Driving Social Action in 2010

Social Action is about people across the country doing their bit to help their local communities and building a better society for everyone. As Conservatives, Social Action is the very lifeblood of everything we believe in and stand for. That’s why I’m delighted to be leading Conservative Future’s National Social Action Programme for 2010, to help activists up and down the country engage in local projects and help make a difference in their areas.

In my previous role as National Campaigns Director, I met hundreds of Conservative Future activists who voluntarily gave up hours of their time not just on election campaigns, but on fundraising, community schemes and school projects that make a real impact on the day-to-day lives of communities. This experience was not only inspiring, it proved to me that Conservative Future activists are always ready to help make life better for those around them and deliver real change for the future.

I’m also delighted to announce the appointment of Tarasyn Whitehead-Patey as joint CF Social Action Coordinator, to help Conservative Future better engage with out local action teams on the ground across the UK. We are currently drawing up a detailed plan for the year ahead and will be liaising with our Regional Chairman to ensure all our efforts have maximum impact and success. It’s going to be an incredible journey, and I know that Conservative Future will once again deliver a first class programme of Social Action projects of which we can be truly proud.

Back from London CF Launch Party

The campaign his officially launched, so I'm hitting the trail in Watford all weekend!

Busy week last week

Wow, it went like lightning, but I managed to cram two GENEVA sessions, three meetings and one major CF social all into one week. It was inspiring to see so many young activists helping our cause and dedicating themselves to winning new pledges for our candidates. It was also great to see so many new faces and meet so many new people on the campaign trail.


I’ll be updating you all on my election strategy for London within the next few days.

Best Regards

Patrick

My New year Message on The Blue Blog

In case you missed my New Year campaign message on The Blue Blog then you can see the full piece here .

London Spin Online Returns

It has been a long time since any of us had the pleasure of reading London Spin, as the site was pulled from the internet back in March. I have to say it always provided me and others with a chuckle and always managed to scoop the best stories first, no matter how explosive.

As it stands, London Spin appears to be back up and running for the long term and I’m pretty sure it won’t be long before the more exciting stories start hitting the wire. Take a look here.

We all need to go the extra mile for this election

With a general election fast approaching, proving to the public that the Conservative Party is ready to lead must be a top priority for all of us. Against the backdrop of voter apathy and a tired and crumbling Labour Government, voters need to see that we are working hard to deliver the message of change. No Government will ever win an election on a complacent campaign with average effort.

Make no mistake – this battle is going to be tough, but I know that our activists are ready for the challenge ahead. As a member of the National Executive Committee for Conservative Future, I have the privilege of working with seasoned campaigners across the country and I can confirm that their commitment and dedication is second to none.

We are lucky in that our Party Chairman puts good, solid campaigning at the very heart of his strategy, and this sets a good example for all of use. Our by-election and mayoral victories over the last few years were not achieved through Conservative members sitting back and hoping for the polls to swing. We prevailed in these challenges because our party proved that it was hungry to bring change and ready to help pull Britain out from Labour’s catastrophic failures.

Our youth movement has already managed numerous regional campaign days of the last year, helping top candidates in crucial seats to get the message out. Recently, our team has lead weekly telephone canvassing sessions at CCHQ’s GenEVA centre, strengthening campaigns across the country and adding real value to the Conservative Party’s campaign machine.



Indeed, Conservative Future is an addictive organisation, and one, which many activists regularly give up their evenings and weekends for on a completely voluntary basis. These examples prove that our members always put the needs of their party first and with this winning formula I know that we can all pull together and make a huge impact on the campaign trail.

The election countdown has already begun and Gordon Brown and his underlings are already plotting for numerous ways to bring us down. So lets send this crumbling Labour Government a message through our campaign activities and show the party and our country that Conservative activists take nothing for granted and are ready for the hard work ahead to bring real change for the future.

A failed and hypercritical strategy

Gordon Brown’s poorly judged personal attack on David Cameron over where he attended school seems to have backfired after it was revealed a great many people in his own cabinet attended fee paying schools.

Eric Pickles quite correctly pointed out on this morning’s today programme that people should be judged on what they are offering rather than where they’re from.