep the pound pens, coasters or mouse mats, we were then given a mouse mat signed by Hague as a reminder of the momentous event. When Michael Portillo returned to Parliament as the MP for Kensington and Chelsea, it was partly due to the hard campaigning done by dedicated members of our society. So much so, we met the man himself and the sketchwriter for the Times, Mathew Paris, who happily wrote about our exploits. Prepare for lots more of this as the Party gears up for the imminent elections.

Finally, we must not forget about our collaborations with other societies. The History Department kindly stepped in and gave us a call when they got sir Edward Heath KG MBE Mp, leader of the Conservatives 1965-1975, Prime-minister, 1970-1974, the longest serving Member of Parliament and Father of the House of Commons, to give his side of the EU and the people involved. After an amusing and enlightening talk, he brought out his case of books - nearly half the price, over twice the size of Redwood's - signed and sold them to the students around. This year, we intend to forge closer links to the debating society to give much more to the opinions of members than relegation to a quick question and answer session at the end of the speech.

So, should you be a potential speaker, a UCL student or even someone who wants to know how he or she can get along in the Conservative Party, and Conservative Future in particular, give our society a go. We have come this far in the three years since Colette De Konning reformed the lapsed group, just think how far the third Committee can take you now we have new direction, new purpose and can build on the second Committee's own exploits. If you want the social side, we have it, if you want to meet the good and the great of Conservative politics in Britain today, we have it, if you want to progress in student politics, remember I only joined the society in the 99-2000 year, and now I'm a retired Committee member!