Rules are rules; and they must apply to Lord Heseltine as much as the humble footsoldiers

On Friday 26 April, the weekly organisational bulletin from CCHQ contained the following unambiguous words:

"...the Party Board remains clear that all Party members, including elected representatives at all levels, are expected to fully support the Party in all elections. Campaigning for or endorsement of any other political party is incompatible with membership of the Party, as is made clear in the Party Constitution, and the Board will not hesitate to continue to enforce these rules."

In today's Sunday Times, Lord Heseltine announced that he would be voting for the Liberal Democrats at next Thursday's EU elections.

He went on to say, "I will retain membership of my local Conservative Association and will continue to take the Conservative whip in the House of Lords."

I am afraid CCHQ must act on this, and treat Lord Heseltine's public disclosure of disloyalty as they would with anyone else. Just for clarity...as Alan Mabbut wrote:

"...endorsement of any other political party is incompatible with membership of the Party."

Mayors, Money and Me !

My earlier blogpost about refusing to attend the drinks reception following the annual council meeting and Mayor-making has attracted praise and opprobrium in almost equal measure.

I regret that many traditional and long-serving councillors and their friends have taken offence, that was not my intention. In fact, if you read my original post I was at pains not to make it a personal criticism of anyone in particular or even a criticism of the office of Mayor.

However, as anyone who comes into the West Kent office will testify, for almost two years I have used a broken old chair at my desk, as despite many offers from my Chairman and Treasurer to buy me a new one, I don't want to spend members' money unnecessarily. It is therefore hardly a surprise that I should take an equally austere view when it comes to spending taxpayers' money!

Many people have made the valid point that the Mayor does good work and raises a lot of money for charity. This I do not deny. But for me there are three overarching principles at play in this discussion:


1. There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of people in each borough/district who raise money for charity without the reward or encouragement of civic hospitality. In fact, the overwhelming majority don't even receive any civic recognition. For example, a lady in one of the villages I now represent raises £2,000 each year for the local hospice, by opening her garden and selling cakes and teas, in memory of her late husband. As she has advanced in years she now employs paid help to get her garden "up to scratch" so her visitors are not disappointed. Not only does she raise a lot of money, it costs her to do so. If anyone deserves a "free drink" it should be people like her who contribute to the community year after year with little thanks or recognition. I would willingly give up my "free wine" for someone like this.

2. Admittedly (mostly) unfairly, trust in politics and politicians at all levels is lower than ever. One of the reasons for this is we are all seen as "selfish" and/or "in it for ourselves". Turnout is at an historic low, and anyone who stood this year could see the anger by the massive increase in spoiled and abusive ballot papers. "Free drinks" and scenes of councillors congratulating each other behind closed doors at someone else's expense, will simply add to that view. We must be aware of this and not give any reasons to further undermine trust.

3. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it's not our money. I was not elected to a "club" or a "fraternity". I was elected to help run a business, but unlike most businesses our customers have no alternative but to pay what we demand, and nowhere else to go if they don't like what they are charged. We simply cannot increase tax by the legal maximum, reduce services and introduce new charges on the basis that we are "cut to the bone" then spend thousands of pounds of civic hospitality at the expense of taxpayers, many of whom struggle to make ends meet and pay their Council Tax. 

So for me this is a point of principle. And I am sorry if my view has offended some of our long serving councillors, but I am reminded of the 4th principle of public life:

"Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this."

I could not with any integrity defend civic hospitality to the poorest residents in my ward, and I therefore cannot support it.

Annual Mayor Making and Civic Hospitality

I have today declined an invitation to attend the "Civic Reception" to mark the election/appointment of Tonbridge & Malling's new Mayor for 2019/2020. 

While I have a great deal of respect for the Mayor-elect, Cllr Jill Anderson, I am a longstanding supporter of the TaxPayers' Alliance and have spent 20 year's campaigning against all forms of civic hospitality. It would be wrong to change my position now that I am elected. 

The letter below, sent to the Group Leader, outlines my position in greater detail. 

I am greatly looking forward to my first "formal" Council meeting and the election of Jill Anderson as Mayor for the coming year. I very much admire Jill's extraordinary service to the residents of Hadlow and East Peckham, and the borough, over many years. She will make a wonderful Mayor and I wish her every success for the year ahead. 

Notwithstanding the above, while I will, of course, respect the Council's constitution (despite my personal misgivings over the need for a ceremonial Mayor in this modern and egalitarian age) I thought I should write to explain why I will not attend the Civic Reception afterwards. 

As you will probably be aware, as a supporters of the Tax Payers' Alliance (TPA), I have campaigned and written against all forms of "civic hospitality" for over twenty years, and I have no intention of changing my position now that I have been elected. Whilst a solitary glass of wine might not "break the bank", two cases of wine along with "nibbles" and paid overtime (or time off in lieu)  for council staff for the duration of the reception, will probably amount to the combined Council Tax of several households.  

During the election I campaigned specifically on three key pledges

1. To promote the delivery of only core/essential services to residents

2. To seek all ways to reduce Council Tax by eliminating all discretionary and unnecessary spending

3. To at all times represent local people in the council chamber

At a time when T&MBC is increasing Council Tax and introducing new charges for services (ie, green waste collections) I simply cannot accept civic hospitality paid for by our local taxes, and I must therefore decline. I would however be delighted to attend if the event could be sponsored by a local business, or better still if guests were asked to make a personal financial contribution to cover the costs, rather than them being met by tax payers who have no option but to pay regardless of their personal circumstances. 

I am sorry if this sounds severe, but it would be disingenuous for me to attend given my long held and well published view on such matters.

best wishes
Andrew

Will we ever be forgiven?

Scattered around the North Downs is a collection of semi-rural communities which comprise the Aylesford North & Walderslade ward; the Tory heart of Tracey Crouch’s Chatham & Aylesford constituency. At the last election this ward was 70 per cent Conservative and, like the rest of Chatham & Aylesford, it voted by a margin of 65:35 to leave the EU.

I was delighted to have been selected as the Conservative council candidate for such a beautiful area.

Over the past few months, my friends and fellow campaigners from across the UK have told me horror stories of abuse on the doorsteps, and angry voters threatening to “never vote Conservative again” and expressing visceral hatred against politicians. So it was with a degree of trepidation that I recently started canvassing for votes in the run-up to local elections.

“I’m calling about your bins, not about Brexit” I would say with a confident a tone as I could manage, trying to deflect the anger I was expecting. Much to my relief, there wasn’t much anger at all.

In the smart houses with well-tended gardens of Walderslade, Aylesford Village and Blue Bell Hill people were not angry about Brexit, they were bored of it. Bored of it in the newspapers and on the news, bored with politicians talking about nothing else and bored that there is no end in sight.

They voted for Brexit and just wanted to get it over and done with. The Conservative vote was holding up and we were even finding new pledges of support.

Two nights ago, my campaign rolled into Eccles. Not the Eccles in Greater Manchester but a village of a thousand houses close to the banks of the River Medway.

With its terraced houses and newer builds, Eccles is far removed from the apple orchards and hop farms of rural Kent. When Theresa May spoke about the “Just About Managing” (JAMs), Eccles is the type of community she had in mind, families who have to work twice as hard for the type of lifestyle that other parts of my patch might take for granted.

My soft ride was about to come to an abrupt end. At the first door my leaflet was thrust back in my face. “Go away, just go away! You b*stards have stolen my dream.” This was a man in his fifties, a traditional Conservative voter and he was as angry as any voter I have ever met.
“You’re all liars and cheats”, he continued. I stood, absorbing the anger, partly because I agreed with him and partly because I didn’t know what to say. After a few minutes he allowed me to speak.

I told him that I had been campaigning for Brexit for 35 years, I pulled out my phone to show him photographs of me campaigning with Boris, handing out leaflets at a Vote Leave street stall and attending the Vote Leave Victory Party.

The man’s anger abated and he shook my hand, saying he would think about voting for me on a personal basis before adding, “I suspect you will eventually let me down like the rest of them.” This is what I faced, without exception, at every single door for the next two hours.

The anger of Eccles was not directed at me personally or even at the Conservative Party. It was aimed at the ruling elite. Those from across all parties who gave the people a right to speak and then refused to listen to what they had to say.

The voters of Eccles are typical of the people who Theresa May dedicated her premiership to on the steps of Downing Street. The people who the Labour Party once spoke up for but abandoned in their search for Guardian-reading Marxists. They feel abandoned and forgotten and who can blame them?

The European Union was formed with the ideal of keeping peace in Europe and preventing the rise of extremists. Yet across Europe, extremism is on the march again. A pattern is emerging of what happens when mainstream parties fail to listen; from the rise of the Freedom Party in Austria, the AFD in Germany and Marine Le Pen’s Front Nationale to Golden Dawn in Greece and the re-emergence of the Francoists in Spain.

In Britain our rebellion against the elites was in the form of 17.4 million people voting to leave the EU. If the mainstream parties fail to respect their views, who will those angry people turn to next to have their voices heard?

Andrew Kennedy is a Conservative Council Candidate in Chatham and Aylesford

Where we dither we decline

Two of the issues I often address on this blog are “The Lifecycle of Conservative Associations” and “How the Party develops and supports its Association Officers”.

By “Lifecycle” what I mean is how an association’s fortunes can ebb and flow over a relatively short period of time. The two West-Kent case studies below illustrate the issue.

CASE STUDY 1

Ten years ago I was drafted-in to help an association which was in decline. Although in one of Britain’s most prosperous areas, and with a 20,000+ majority, this association was haemorrhaging money and had almost drained its reserves. The white elephant was the association’s headquarters; a grand five-storey building which the association could not afford to heat, let alone maintain. The building, including business rates, insurance, tax and basic maintenance, was costing the association almost £30,000 a year. The well-meaning secretary who had very few, if any, campaigning skills cost another £15,000 a year – these two costs were more than the association raised, resulting in £5-10,000 a year being taken out of reserves.

Over the next four years this association absorbed more than its fair share of time and resource but finally, with the support of a progressive team of officers, we turned things around. The property was sold, new branches were launched, new fundraising initiatives were implemented, and for 4 or 5 years the association was in the ascendant; winning elections, paying its bills, and even making a small surplus for a rainy day. This was achieved without drawing any capital from the Trust Fund which had been invested prudently by the Trustees.

Unsurprisingly my attention drifted to associations with more pressing needs. Two years ago the association just managed to break even. Last year it made a small but somewhat insignificant loss. This year they are back in the red. Old branches have folded, with little support and many of the new branches I launched have ceased to function. The fundraising has slipped with the same events we introduced 8 years ago being repeated without any innovation to the point where they became tedious and unappealing. Although the Trust Fund is intact the urgency to raise funds has dissipated as members and activists have become increasingly complacent. Once again time and effort will need to be spent to turn things around.

CASE STUDY 2

The story of Association 2 is as positive as Association 1 is disappointing. Association 2 joined the West Kent Group 5 years ago. They too had been losing money and were in decline. A rapid and unhelpful succession of officers led to a lack of stability and no clear sense of direction. 18 months  ago a new team of officers took over and immediately arrested the decline. At their first AGM they almost broke even, and this year have shown a profit of £6,000; their best result in over a decade. But their success is not just with fundraising. They have upped their game with campaigning, launched new branches, and have started gaining seats from the opposition. Their performance is one of the highlights of West Kent. Congratulations to all concerned.

The success of Association 2 is down to leadership; a strong and spiky chairman, who not only leads from the front, but is unafraid to challenge bad behaviour and poor performance.

We need more Andrea Thorpes!

I don’t accept the lame excuse of “a difficult national climate”. This year two of our associations have achieved record results, two others have “held their own”, and two more have gone backwards. The West Kent organisation itself has also had a record year, raising over £30,000 towards our running costs. The national climate has been the same for us all. All that is different is local leadership.

As one of Britain’s chief cheerleaders for grouping it is right that I address the negatives as well as the many positives. Keeping the plates spinning when you have just one association is relatively easy; doing so when you have 6 is more of a challenge. We rely, more than ever, on strong local leadership as priorities elsewhere demand attention.

I have written many times about the need for our Party to identify and develop strong leaders, at all levels of our organisation. Too often a vibrant organisation falls into the hands of the badge-collectors, bureaucrats and bumblers who take over because it is “their turn” without any agenda or any sense of clear purpose. When they do so the damage can take a decade to repair.

I have always maintained that “where we work we win”, it is also a truism that “where we dither we decline”.

Beware of the Kitten Eaters

It's that point in the campaign when emotions are running high and we are all getting stressed. This usually results in angry emails from candidates who are understandably upset about the half-truths and misrepresentations in the latest opposition leaflet.

"What are you going to do about it?" Or "We must print and send out a rebuttal."

My advice in such circumstances is DON'T!

Imagine this scenario..... Labour deliver a leaflet claiming, "The Conservative candidate eats kittens."

1. Labour loyalists read the leaflet and believe it as they want to believe the worst about you. But they we're never going to vote for you anyway.

2. Genuine floating voters will probably read it, but being fair and open minded will discard it as "spin".

3. Conservative voters, who will turn out for you, will probably not read a Labour leaflet and therefore will be blissfully ignorant about the cruel and untrue accusation. And if they do happen to read it, will discount the accusation as a "preposterous Labour lie."

We deliver a rebuttal. "I DON'T EAT KITTENS" says angry Conservative candidate.

1. Labour voters (who are the ones who believed the accusation probably won't read your leaflet. And those that do will say "well.... he would deny it, wouldn't he. Bloody Tory."

2. Floating voters, who will probably read the leaflet, will say "why does he need to deny such a ridiculous thing. What has he got to hide?"

3. Conservative voters, who are unlikely to have read the Labour leaflet, will almost certainty read yours and will now wonder why you have gone to the trouble of denying something they didn't know anything about.

What will have also happened...

EVERY voter in your ward will have received TWO leaflets talking about you being a kitten eater. And NO leaflets talking about low Council Tax, good services and your record as a champion for local residents.

My advice has therefore always been the same.

NEVER allow the opposition to dictate the campaign narrative.

NEVER justify a lie by repeating it.

NEVER let your opponents see they have irritated or upset you.

NEVER be distracted into talking about the issues they want rather than the issues we want.

Where's my money? Hair today - gone tomorrow!

As well as being our hardworking West Kent Agent and a Borough Councillor, Jon "Paperclips" Botten is also in charge of fundraising for his local branch in Tonbridge, and on 17 January he is hosting a fish and chip supper with Angus MP, Kirstene Hair. 

But all is not well with the finances!

When the Association's book keeper published the draft accounts, nothing was showing against the Tonbridge branch quota as income for this event, prompting an enquiry from Paperclips "where's our money gone?" 

After a great deal of head scratching, back came the reply:

"My knowledge of Scottish MPs is limited. Sorry. When I saw entries in the ledger for K Hair Event I assumed it was an evening about hair products and allocated the income to the Woman's Committee."

I should place on the record that our book keeping is outsourced and he is not a Party member!