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NationalJUNE 2013 Convention News

CONVENTION OFFICER THE ROAD TO CONTACTS WINNING IN 2015 ■ With fewer than 700 days to go until the General Election the Voluntary Party is ramping up its campaigning activity throughout the country, writes Emma Pidding.

We have now selected candidates in 40 of our target seats, and more selections are likely to take place in Emma Pidding the early Autumn. We are starting to build our campaign Chairman of the National teams, making sure that our volunteers and professional Conservative Convention colleagues are working closely together. The recruitment of emma.pidding@ Campaign Managers is a vital part of these teams, and we introduced last year, has proved to be a great success with btinternet.com are seeing talented individuals being placed in our most more than 500 volunteers attending from right across the 07808 366613 critical seats. The relationship that our Associations and the UK. The day included the AGM of the National Convention. campaign teams have is going to be pivotal to our success. I am delighted that we welcome Gerry Yates, as the new The importance of our Volunteer network was highlighted member of our Convention Officer Team, joining myself, at a recent ‘Road to 2015’ Campaign Plan Briefing in CCHQ Charles Heslop, Rob Semple & Steve Bell. Whilst writing, attended by Area Chairmen. I would also like to place on record my thanks to our out- going Officer, Paul Swaddle, for all the work that he has On May 2nd, we defended 1116 seats across 34 County undertaken over the past 4 years, and in particular for the Charles Heslop Councils in Local Government elections. These were success that he made in the organisation and changes President tough elections to fight mid-term: defending a high local to last year’s Party Conference, ensuring greater member 07763 347401 government base in those seats that we last fought in involvement. charles.heslop@ 2009. We did see the loss a number of very hard working gmail.com Councillors across the country. I would like to take this I hope that you will enjoy reading this newsletter. You will see opportunity to thank these Councillors for their service to from the contents that it has been a busy time. their local communities and hope that we will see them back in Local Government before too long. Thank you as ever for all that you continue to do for the Party. We are now looking ahead to next year’s European Elections, and the Voluntary Party is currently undertaking With very best wishes, Rob Semple the important process of selecting our candidates. Vice-President 07984 867945 Since our last Newsletter, we held a very successful Spring rmg.semple@ Forum in London. The new one day format, that was googlemail.com

North Devon Rowena Holland Nottingham South CANDIDATES IN PLACE Mark Isherwood Delyn Andrea Jenkyns Morley and Outwood Julian Knight Solihull ■Congratulations to all of our candidates who have Rob Loughenbury Chorley Rachel Maclean been selected so far. Northfield Scott Mann North Cornwall Steve Bell Simon Marcus Hampstead and Kilburn Telford Philip Allott Halifax Vice-President Thomas Pursglove Corby Will Quince Colchester Afzal Amin Dudley North 07885 200985 Mary Robinson Cheadle Lee Rowley North East John Bell Wirral South [email protected] Derbyshire Paul Scully Sutton and Cheam Cheltenham Anthony Cox Newcastle-under-Lyme Southampton Itchen Hannah David Harrow West Byron Davies Amanda Solloway Derby North Derek Thomas Gower Chris Davies Brecon and Radnorshire St Ives Anne-Marie Trevelyan Berwick upon Tweed James Davies Vale of Clwyd Michelle Donelan Michael Tomlinson Mid Dorset and North Poole Chippenham Stephen Double St Austell and David Warburton Somerton and Frome Newquay Portsmouth South Craig Williams Cardiff North William Wragg Kevin Foster Torbay Will Goodhand Middlesbrough Gerry Yates Hazel Grove South and East Cleveland Chris Green Bolton Vice-President West Douglas Hansen-Luke Walsall North Gerry Yates ■We would also like to thank all those who applied James Heappey Wells Peter Heaton-Jones gerry@geraldyates. for these seats. wanadoo.co.uk MANCHESTER 2013 – SEE PAGE 3

1 National Convention News

VOLUNTEER TEAM CAMS ADDS 10,000 MEMBERS CONTACTS Rob Semple on the Membership Service

Cllr Jeff James What is the aim of CAMS? association’s bank account e.g. Subscription paid £25 - Chairman of the Party in To assist those associations who would like help with £5 (PML) - £4 (CAMS fee) = £16 paid to association. their membership administration such as renewals. In Contact via national. the longer term CAMS will also aim to be a conduit for Why is there a fee of £4? convention@ recruiting new members to the Party. CAMS needs to cover its cost and make a small profit to Conservatives.com The second biggest reason we lose members is they re-invest in long-term recruitment of new members. are not asked to renew. Pat McPhee Why has CAMS written to our lapsed members? Is it part of CCHQ? The Party has asked CAMS to write to all our lapsed Scottish Conservative No. It is a privately run outsourcing agency completely members every so often. It is therefore important that & Unionist Party separate from CCHQ. It deals directly with associations. associations keep up to date membership records on Conference Convener Nor is it central membership as any new member re- MERLIN. Associations are informed in advance of any 07920 700664 cruited by CAMS is uploaded onto MERLIN, then passed CAMS lapsed members mailing. patmcphee40@ back to their local association. CAMS deals solely with yahoo.co.uk membership administration, so communicating to your So has the CAMS initiative been a success? members still remains the job of your local association. • Approximately 10,000 new members, included both Niki Molnar lapsed and entirely new members to the Party, have Chairman of Who runs CAMS? joined through CAMS, so far. The National Conservative Draw Society (NCDS) are the • 50 Associations already signed up to the CAMS Conservative Women’s principle stakeholders in CAMS. The NCDS set up and renewals service. Organisation run the weekly draw and is a major donor to the Party. • Circa 40% of members who joined through CAMS are Niki@ on direct debit. conservativewomen. What is the key target for CAMS? • £150,000 has been paid direct to Constituency org.uk CAMS aims to provide a membership renewals service Conservative Associations. for associations to opt in, if they so wish, it is a purely CAMS is dedicated to developing a successful member- Cllr Gary Porter voluntary service. ship renewals service which will mean we no longer Chairman of the lose members through failing to renew them, it also Conservative Councillors What will CAMS renewal service do? means associations can concentrate on what’s most Association • Write to your members and ask them to go onto a important – campaigning ahead of the 2015 election. direct debit. It is a small but significant step towards bringing about Contact via national. • Renew your members when their subscription is due. a real improvement in our recruitment and retention of convention@ • Upload the renewed member onto MERLIN. our members. Conservatives.com • Send a membership card to the renewed member. • Pay at source the Per Member levy (PML) of £5 direct For more on CAMS, contact Philip Dumville on Oliver Cooper to CCHQ, and a £4 per member CAMS fee. 01494 673745 or at Philip.Dumville@ Chairman of • Transfer the remaining subscription direct to your beaconsfieldconservatives.co.uk Conservative Future Oliver.Cooper@ conservativefuture.com Lord Prescott. Currently, Gerry is overseeing the GERRY YATES STEPS UP selection of the List for the European Elections in 2014 with a strong field of good candidates, prior Gerry Yates has joined the National Convention ■ to handing over responsibility for Yorkshire and the officer team, elected unopposed at Spring Forum. Humber to his successor. Gerry was elected as a Vice President of the In his new role Gerry has been asked by Emma National Convention at the Spring Forum in London Pidding to be the Voluntary Party’s Board contact in 2013 and now represents the Voluntary for Eastern Region, South East Region and London Party on the main Board. He has served as Region. He will try to visit as much as he can and an Association Chairman, West Yorkshire has already campaigned in Portsmouth. During the Area Chairman and Regional Chairman for summer he hopes to visit all Areas in ‘his’ Regions. Yorkshire & The Humber. He has always stressed the need for the Party to focus A Lancastrian by birth, Gerry lives in Keighley, on its attention on this region and the north in the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, with his wife, Joyce. general. We need to ensure that seats won in They have three children and six grandchildren. 2010 are held and, in 2015, that more are won, Gerry returned to politics after his management to enable us to govern alone. career, when he volunteered to deliver a leaflets for the 1992 Election – oh, how one can be sucked in! He is a keen supporter of the Campaign Centre concept, as demonstrated in South Yorkshire, to The Volunteer Team is Gerry says, “It’s an honour to serve the Voluntary make the best use of scarce resources. ■ supported at CCHQ by Party. I have heard the Prime Minister say, ‘The Stephen Phillips, the Voluntary Party is the head, heart and soul of the A highlight of 2012 was the election of our Secretary to the National Conservative Party.’ I hope I can ensure that the candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner in Convention work of the volunteers is recognised by them having Humberside with the added piquancy of defeating a real input to all the Party’s activities.”

2 National Convention News

STAFF IN PLACE FOR PLANNING FOR 2015 CONFERENCE Stephen Phillips has ■It is a great privilege and honour to be chairing been made a Director the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, of the Party. He has writes Charles Heslop. It commences on Sunday responsibility for the September 29th and ending after the Prime Voluntary Party and Minister’s speech on Wednesday October 2nd. There will also be the huge array of interesting and Conference Planning. lively Fringe Meetings. Many congratulations This year’s Conference is of vital importance to to Stephen and our party. We are now well past the mid point of The Conference is also about networking and so- thanks for his this Government. When we all meet in Manchester cialising, exchanging ideas and experiences, meet- dedication and hard the General Election will only be eighteen months ing new people and making new friends. Whether work to date. away, the European elections seven months away, it be attending the meeting of the National and the Scottish Independence referendum less Convention Meeting on Sunday 29th. September. Congratulations also to than a year away. Let’s all be there to give the The Party Members Event and the Party Chair- David Comerford, the Prime Minister and his colleagues in both man’s Reception later on in the same day or your newest member of our Government and Parliament our full support. own Regional Reception or one of the many events team in the Office of the held by groups affiliated to the Conservative Party, Voluntary Party. Many of you have registered already and the there will be something to suit everyone. “Bring a Friend to Conference” is proving very popular. In the next couple of weeks I will be con- Many thanks to all of you who have already tacting all the Regional Chairmen in “The Regional registered and to all the affiliated groups who Attendance Competition”. The Region with the have booked a reception or a space in the Party highest percentage of Party Members (compared Zone. And, finally before you all hear the Prime with 2012) will have their Regional Reception free Minister’s Speech there is going to be a tribute to of charge this year. There is also “a Wednesday– the late Lady Thatcher. But, of course the biggest only Day Pass” available to members for £35.00, tribute that you could all play to the Great Lady is giving access to the Prime Minister’s speech. to leave Manchester with a spring in your step and determination to support the 40/40 Target Seats Politics is going to play a big part in this year’s Campaign to ensure that in 2015 we have a Con- Conference. And you are all going to have a servative PM leading a Conservative Government. chance to have your say! “Party Members Only” sessions will be held in the Exchange Auditorium If you have not already registered to attend Confer- in Manchester Central. And then there is the ence this year it is not too late to do so. It is going Conservative Policy Forum. Their Fringe meetings to be a great Conference! will promote what the Conservative party is doing in Government and what is relevant to all of you. ■ I look forward to seeing you all in Manchester. SOCIAL ACTION PROJECTS ABOUND

■ Social Action is a great way to get involved with the party, as so many of us already know, writes the Party’s new Vice Chairman . It’s at the heart of community involvement and is part of the DNA of being a Conservative.

Please remember to let us know about your projects with a short email and picture to socialaction@conservatives. com – there is so much going on and it’s always great to hear from you.

■ We’re also delighted to welcome Amy Plenderleith (East Midlands) and Emma Ideson (Yorkhire) as Regional Coordinators in the voluntary party. It’s great to have you both on board.

3 INSIDE CCHQ – UMUBANO 2013 NEW DATE ■ Volunteer in Sierra Leone, Rwanda or Burundi with Project Umubano ATTENTION ALL

ASSOCIATION Project Umubano is recruiting for CHAIRMEN its seventh year and in addition to volunteers having the opportunity Are you a newly elected Association Chairman? to work in Rwanda and Sierra Leone, Have you ever been to a small group will be working for the CCHQ? first time on a business project in Burundi. On Tuesday 3rd September 2013 we Project Umubano is the Conservative Party’s Project Umubano 2013 will run from 20th July – 3rd will be holding a special International Social Action Project and over the last August in Rwanda, 20th July – 27th July in Burundi, day: ‘Inside CCHQ’. This six years volunteers have developed a deep and and from 14th to 24th September in Sierra Leone. A is the opportunity for meaningful relationship and a legacy with the many limited number of places are still available in you to visit and to learn individuals and project partners in Africa. some project areas. about the workings of Party Headquarters. The The work covers several areas including Health, ■If you want to know more and think you’ve purpose of the day will be Business, Justice, Education and Sport and since got what it takes to join us then get in touch via for you to see and hear it began in 2007 a large number of activists and www.projectumubano.com or projectumubano@ at first-hand the work candidates have been involved. live.co.uk. that our professional colleagues undertake so it’s vitally important to redress the balance. across a number of CWO’S NEW FOCUS We have our first Introduction to Public departments. Appointments and NEDs workshop on the evening ■After stepping down for a year, Niki Molnar has of the 11th July and are planning a similar event Places are strictly limited, returned as National Chairman of the CWO. as a fringe at the Manchester Conference. Thanks so will be allocated on go to Julie Iles (Regional Chairman, CWO Southern) a first come first served The 2012/13 Chairmen were Katy Bourne and for her help with Public Appointments. basis. Margaret Bird. Margaret took over from Katy For more details please after Katy’s successful election as Police & Crime Our Westminster Forums continue to be over- email david.comerford@ Commissioner for Sussex (one of only three subscribed. We have a new Forum brochure, conservatives.com women elected) and we wish her well. Margaret written by Deputy Chairman, Claire-Louise ensured that the Organisation continued running Leyland, that gives advice and tips on how to run ■Future dates will be smoothly and the CWO owe them both a debt of a CWO Forum, along with why they’re helpful in notified in the coming gratitude. introducing women to your group or association. months. Copies will be available to all CWO groups and One of the CWO’s many objectives is to find more associations. women to stand for public life - which we are doing very successfully through our CWO Development Along with Margaret and Claire-Louise, the third programme, headed up by Liz St Clair. This year, CWO Deputy Chairman is Amanda Solloway, PPC we have been asked by the Prime Minister to find for Derby North and Regional Chairman, CWO East more women to stand for Public Appointments Midlands - a busy lady! Last - and absolutely not and Non-Executive Director roles:70% of Public least - Pauline Lucas remains President. Appointments have gone to Labour supporters since 2010 and the vast majority have been men, ■www.conservativewomen.org.uk

THE FUTURE’S CF organising on a record number of university campuses, with the aim to double our number of student branches ■The Conservatives stand on the edge of a great by 2015. Already since taking office last month, I’ve been generational shift: not away from us, but towards us, contacted about setting up more than 24 branches! writes Oliver Cooper. We’re also holding our first regional conferences this Today’s young people are the most deficit-averse and winter, developing a comprehensive skills training welfare-sceptic generation of any since 1945. Indeed, programme, and making it easier for Associations to today’s under-25s are the age group most supportive track student members. We’re looking at ways to improve of spending cuts, and our standing amongst the young logistics, so members can travel to support campaigning. has actually improved. That gives us as a party a great opportunity to expand our appeal, our membership, ■Conservative Future is already larger than Labour, the and our activity. We want CF to be active in as many Liberal Democrats, and UKIP’s youth wings combined. Associations as possible, with a particular emphasis on But CF can become ever-bigger Come 2015 and the years having a branch in every target seat. We’re now beyond, we’ll be saying, “It’s the Young Wot Won It”.

4 AN HONOUR FOR NATIONAL AWARDS LINDA KIRK CELEBRATE EXCELLENCE LINDA KIRK, FORMER REGIONAL CHAIRMAN ■The National Excellence Awards recognise the OF THE EAST amazing work that is going on by our volunteers MIDLANDS, HAS BEEN around the country, writes Claire Palmer. Out RECOGNISED IN THE there, whatever the weather, and whatever the Association, fundraising; Stanley Hudson OBE, QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY political climate in good times and in those Pembrokeshire; Mike Baker, Lewisham; Ann HONOURS LIST that are not so good, thousands of people are Morison, Bexley and Sidcup; The late Betty Lees, campaigning for the Conservative cause. Sherwood. Linda has been awarded the MBE for the On Monday 21st May we held the Award Ceremony Winners outstanding work that she for the seventh annual National Excellence Awards Jennifer Kennedy Dorset has done as a volunteer at the St Ermin’s Hotel, London. Presentations Kathy Benn Weaver Vale for our Party over many were made by the Party Chairmen, Lord Feldman Diane Charlesworth Eddisbury years. the Rt Hon MP. The Awards were once again very kindly sponsored by George Apter. Lifetime Achievement Awards . These are the Awards for Lifetime Achievement. Campaigning / Association Renewal These individuals will each have probably have Finalists: London CF, Campaign for Boris; Wyre served the party for at least 40 years. Together Forest; Gainsborough; Leicestershire PCC they have given the Party over 400 years of campaign service! The nominations have been made through some of our Area teams. Winners Bury St Edmunds Association Renewal These are our ‘unsung heroes’, who have given Humberside PCC (pictured above) Campaigning great service to our Party but have not received any recognition for this dedication. Membership and Data Gathering Finalists: Bradford Conservative Association, Bob Lawrence Cardiff North Growing membership; Luke Hall, Bristol & South Norma Campbell Wirral West Gloucestershire, Membership Oriel Rogers-Coltman Berwick upon Tweed Margaret Roebuck Mid Dorset Winners Ruth Plowman High Wycombe Epping Forest Conservative Association, Pam Evans Stroud Membership E-mail gathering drive (Best Practice) Joyce Clark Richmond Romford Conservative Association (see Ken Stringer Dover and Deal below) Membership Tim Wheatley Cambridge The late Ted Figueira Mole Valley Individual Awards Doreen Baker South Ribble For individuals that have done exceptional work within their Associations: ■The National Excellence Awards team comprises Bill Hughes, Swansea; Jennifer Rickwood, Dartford Claire Palmer, Jeremy Middleton and Nicola Bates.

THE ROMFORD STORY active local branches and activities. already active and During our membership campaign Andrew Rosindell MP, led a team of lo- interested in we increased our membership from cal activists and councillors. A network politics that under 400 to a high of 1,100. We of road wardens and local councillors, became the campaign actively in our local deliver a community newsletter every basis of our community and have a wide range of month or two months. These people, campaign.

A note about this newsletter

National Convention News now appears every other month.

It is edited by Matt Warman; email [email protected] Promoted by Alan Mabbutt on behalf of the Conservative Party, both at 30 Millbank, London, SW1P 4DP. The deadline for the next issue is: 1st September

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