IN TOUCH WITH FORMER CONSERVATIVE AGENTS

Issue 38 Patron The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major, KG, CH August 2016

Longer than usual this issue, as we have been “off air” since “L’Affaire Brexit”….

We shall not revisit the heated debates of recent weeks. Suffice to say that there are some who are euphoric at the result of the Referendum, and others who regard the outcome with dismay and disbelief. There are some who feel they can never again support the Party, and others whose waning faith is now fully restored. Friendships have subtly changed, sometimes eviscerated , and the future will never be the same again.

But we can all unite in wishing our new Prime Minister well in her future task of navigating this (still) United Kingdom through the tempestuous seas ahead. We are giving our last word on the subject, for now, to JAMES GOODSMAN, retired Director of the Party in Scotland, who has been happily domiciled in France since retirement:

BREXIT – A VIEW FROM FRANCE

The view from France can be summed up in two words – incredulity and sadness. I don’t think many French people expected the referendum to go the way it did and there was general incredulity that it had done so. People were shocked. I found it quite touching that so many people – many of them unknown to us personally – stopped us in the street to say how sad they were about the result and hoped that this would not mean an exodus of British people who add so much to the local community.

There is, of course, some anxiety about the future amongst the British community. Some have decided to return to the UK, mainly to take advantage of the NHS, whilst a much larger group, who are committed to a future in France, are seeking French nationality - many in disgust at a decision taken by a significant proportion of OUT voters – who were too stupid to understand what they were doing.

The departure of David Cameron, who was much liked here, was almost universally regretted. The French media made much of him as a person and also his enormous contribution to international affairs during his premiership. Again ordinary people seemed sad and perplexed.

However when the new government took office, incredulity returned. A French friend of mine who assiduously follows British politics put it to me like this, “At a time when the world has seldom been more dangerous, you British have chosen to cut yourselves off from the rest of us and have chosen to be represented on the world stage by a buffoon”. Whether one likes this or not, it is an almost universally held view in France.

More recently, I have sensed from the papers and the many political discussion programmes on television, a growing sense of irritation at plans to drag this out. The general opinion is “you have chosen to go – so go and go quickly”. However recent events here have chased Brexit off not just the front pages but all pages. I fear, however, that recent long delays at Dover may become a regular feature as the French try to come to terms with international terrorism.

There is already evidence that French businesses and commercial interests appear to be stepping up a gear to take advantage of this new reality, and British-based businesses moving parts or all of their operations to continental Europe can be assured of a warm welcome here in France.

The British decision to leave is accepted but with much regret. I do not think, however, the French political class will be remotely interested in making the exit easy. Difficult times lie ahead. In the months to come, I fear that, although there will be many handshakes, there will be few smiling faces.

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DEATHS

We regret to announce the recent deaths of JACK GREENWOOD, JEAN HARRIS, DIANA MELDRUM, ALISON POLSON, SYLVIA SILLAR and DOUGLAS ROBINSON

We rarely print obituaries or tributes because, due to the nature of our Newsletter and our collective ages, we would have room for little else. However we thought that you might appreciate an extract from the remarks given by CHRIS POOLE at TONY DURANT’S funeral. Tony was one of the minute number of qualified agents who have gone on to become MP’s.

SIR ANTHONY DURANT A TRIBUTE

Robert Anthony Bevis Durant, Tony, was born on the 9th January 1928.

Even as a schoolboy he was an enthusiastic supporter of causes he believed in, and pastimes he enjoyed. So it came as no surprise to his friends when he started the School Film Club. This was so well received that Tony started selling tickets to gain admission. The Club became such an attraction that he was summoned to the Headmaster’s study to be told, “Durant, I run this school, not you”. However, it taught him the basics of running a business, and helped him understand the importance of listening to people’s views, whether they be customers or just friends. So it could be said that he started to hone his business and political skills from a very early age.

Maybe politics was in his blood, as he was not, allegedly, the first Durant in the family to go into politics. That honour goes to George Durant, 200 years earlier. George, it is said, made his considerable wealth from the slave trade, bought the parliamentary seat of Evesham from a friend, had an affair with the wife of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, made her pregnant, and then eloped with a Quaker lady who was the daughter of a vinegar brewer from Lambeth. So no similarities there. Although they did have one thing in common. To encourage electors to vote for them, they both handed out collectables. George distributed inscribed cut glass goblets, Tony distributed beer mats.

Tony was called up for National Service in 1945, joining the Royal Navy. A disappointment to his Father who was a serving army officer. Following two years in the Royal Navy he joined Coutts Bank and in 1948 joined the Young Conservatives as a volunteer. However, his commitment and enthusiasm for politics in general, and the Conservative Party in particular, meant that he was spending more and more time on YC activities, and less time on banking business. So in 1952 he took the Conservative Agents’ entrance exam. and, on passing, was promptly sent to Yorkshire to take on the role of Young Conservative Organiser for the whole of the county. In those days the Party had a training college at Swinton in Yorkshire, and Tony made use of this asset to organise YC leadership courses and conferences. It was at one of these events in 1957 that he met Audrey Stoddart, and he proposed to her 3 weeks later. They were married on 7th June 1958.

It was in that same year that he left Yorkshire to take up the position of Agent for the Labour held seat of Clapham. At the General Election in 1959 with Dr. Alan Glyn as the candidate, they won the seat with a majority of 1876 votes. Learning how to campaign in a marginal constituency was the perfect preparation for things to come.

Working for the Conservative Party was never a well-paid occupation, and Clapham was no exception. Tony mentioned this to a senior Agent colleague, JIM HANKEY, who said “Tony, I might be able to give you a bit of work to help make ends meet”. Thinking this would involve additional Party work, Tony said “yes please”, and Jim promised to confirm things in writing. A few days later the letter from Jim Hankey arrived. Imagine Tony’s surprise when he studied the contents. It read:

“I have discussed your situation with those who are connected with me in running our lonely hearts club dances, and are prepared to offer you the position of Master of Ceremonies at our Victoria dance club. We have an attendance of around 150 each evening, and we could offer you £1.10 shillings to start” In fact things went so well that Tony got to

3 sing with the band, and the highlight was always the last dance, with Tony crooning the Al Bowlly classic,”Who’s Taking You Home Tonight?”.

In 1962 Tony was appointed National Young Conservative Organiser, and during the 1966 General Election he was responsible for Edward Heath’s election tours, and was part of a 5 strong Flying Squad who went on the road handling the Press. This did not always go according to plan however, as on one occasion the vehicle he was in collided with, of all people, a car load of press reporters, before crashing into a diversion sign that wrote off the car. To Tony’s relief, Ted Heath was in the car in front. For the Leader’s own good, Tony exerted a firm hand over Ted, on one occasion telling an airline stewardess that if Mr. Heath wanted a beer or a glass of wine that was fine, but if he asks for whisky, come to me first. It occurs to me that this policy should also have applied to the driver of the car.

Tony realised that if he were to achieve his ambition to be an MP it would be wise to get a “proper job”, so in 1967 he moved to a visual aids company that specialised in producing educational and sports training films, called Talking Pictures, where he became a Director. This gave him time to involve himself in local government as a councillor on Woking Urban District Council, where he served as Vice Chairman of the Conservative Group. He also represented the council on the Surrey County Council Education Committee, and was elected Chairman. In addition, he also served as Chairman of the Woking Conservative Association.

Tony contested the Rother Valley constituency in 1970 and was selected for Reading North in 1972.

It was obvious from day 1 that the General Election, whenever it came, was going to be difficult. The seat had been re-distributed making it more unpredictable than in the past, Labour was ahead by a considerable margin in the opinion polls, and the organisation was only good in parts. When he and I met to discuss tactics, Tony said that as he saw things, we had only two options. Either use every available moment to build up the branch structure throughout the constituency, or concentrate on getting to know the non- political groups and charities that operated in the town, and it was this plan we decided to adopt. So energetic was Tony that in a very short space of time, it seemed that everybody knew of Tony Durant. The plan worked, and in February 1974 Tony was returned to Parliament with a majority of 2369.

The very next day, as a first priority Tony set up a card index system of every elector who from that day onwards called on him for help. No Ipads in those days. He also set himself a challenge, which frustratingly for him, he was never to achieve. I will return to that later.

The General Election result across the country gave Labour the slimmest of majorities, and a second election was inevitable. Tony decided that he would spend as little time as possible at Westminster, and as much time as possible in Reading, and set about following an exhaustive programme of meeting the people. It was at this election that the idea of distributing the beer mats I referred to earlier started, and was a popular part of every campaign from then on. In fact in modern day language, it went viral. The word for beer mat collecting is Tegestology and from that election onwards, we were inundated with requests from Tegestologists around the world for the latest design.

He was a common sense politician, and even though every vote would count, he said it as he saw it. I was with him on one occasion when he visited an elector on the Southcote Estate, who had written to Tony complaining that the council was not responding to his request for maintenance repairs to his council house. We knocked on the door and a voice called out “come round to the back door” It transpired that the front door had swollen, and had been stuck for six months. Tony took down all the details, and then just as we were about to leave asked the man “what do you do for a living” to which he replied “I’m a carpenter”. To which Tony responded, “then, my advice to you is to get out your plane and ease the door yourself.”

Harold Wilson called the second General Election of 1974 in October, and the polls suggested a Labour win in Reading North. But national polls do not take account of the qualities of an individual candidate, and the enormous amount of work Tony had put in. The decision to forge links with the non- political groups in the town, as well as an exhaustive doorstep campaign paid off, and Tony was re-elected with a majority of 468.

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However, Tony did not rest on his laurels, and was returned again in 1979, and then for Reading West in 1983, 1987, and 1992. At each of those last four General Elections he achieved over 50% of the vote. It was the electorate’s way of saying “ thank you for your diligence, thank you for caring, thank you for always being there and putting us first.”

Let me give you one example of that diligence. There are not many MPs who, on Christmas morning, would go to the fire station and say to those on duty, “I realise that you are giving up your Christmas Day, and many of you have children at home, so I have just come along to say thankyou for giving up your celebrations to keep the rest of us safe”. That’s what Tony did. He made similar calls to the Ambulance Station. It is not difficult to see why he was known as Mr. Reading, a Man of the People.

He also went out on patrol with the police. On one occasion, a late Saturday night in Friar Street , the patrol pulled over a driver who seemed to be wandering somewhat, and upon taking a breathalyser test was found to be over the limit. The person concerned happened to be a reporter for the Reading Evening Post, and as he was placed in the back seat of the police car, to be taken to the Police Station, saw Tony sitting there, upon which he exclaimed,” Oh no Tony, they haven’t caught you as well”

Tony Durant supported so many organisations, the list is too long to cover. But his involvement was not about gaining votes, it was a genuine desire to be supportive, encouraging, and helpful, and I am sure those with whom he worked so enthusiastically, will endorse that view.

Tony’s interests were wide and varied, but outside of his family, his first love was boating. He was a Waterman and Lighterman, and served for many years as President of the Reading Town Regatta. He was an enthusiastic member of the River Thames Society, helped raise £25 million to complete the restoration of the Kennet and Avon Canal, and……… he learned to Punt on the River Wey.

In fact Tony and Audrey spent their honeymoon on the river, which sounds very romantic. What actually happened was that they booked a table for dinner at a riverside restaurant, but left their wedding reception later than planned, and on arriving at a lock along the way, found it closed for the night, with no facility to open it manually. So the romantic meal became a plate of baked beans, and Audrey doesn’t even like baked beans!! On another day, they arrived at a lock, and Tony shouted to his bride “jump woman” to which Audrey responded, “you (expletive) jump”, which received a round of applause from the spectators who had congregated there.

Before I forget, I must just relate the one ambition that Tony never achieved. It concerned the electors of Caversham Ward during the period when he was MP for Reading North. If he received a request for help from anyone in Caversham, while he was in London, he would call on that person on his way home, and if he was in Reading, he would drop everything and hurry round to see what he could do to help. But no matter how hard he tried, or how quickly he responded, he never got to that doorstep before Cllr. Ron Jewitt.

Tony was justly proud of all that he achieved, but he was proudest when surrounded by his family, Audrey, Karen, Nick and Marcus, and of course latterly his three grandchildren, and they in return like so many of us, are privileged to have known him and played a part in his life.

Sir Anthony Durant. Mr. Reading. A man of the people. ------CABA AND SUPERANN AGM’s AND LUNCH TUESDAY 8th NOVEMBER

Victory Services Club, London, W2 Guest speaker at lunch LORD MacGREGOR OF PULHAM MARKET, OBE, PC, FKC

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CABA continues to look for ways to support colleagues who may be in need. Over the past three years one- off special grants have been offered to those * and ** Agents who worked for all or part of their service, pre 1997 and are members of the Conservative and Unionist Agents' Superannuation Fund. 5

The Trustees are however aware that a number of colleagues who worked during the pre 1997 period were not all members of the Fund, (despite it being a requirement of employment). Attempts are now being made to trace * and ** Agents who worked for at least 5 years, who fit this category. Before the end of August a letter will be sent to those colleagues for whom we have an address. Our data for non Fund members is not complete and if you do not hear from The Hon Secretary you are asked to email [email protected]. If you are aware of colleagues whom we may have lost track of please contact them and ask them to email. Our data on Fund Members is now pretty accurate.

Mrs Sally Smith MBE BA

GEOFFREY F HARPER ON THE RECENT PARTY REVIEW The former Party Chairman, Lord Feldman, commissioned a report on the current Party Organisation: forty five pages of varying options on the future organisation. Since then the Party has undergone a revolution. A change of Leader, hence a dramatic change of cabinet and other ministers not to mention the back- up staff. In the event a vote of Party members was not required but it did emphasise how low the Party membership was. Only around 150,000 out of a Conservative vote of 11,334,576 at the last general election. Compared with Labour’s 500,000 that gives us food for thought. Not to forget the Labour increase in membership is generated by a plan to organise a Marxist/Leninist takeover of the Labour Party. However now with new Conservative leadership, and a Party Chairman who has personal experience at nearly all levels of the Party Organisation, perhaps we may see some sensible suggestions to rebuild the Party Organisation at all levels. Historically the Party structure has depended on three elements: the Parliamentary Party, the voluntary organisation and the party professionals. In the last 20 years the voluntary party has diminished dramatically and the professional element has been almost abolished. It is interesting to note that the request for training appears 20 times in the report although it only mentions training for volunteers. At the 1997 General Election there were 221 trained and qualified agents in the constituencies, 72 in the marginal constituencies paid by the Conservative Agents’ Employment Board, and a further 51 qualified agents at Conservative Central Office and the 12 Regional Offices. The report now only admits to some 40 qualified agents overall and agents’ recruiting and training no longer exists. The report recommends professional training for association officers but no mention of professionals. It suggests training in campaigning, compliance and fund raising. What about election law? There is no mention whatsoever of training association staff who have the day to day responsibility of running the association. The report also comments on ensuring at least one full time ‘professional campaign manager’ exists. What are their qualifications? Previously qualified agents underwent 9 months’ full time training, including a two week residential course and an examination, a further three months’ training including a further two week residential course with the final examination at the end. Since then what has happened to this sort of intense training? It would appear the Party has done nothing to retain or train qualified staff. When the current organising secretary in the Grantham & Stamford Constituency started working for the association in January 2013 he contacted CCHQ regarding training to be informed that no such thing existed. The Organising Secretary also acted as Election Agent in 2015 with no training provided through CCHQ. The report states there is a lack of awareness of the professional structure. Changes in the job descriptions and regional responsibilities has diluted the working arrangements between the Constituency associations and higher levels in the Party. Finally the report welcomes the introduction of an Organisation Department Don’t laugh too loud they might hear you!

6 ANDREW VARNEY ON PARTY MEMBERSHIP Thank you, Andrea……

….for sparing the Party the embarrassment of having to reveal its true membership figure! We can just imagine the hostile headlines that might have followed a ballot of Party members: “45,000 elect new PM!”

Probably wisely, the Party prefers to conceal its declining membership with fudged figures and contradictory estimates. So, what do we really know about our membership?

1953: 2,800,000 “reported membership” - H of C Library SN01525 05/08/2016

1984: 1,125,000 - extrapolation of Constituency Assessment returns

2005: 253,689 – David Cameron Leadership election

2013 (Sept): 134,000 - CCHQ to Conservative Home

2013 (Dec): 149,800 – Grant Shapps to 2014 Party Conference

2016 (March) “In recent years the number of Party Members has remained static at around 150,000” – Feldman “Party Review”

2016 (July): “130,000 to 150,000 members, according to academic estimates” – H of C Library SN01525 05/08/2016

However, the fudge in the “Party Review” can be decoded to give an alternative figure: “There are approximately 290 Associations with fewer than 100 Members. Only two Associations have over 1,000 Members, and just 50 Associations have more than 500 Members.” so: 290 @ 50 = 14,500, 2 @ 1200 = 2,400, 50 @ 750 = 37,500, 290 @ 200 = 58,000 - total (excl NI): 112,400.….which means that on a 78.38% poll (as 2005), just 45,000 of our Members could have chosen our new PM!

It’s fine to have fun with figures, but these membership figures are real – and aren’t any fun for us: Labour: 515,000, SNP: 120,000, Lib-Dems: 76,000, Greens: 55,500, UKIP: 39,000, PC: 8,300 (HoC Library 05125 05/08/2016).

It was Disraeli who defined Party as “organised opinion”; we seem to have a great following of favourable opinion at the moment, but not much of it is organised. Over to you, Sir Patrick!

ARV – 05/08/2016

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