tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39517991158470693592024-03-05T03:11:46.097-08:00DIARY OF A CONSERVATIVE PARTY AGENTAndrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.comBlogger1267125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-91819491176891535142022-06-30T16:39:00.000-07:002022-07-07T13:03:08.497-07:00There's nothing worse than being taken by surprise !<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just returned from Millbank Towers where we were briefed on how we can assist our target constituencies with General Election preparation. Now obviously I am not going to tell any secrets, but 10 minutes of the meeting was so surreal it felt as if I was trapped in a badly scripted Carry On film. What made it amusing was the main characters had absolutely no idea that what they were saying was in any way smutty or open to another interpretation. And the agony enhanced by how deadly serious the conversation was being taken, and how long it continued. For the naughty schoolboys on the back row, it really was the gift that kept on giving.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Talking of mutual aid (campaign support from one Association to another) the CCHQ <span class="st">Oberleutnant </span>announced,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Now by now you should all know which of you are givers and which of you are receivers."</span></em></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Within nanoseconds I heard a snort of amusement from my left, as one of my two compatriots was making up his own jokes. I determinedly stared ahead, afraid that any eye contact would only make the situation worse. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><em>"Excuse me, but I'm from Surrey. Are we giving or receiving, I don't know what I am supposed to do", </em></strong>said a man two rows ahead. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><em>"We've always been receivers but suddenly we've been asked the change roles, and we're not sure about it" </em></strong>added a man in a pink shirt. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On and on it went, grown men talking about giving and receiving. Then it came, the comment which tipped us over the edge, into the realm hand-biting chair rocking convulsions...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><strong>"Well if you want my opinion, some of the receivers should show more gratitude for what they are getting. All they do is take take take and give nothing back in return,"</strong></em> said an angry man with a puce face. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We were assured that "<strong><em>roles would be developed locally, taking past arrangements into consideration</em>".</strong> Apparently "<strong><em>no-one from CCHQ would force us into any role we didn't feel comfortable with</em>."</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally it all died down. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Right, next question. Yes...the gentleman at the back......</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>"Hello, I'm from (Xxxxxxxxxxxx). I'm worried about UKIP taking us by surprise from behind..."</strong></span></em></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-47736046589889944152020-01-20T14:32:00.003-08:002020-01-20T15:20:42.641-08:00Chairman's Constituency Report 2019/2020<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">CHATHAM AND AYLESFORD CONSERVATIVE
ASSOCIATION<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><br />
Chairman’s Constituency Report 2019/2020</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">As a 8 year old
in Wallasey, my first chore as a volunteer was to cycle around the polling
stations collecting the completed tellers’ lists and to take them back to the
“Committee Room”. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">45 years later I am still at it, although not by bike! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Over
that time, I have seen our Party in good times and bad; the rise of Maggie, the
Falklands War and miners’ strike, Heseltine’s resignation over Westland, the
introduction of the Community Charge and Maggie’s downfall at the hands of
disloyal men who owed her their careers and who were largely as feeble as they
were useless. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Talking of
feeble and useless, Maggie was followed by the dark and leaderless days of John
Major; he of elderly maids cycling to communion through the morning mist and
the excitement of the Cones Hotline and Black Wednesday, followed by our worst
ever defeat in 1997 at the hands of Tony Blair. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Through 13 years of Labour government
we were led by William Hague, IDS and Michael Howard to the rise of David Cameron,
when we hugged hoodies and Voted Blue to Go Green (whatever that meant).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Then we won – or
almost won. We had five years of the “Dave and Nick” coalition, which was meant
to re-shape British politics, when actually it just re-shaped the LibDems
(reducing them from 57 seats to 8!) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The 2015 victory that no-one saw coming,
with the promise of <b><i>“a once in a lifetime referendum; the government will
deliver what you decide.”</i></b><i> </i>Victory for Vote Leave, the end of
Cameron, the rise of Theresa May followed by her inevitable and agonising fall.
The leadership election that gave us reason to hope, followed by the victory of
Boris and finally – that <b>glorious </b>moment at 10pm on Thursday 12 December
when Huw Edwards on the BBC election news announced “<b><i>our exit poll has
just been released and we are looking at a Conservative majority of 80 plus
seats</i>”.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Change in
politics seldom comes smoothly and we tend to forget just how significant some
of those historical changes have been. But when you are living through
turbulent times rather than recalling them from the pages of history books,
they seem bigger, more colourful and vivid than ever. And the last 12 months
will provide historians with enough colour for years to come. How lucky we are
to have had a ringside seat at such a fascinating period of our party’s and our
nation’s history. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">2019 started
with growing despair over the Party leadership and unease about Brexit and the Government’s
ability to deliver anything of tangible benefit in the hung and paralysed
parliament. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Locally we were
facing ‘all out’ elections in both Tonbridge & Malling and Medway Councils.
On the doorsteps there was anger and impatience; but fortunately, in most of
our seats, our supporters had nowhere else to go. The demise of UKIP and their
takeover by unpalatable racists made them unelectable. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Across Chatham &
Aylesford the fight was between us and Labour, and while we were not loved,
Labour were feared and untrusted. On Thursday 2 May most of our supporters ‘<i>held their noses</i>’ and voted Conservative
and we retained control of both local councils. It is a tribute to Alan Jarrett
(Leader of Medway) and Nicolas Heslop (Leader of TMBC) that we bucked the
national trend to deliver four more years of strong local Conservative
leadership with a decent majority in both areas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Congratulations
to our candidates who won: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">David Lettington and Alan Keeley (Snodland West), </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Ruth Lettington and Sue Bell (Snodland East), </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">David Cooper and Rob Cannon
(Ditton), </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Steve Hammond and Colin Williams (Aylesford South), </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Dave Davis and
Roger Dalton (Burham & Wouldham), </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Des Keers and Michael Base and me!,
(Aylesford North & Walderslade), </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">David Brake and Adrian Gulvin (Medway Walderslade), </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Alan Jarrett and David Wildey (Lordswood and Capstone) and </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Tashi Bhutia and
Gloria Opara (Princes Park).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">
Commiserations to our candidates who fought hard and lost. Defending
traditional Labour or Lib Dem seats that we won at our high-water mark, was
never going to be easy and the loss was no reflection on them whatsoever. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In
particular I would like to thank and pay tribute to Mike Parry-Waller, our only
incumbent councillor not to be re-elected. Mike was the first ever Conservative
in Larkfield North and he worked tirelessly for that ward over eight years. He
deserved a better result than was achieved, having done so much for local
people and his community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The EU election
on Thursday 23 May was the election that should never have happened, fought
against a backdrop of Theresa May’s crumbling government and broken promises
over Brexit. Conservatives were humiliated at the hands of our own supporters;
80% of whom either stayed at home or voted for Nigel Farage’s new
Brexit Party. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We finished 5<sup>th</sup> with just 8.8% of the vote, behind the
Brexit Party, Lib Dems, Labour and the Greens. 15 of our 19 MEPs lost their
seats. This was our worst performance ever in a nationwide election and we
should be thankful that the Brexit Party was not registered nor sufficiently
well organised to have fielded candidates against us at the local elections. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The following
day, 24 May 2019, Theresa May announced her resignation as Leader of the
Conservative Party. The ensuing leadership contest resulted in the
Parliamentary Party reducing the original ten contenders to two, who were
placed before Party members in the country in a secret ballot. A poll of our
members locally showed 85% support for Boris, who subsequently went on to win
the national vote by 66.4% to Jeremy Hunt’s 33.6%. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We saw an
immediate bounce in the polls and speculation rose about a winter election,
which was finally called on 6 November 2019 with polling day on 12 December
2019. After a vindictive, accusatory and at times aggressive national campaign,
which saw Labour close our poll lead throughout the 5 week campaign, we finally
triumphed by a far greater margin than anyone had expected; a parliamentary
majority of 80 seats and the best result for 30 years. Labour’s result was their
worst in 80 years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Here in Chatham
& Aylesford, Tracey Crouch polled 28,856 (66.6%) and won by a majority of
18,540. This was our best ever result and represented a 9.7% swing from
Labour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Let’s take a moment to reflect
on what has been achieved. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Ten years ago, C&A was Labour’s safest seat in
Kent. It is now one of the safest Conservative seats in the entire country,
with a higher Conservative vote share than T&M, Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells
and even Chelsea! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, only 19
constituencies in the UK (from 650) have a higher Conservative vote-share than
we do. Well done to Tracey and all who helped achieve this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We end the year
in a very good place.</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> Our membership is the highest ever. Despite fighting
local, General and European elections, we still have a healthy surplus. In
fact, we finish the year with £17,600 in the bank – just £2,000 less than when we
started. This is due to our hard-working branches and the generosity of our
members.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I am now
entering my third and final year as your Chairman. In one way or another I have
been actively involved in the running of this Association since 2002.
Throughout that time, I have been Chairman (twice), Deputy Chairman Political (three times) and your Agent at every local and national election for almost 20 years! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I
think I have done my share!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">With your support,
my priority for the year ahead is to help rebuild our branches, set up a policy
discussion group, relaunch the YCs and identify and train the next group of
local leaders, including my successor. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Locally, we have achieved more than I
ever thought possible and it is now time to think about handing over to a new
generation who can build on what’s already been achieved. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I look forward
to my final year as your Chairman with as much enthusiasm as I did my first. I
would like to thank everyone who has worked with me on this incredible
journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Andrew Kennedy<br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Chairman<br />
January 2020<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-29408167242844289022019-05-19T09:43:00.005-07:002023-01-19T12:22:03.002-08:00Rules are rules; and they must apply to Lord Heseltine as much as the humble footsoldiers<div data-block="true" data-editor="f35jl" data-offset-key="6fh4q-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<span data-offset-key="6fh4q-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">On Friday 26 April, the weekly organisational bulletin from CCHQ contained the following unambiguous words:</span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="95mdv-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>"...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."</b></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In today's Sunday Times, Lord Heseltine announced that he would be voting for the Liberal Democrats at next Thursday's EU elections. </span></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="f35jl" data-offset-key="59nqu-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAdMmHCTsKDN37sPdHE286IKzxo8Rbx8Wv3mfJjd0c0vIzA21GeKda5aZMr2rUU5XqIYflaxzxb-cujob-NeWsO8tAflMtaWgV3F_UvKe3heZ3kDecaiJmBdiCwtB6YfSkfIV5B0c_6mQ/s1600/Heseltine+1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="987" data-original-width="1516" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAdMmHCTsKDN37sPdHE286IKzxo8Rbx8Wv3mfJjd0c0vIzA21GeKda5aZMr2rUU5XqIYflaxzxb-cujob-NeWsO8tAflMtaWgV3F_UvKe3heZ3kDecaiJmBdiCwtB6YfSkfIV5B0c_6mQ/s640/Heseltine+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="59nqu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He went on to say, </span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"I will retain membership of my local Conservative Association and will continue to take the Conservative whip in the House of Lords."</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5-E1CAeMcKTPjrNhKI28Vep8pALzh2C1TPlDekz6VFPjCnX8Tr5g13IZaLPz406oyfw28YpF8JfW-0YosPIKFpB-fzKoH17FUprBUfA5q-MKmiBDMdh_IJZDq6SNOJ-pJfloUWYBL3Ik/s1600/Heseltine+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="459" data-original-width="1600" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5-E1CAeMcKTPjrNhKI28Vep8pALzh2C1TPlDekz6VFPjCnX8Tr5g13IZaLPz406oyfw28YpF8JfW-0YosPIKFpB-fzKoH17FUprBUfA5q-MKmiBDMdh_IJZDq6SNOJ-pJfloUWYBL3Ik/s640/Heseltine+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="59nqu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">
</div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="59nqu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="59nqu-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">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:</span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="59nqu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>"...endorsement of any other political party is incompatible with membership of the Party."</i></span></b></div>
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Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-48515754016544074762019-05-13T15:00:00.002-07:002023-01-19T12:23:15.772-08:00Mayors, Money and Me !<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">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. <br /><br />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.<br /></span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">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!</span><br />
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<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">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:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br style="color: #1c1e21; content: ""; display: block; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin-top: 10px;" /><span face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21;">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.</span><br style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #1c1e21; content: ""; display: block; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin-top: 10px;" /><span face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21;">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.</span><br style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #1c1e21; content: ""; display: block; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin-top: 10px;" /><span face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21;">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. </span><br style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #1c1e21; content: ""; display: block; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin-top: 10px;" /><span face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21;">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:</span><br style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #1c1e21; content: ""; display: block; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin-top: 10px;" /><span face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21;">"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."</span><br style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #1c1e21; content: ""; display: block; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin-top: 10px;" /><span face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21;">I could not with any integrity defend civic hospitality to the poorest residents in my ward, and I therefore cannot support it.</span></span>Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-74996634367430755362019-05-13T03:34:00.002-07:002019-05-13T06:02:17.537-07:00Annual Mayor Making and Civic Hospitality<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">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. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">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. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The letter below, sent to the Group Leader, outlines my position in greater detail. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">During the election I campaigned specifically on three key pledges</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">1. To promote the delivery of only core/essential services to residents</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">2. To seek all ways to reduce Council Tax by eliminating all discretionary and unnecessary spending</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">3. To at all times represent local people in the council chamber</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">At a time when T&MBC is increasing Council Tax and introducing new charges for services (<i>ie</i>, 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. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">best wishes<br />Andrew</span></div>
Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-73387255411995902772019-04-13T00:50:00.000-07:002019-04-13T00:50:36.495-07:00Will we ever be forgiven?<div class="quoted-text" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
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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.<br />
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I was delighted to have been selected as the Conservative council candidate for such a beautiful area.<br />
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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.<br />
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“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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
“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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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?<br />
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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.<br />
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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?<br />
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Andrew Kennedy is a Conservative Council Candidate in Chatham and Aylesford</span>Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-40252038854507188652019-02-10T14:18:00.001-08:002019-02-10T14:18:22.821-08:00Where we dither we decline<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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”.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">CASE STUDY 1</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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. </span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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. </span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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. </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">CASE STUDY 2</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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 <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>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.</span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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. </span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We need more Andrea Thorpes!</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have always maintained that
“where we work we win”, it is also a truism that “where we dither we decline”.</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-29827008825600115492019-01-14T13:36:00.000-08:002019-01-14T13:36:12.119-08:00Beware of the Kitten Eaters<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"What are you going to do about it?" Or "We must print and send out a rebuttal."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My advice in such circumstances is DON'T!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Imagine this scenario..... Labour deliver a leaflet claiming, "The Conservative candidate eats kittens."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Genuine floating voters will probably read it, but being fair and open minded will discard it as "spin".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We deliver a rebuttal. "I DON'T EAT KITTENS" says angry Conservative candidate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What will have also happened...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My advice has therefore always been the same.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NEVER allow the opposition to dictate the campaign narrative.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NEVER justify a lie by repeating it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NEVER let your opponents see they have irritated or upset you.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NEVER be distracted into talking about the issues they want rather than the issues we want.</span>Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-12583467683770568922019-01-08T03:25:00.002-08:002023-01-19T12:25:12.560-08:00Where's my money? Hair today - gone tomorrow!<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">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. </span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">But all is not well with the finances!</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">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 "<i>where's our money gone?</i>" </span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">After a great deal of head scratching, back came the reply:</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>"My knowledge of Scottish MPs is limited. Sorry. When I saw entries in the ledger for <b>K Hair Event</b> I assumed it was an evening about hair products and allocated the income to the Woman's Committee."</i></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I should place on the record that our book keeping is outsourced and he is not a Party member!</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<br />
Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-5143902761817565852018-12-28T12:21:00.005-08:002023-01-19T13:31:48.500-08:00The 2016 Conservative Party Leadership Campaign pt 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGD7Ti8HVAguw2NvLaUowcP7LN-HVg9zTJGYwSp7S7OLPkdjx8eRmLcQkLqT7mZde1b6gdmINiXcDr_IFoKKKRuTXiER8jmpvDbaatAYVSzK8L0FGBCsk7jF5AZ1qzwOpLkfLxK__Qdvo/s1600/Votiing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="789" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGD7Ti8HVAguw2NvLaUowcP7LN-HVg9zTJGYwSp7S7OLPkdjx8eRmLcQkLqT7mZde1b6gdmINiXcDr_IFoKKKRuTXiER8jmpvDbaatAYVSzK8L0FGBCsk7jF5AZ1qzwOpLkfLxK__Qdvo/s640/Votiing.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>Deja-vu</i> - but grander. Another oak-panelled room packed with too many portly men sweating profusely in their suits, with Andrea's campaign team squashed at the back - three arses fighting for every two chairs. It was like the Cinnamon Club all over again, but this time it was </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">the beginning of the end, not the end of the beginning</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">. </span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">House of Commons Committee Room 14 was buzzing with excitement, booze and body odour as we nervously awaited the arrival of Sir Graham Brady with the final result. How and why was it taking them so long to count 329 votes?</span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Then he was there; a booming voice announcing that Andrea Leadsom and Theresa May would be going forward to the members' vote. Huge stamping and cheering all round. I was sitting with Tom Borwick, Helen Mayer and William Norton. We exchanged nervous glances; Andrea's vote had increased by 18 to 84, but she still only commanded 25% of the parliamentary party. If she went on to win the members' ballot, would she be able to command the party in parliament with so many voting against her? It was something we had privately discussed several times; but that was someone else's problem for another time. "<i>That's pissed on Nick Boles</i>" I said. </span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">We all traipsed to another Committee Room for a meeting of the campaign team, and to hear an address from Andrea. There must have been 40-50 people in the room. And we waited, and waited...and waited, for almost an hour. Stewart Jackson MP was sitting next to me and turned his notepad to my eyeline, <i>"I don't like this, I hope she isn't going to withdraw." </i>I suspect many of us were thinking the same. Helen Mayer and I were already thundering having been told we couldn't do any more work on the grid as Bill Clare wasn't available over the weekend and he had insisted on being present for any and every decision. Oh, the irony!</span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Finally Andrea arrived with her husband Ben and the core parliamentary team. For someone maybe ten weeks away from being Prime Minister, she didn't look or sound particularly enthused, though she spoke generously and with sincerity as she thanked her team "<i>both within the parliamentary party and all those working so hard outside parliament, for their trust, loyalty and support."</i></span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">It was then announced that we were to all have the three day weekend off to "recharge our batteries". This was when we <u>knew</u> something was very wrong. No campaign comes out of such a momentous day and then stalls for three crucial days, allowing the opposition to set the narrative and dominate the agenda. </span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Before we all departed Andrea announced that she was returning to Northampton but was stopping <i>en route</i> for a major interview with one of the UK's most hard-hitting writers, Rachel Sylvester, which would be published in the Times on Saturday 9 July. It then transpired that the interview would be held without any support staff in attendance and in the cafeteria of Milton Keynes railway station. What could possibly go wrong?</span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdudHqPMrHEGWFTEGUNgCAkM5Q4kpo4pvAPG0YWvYpMu3MY7HnBDh6ZJEEjKP-5a2kXBV3sKrskM36lIdDBoYsBCg-rAHsak7d16qgPBqtF0Ce2maOqVx1OkaXkZhs5_BdKMnDOjm1Hls/s1600/Times.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="946" height="95" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdudHqPMrHEGWFTEGUNgCAkM5Q4kpo4pvAPG0YWvYpMu3MY7HnBDh6ZJEEjKP-5a2kXBV3sKrskM36lIdDBoYsBCg-rAHsak7d16qgPBqtF0Ce2maOqVx1OkaXkZhs5_BdKMnDOjm1Hls/s400/Times.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: xx-small;">(c) Rachel Sylvester / Times Newspapers</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br />At this point any commentary becomes subjective. She was tired, even exhausted. She was distracted. The noisy and bustling surroundings of a coffee shop at Milton Keynes railway station was wholly unsuitable for such an important interview, it should never have been agreed. And it was wrong that a candidate who was in the final two for the leadership of the Conservative Party (and the final two to become Prime Minister of the UK) was not accompanied by a press officer. All of this is true.</span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Many others would argue that the above is immaterial. If Andrea had been elected leader and Prime Minister there would be many more occasions when she would be much more tired and the consequences of a mistake would be immeasurably higher. Therefore she had a duty to hold it together, and her inability to do so indicated she was not ready for the highest office. I can see there is truth in this too.</span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">My view? We are all human, even politicians. We all make mistakes. Every day in almost every conversation someone will say <i>"what I meant to say was..."</i> and in doing so clarify a remark which had been misunderstood. I don't know if Andrea "mis-spoke", whether she made a dreadful error of judgement, whether her remarks were misconstrued or taken wholly and disproportionately out of context, but what I do know is the option to say <i>"what I meant to say..." </i>was not an option for Andrea. As soon as it was said, it was recorded, written and reported. </span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The reason every major celebrity, sportsperson, captain of industry and politician has a press /communications team by their side is to help ensure these human errors don't become the headlines. And at that moment, tired, distracted, exhausted - her press operation let her down. Allowing that interview in those circumstances ranks for me alongside the march on parliament as an act of folly and a poor reflection of those who were meant to support her.</span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Over the next three days her team continued to build the campaign infrastructure, but the energy had gone. And as the headlines from Saturday's Times began to circulate and the feeding frenzy began, any hope left started to turn into despair. </span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Amongst the gloom there developed a sense of gallows humour, with the wonderful JP Floru unwittingly being the source of much of it. For over a week in anticipation of us getting into the final two, JP had been tasked with identifying a suitable house within the Division Bell for our HQ. Various members of the team fed-in suggestions which JP would dutifully investigate, and having done so report back via WhatsApp. "<i>Too much dust; would be havoc for asthmatics</i>". "<i>Oh my Lord, the stains were beyond what any normal person would consider acceptable</i>" and my favourite, "<i>The cat was so ugly it would frighten itself in the mirror</i>". </span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Finally a suitable property was offered in Cowley Street, a wonderful Georgian terrace which was the London home of Sir Neil and Lady Thorne; the same property used by John Major for his HQ during his <i>"back me or sack me</i>" leadership campaign in 1995. The Thorne's kindly offered use of the ground-floor dining room, an adjoining sitting room and the kitchen., on the understanding that the campaign would remove and store their antique furniture, pictures and silver. Cue another flurry from Floru: "<i>can anyone lend me a spanner</i>?" "<i>Where can I buy bubble wrap on a Sunday</i>" and then, "<i>This Georgian dining table weighs a ton, can anyone help me move it?</i>" Several such pleas went unanswered; I have never been more grateful for being 35 miles away in Kent. Finally Tom Borwick took pity and offered assistance. WhatsApp fell silent for two hours and we all speculated what had gone wrong. What a way to go, crushed to death in Cowley Street by Sir Neil Thorne's dining table. JPs wicked sense of humour and kindness kept us hopeful in those dark days and I wish to record how much I appreciated his company.</span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">On the Friday night I had returned to Kent as I was hosting <i>An Audience with Jacob Rees-Mogg</i>, which had been in the diary for many months. At the time Kent had around 10% of the Party's national membership - a significant block vote - and most of the local opinion formers would be present. </span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I had already spoken to Jacob and he had confirmed that he was going to endorse Andrea, but he wanted a private chat before the event to discuss the mechanics. </span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">We agreed to meet privately in the margins for a quick chat but when he arrived there was nowhere to go; the lobby was bustling, the kitchen was packed with the catering team and the loos were busy. I saw a storeroom, opened the door and pushed him inside, before the crowds closed in. Unfortunately it was more a cupboard than a room, 3ft square with no light. Two mop buckets filled the floor space and low shelving prevented us from standing upright. So there we were, in the pitch black, with JR-M bent in double and me standing with one foot in a (fortunately empty) mop bucket, we agreed the plan. Rather than him just announcing his backing, I would arrange a suitable question which he would answer with a fulsome endorsement and I would then "live tweet" his position. </span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Having agreed the plan we tried to leave the darkness of the cupboard with a degree of dignity, only to find a large and curious crowd had gathered outside, trying to hear what was going on. As the door opened they all started clapping. Quite what they thought we were doing in a small cupboard which was worthy of applause remains unsaid, but Jacob smiled graciously and started shaking hands as if it was a regular occurrence. </span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Jacob Rees Mogg declares his support for <a href="https://twitter.com/andrealeadsom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@andrealeadsom</a> "the only candidate for real change" whilst speaking to Kent <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Conservatives?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Conservatives</a> tonight.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">— Andrew Kennedy (@Andrew__Kennedy) <a href="https://twitter.com/Andrew__Kennedy/status/751513456961024000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2016</a></span></div>
</blockquote>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">That weekend the campaign was close to meltdown, with Rachel Sylvester's story running from Friday night through Saturday and Sunday and hints of further "revelations" to come. Andrea's political enemies briefed against her like fury to keep the story alive, then came rumours (subsequently found to be untrue) that she had falsified her CV. Talk about hitting a woman when she was down. However awful it was for us it must have been 100 times worse for her and her family. Even when she came out of her home to issue a statement, rather than reporting her words they criticised her fence panels and queried the value of her property. It was journalism at its worse and I wondered why anyone would wish to put themselves ans their familiges through such an ordeal.</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">For the sake of accuracy I must record that we all had
wobbles that Sunday. During the course of the day, we spoke to each
other about our personal positions. Could Andrea recover? Could the campaign
continue? And were we each prepared to sacrifice three months of our lives on what
may well be a pointless endeavour? After much heart-searching, we all came to
the same view; for as long as Andrea wanted to stay and fight, we would stand
with her. My personal view was clear. Andrea had trusted me, and put her faith
in me, I was not going to abandon her at the first whiff of grapeshot. It was,
however, a difficult call. Some of the team were taking unpaid leave (me
included) – if the campaign imploded, would our employers welcome us back? For
others they had, or were about to, relinquish valuable contracts elsewhere.
Still others had arranged childcare, and other domestic matters to make
themselves available. The easiest thing that day would have been to walk away;
none of us did.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">And so, at 7.30am on Monday 11</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">th</sup><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> July 2016 we all
gathered in Cowley Street for the first day of the campaign proper. The mood
was grim but, apart from a few furtive glances, the weekend’s events were not
mentioned, as each of us focused on our tasks. Slowly the MPs started to
arrive and fill the room, and we all waited for Andrea.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Needing distraction, I popped to the kitchen to make tea,
and was joined by Lady Thorne:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>“What are you chaps doing for
lunch?”</i>, she asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">“I don’t think we’ve thought that
far ahead!”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>“When Mr Major was here in the
90s, I organised a rota of ministerial wives who each provided food. One day it was hotpot,
then a casserole or a game pie”.</i> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">She then </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">giggled: “<i>I remember that every fifth day a Rolls-Royce would pull up and two liveried footmen would deliver a
Fortnum’s hamper.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">“I suspect there will be no
Cabinet wives or Fortnum’s hampers for us”, I said. “More likely a trip to Tesco Express for their “Meal Deal”!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Lady Thorne smiled diplomatically – I suspect she had no
idea what a Tesco Meal Deal was. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">By now, Andrea had arrived, and it was clear that all was
not well. After wishing us all good morning, she disappeared into the drawing
room with her closest advisers. </span><br /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEher7KhFXGs3-ZJ5naqFZ86YWn2bNNt6MnQqYA-dMAiVOBTvnLfhVl4rNg0jVORl_8kh5a79P2gR5jEisCA1I-jtjheAQdzN8En3LmhPob4uHonTE8UVmzjkyGKwWV_7OH3PHdoaBAB09Q/s1600/AL+Conf+before+quitting.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEher7KhFXGs3-ZJ5naqFZ86YWn2bNNt6MnQqYA-dMAiVOBTvnLfhVl4rNg0jVORl_8kh5a79P2gR5jEisCA1I-jtjheAQdzN8En3LmhPob4uHonTE8UVmzjkyGKwWV_7OH3PHdoaBAB09Q/s640/AL+Conf+before+quitting.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: x-small;">Andrea Leadsom with MPs Steve Baker, Tom Pursglove and William Wragg, drafting her statement <br />announcing that she would be withdrawing from the leadership contest. Photo courtesy of JP Floru. </span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The mood darkened. Half an hour later Tim
Loughton called us to attention, and invited Andrea to speak. To a silent, and
crestfallen, team she confirmed what we already suspected – that she would be
withdrawing from the leadership contest with immediate effect. She informed us
that, whilst the weekend press had been a factor, her main concern was the
damage a ten week campaign would do to Britain’s economy. The Stock Market and
the Pound were already in freefall following the referendum, and she simply did not believe
that the economy would stand 70 days of the country having no leadership or clear sense of
direction. This, together with her fears about uniting the Parliamentary Party,
had left her with no choice but to withdraw. She apologised profusely for
letting us down and thanked us for our dedication and loyalty. She then
returned to the sitting room with her advisers to draft her resignation
statement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEg_yCNOYNZYn_uRK8F9RIOYMC-J6vq_AGVceLlrUIM9iZrm77_4tmbDs9T1Uo-C8I60K-ZHaLjzr7PdWDx2gTILFLZelncIWC2cf0jetDctewNA8APD2bzDGIJL_-Qshzno0p5wIirJI/s1600/Shipman.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="754" height="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEg_yCNOYNZYn_uRK8F9RIOYMC-J6vq_AGVceLlrUIM9iZrm77_4tmbDs9T1Uo-C8I60K-ZHaLjzr7PdWDx2gTILFLZelncIWC2cf0jetDctewNA8APD2bzDGIJL_-Qshzno0p5wIirJI/s640/Shipman.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photograph taken from Tim Shipman's book "All Out War". <br />The "Three Musketeers" Helen Mayer, Tom Borwick and me can be seen around the top left hand corner of the table. </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Later that same morning, on the other side of London, Angela
Eagle MP was launching her bid for the leadership of the Labour Party.
Conscious not to clash, and determined to get our story out first, the press
statement was hurriedly drafted and emailed to the Press Association for 11am.
Unfortunately, an angry senior MP, who had not been consulted on Andrea’s
withdrawal, had furiously kicked the router, and broken it. JP was dispatched upstairs to borrow a screwdriver from Sir Neil Thorne, and we all stood
around impatiently as JP attempted to repair it. By this time we had missed the
deadline, and the statement had to be twice rewritten putting back the press conference. </span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Despite JP’s best endeavours, the little green light of the internet refused to flicker and the final indignity was having to send Shane
Frith down Cowley Street, with a laptop, to use the Ibsgigute of Economic Affair's </span>WiFi.</div><div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTvQ88gmqj8aRt8kuhOz-ROA4LgudJky5nUgmkTGwEL0KybzzJW9JTqMSbT1EdTylBhHRPqe4mSU5kN32ycn5ztdBCTDxIy6pLbQN1uxKpPUGoscvE3LoOUoEwDkEtRiTu0hkjfRaCTHs/s1600/AL+Statement+Press+Conf.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTvQ88gmqj8aRt8kuhOz-ROA4LgudJky5nUgmkTGwEL0KybzzJW9JTqMSbT1EdTylBhHRPqe4mSU5kN32ycn5ztdBCTDxIy6pLbQN1uxKpPUGoscvE3LoOUoEwDkEtRiTu0hkjfRaCTHs/s640/AL+Statement+Press+Conf.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Andrea Leadsom announces her withdrawal. Photo courtesy of JP Floru. </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">And so, nine short days after I was offered the job of Campaign
Manager, while I was standing in a muddy field in Eynsham, it was all over.</span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The one joy of an otherwise bleak day was to see Angela
Eagle floundering at her press conference, as Britain’s media bandwagon stood
up and walked out half way through her launch to record the bigger event in Westminster.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lzHuHdxwvWI" width="560"></iframe>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>“What do we do now?”</i>, asked Tom Borwick. “Let’s go to Rules
for lunch!”, I said, “<i>The Champagne’s on me!</i>” On the way to Rules, in a taxi, a
friend at the CCHQ Press Office sent me a text, </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i><b>“Well, at least you upstaged Angela Eagle…you guys did one thing
right”</b></i></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> I never admitted that even that was an accident – thanks to a broken
router – I was determined to bank one small, albeit Pyrrhic, victory. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: xx-small;">Footnote<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">A week after the
campaign finished I received a call from Andrea’s office. There was a letter
for me, and a bottle of Champagne – could I come to collect it? I was not
planning to be in Parliament for some weeks, so I arranged for a friend from
the TPA to collect them for me, and to keep them safe until we next met. The Champagne was welcome, and the hand-written letter was a nice touch; but
enclosed with the letter was a cheque covering a substantial portion of what I
would have been paid for the whole 3 month campaign. Others on the team received
similar. Andrea was under no contractual or moral obligation to do this; none of us asked for,
or expected, payment. The fact that she gave it so freely is a mark of her
sincerity and decency, which I have never forgotten.</span></span></i></div>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-39785281623371377562018-12-26T09:54:00.002-08:002023-01-19T12:28:09.697-08:00The 2016 Conservative Leadership Campaign pt 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis10TqZgsgQm79Qz0iOAl6NHlrjNm_612_c4z1OqU7T69xvAFT2upCibkzl6ghNjz34itzQ1KtYUMC1VYCsBNBINcrDJFz0FllirarplfY7xIViwQ7ONrPis_6Nt3mxFn1cq0J8UnEurY/s1600/Leadsom+launch.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="1225" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis10TqZgsgQm79Qz0iOAl6NHlrjNm_612_c4z1OqU7T69xvAFT2upCibkzl6ghNjz34itzQ1KtYUMC1VYCsBNBINcrDJFz0FllirarplfY7xIViwQ7ONrPis_6Nt3mxFn1cq0J8UnEurY/s640/Leadsom+launch.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">Agents are from Mars. Members of Parliament are from Venus. </span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;"></span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">I have long held the view that, with one or two honourable exceptions, Campaign Directors make poor Members of Parliament, and Members of Parliament make poor Campaign Directors. And the official launch of Andrea Leadsom's leadership campaign did little to persuade me to change my mind. At this stage her campaign was being run by MPs for MPs, and I think I can safely report that most of us from outside the Parliamentary circus were grateful to avoid guilt by association. </span></span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;"></span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">I arrived at the Cinnamon Club early on Monday 4 July to secure a good vantage point to watch Andrea's official launch, and was shown into a small private room on the ground floor. My first thoughts, "<i class="yiv4263784743">bloody hell, this room is far too small and far too hot."</i></span></span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;"></span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">Over the next 45 minutes probably 150 people, including journalists, financial backers, supporters, MPs, photographers, camera operators and sound recordists crammed into a room which would comfortably seat 60. </span></span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;"></span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: small;">Who booked such a small room? Perhaps the same person who thought they could launch a serious leadership campaign with a £50 pop-up banner and a lectern front which didn't show the candidate's name. And why weren't the arriving journalists given embargoed copies of her speech so they had time to absorb and report her words? And why was the event management so poor that a route from the door to the lectern was not kept clear, resulting in the poor candidate have to push and elbow her way to the front in what appeared an undignified rugby scrum. In fact, given Andrea's pitch was that of the candidate who understood the anger that drove Brexit, and that she would not be leader for the 'rich and privileged’, who thought that the oak panelled private dining room of one of Westminster's most exclusive and expensive restaurants was an appropriate venue? Not surprisingly the press coverage raised all the above points, even from writers who should have been sympathetic to our endeavours. It need not have been like that. Re-watching video footage of that day I am actually impressed how Andrea maintained her dignity and composure amid the chaos around her. </span></span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">After the launch it was the first formal meeting of her extended campaign team. We were originally going to meet in the same room, but no-one had checked its availability and it had been booked out for a private lunch, so we wandered around like nomads, being chased from one room to another, before the manager finally took pity and found us a table large enough for eight in the main restaurant. Which would have been fine... had there not been 14 of us. So there we sat, two to a chair or on each others knees, squatting on our haunches and looming over each others shoulders, amid the faint odour of kedgeree and the clatter of crockery, and speaking </span><i class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;"><span class="yiv4263784743" face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">sotto voce </span></i><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">so as not to be overheard by James Lansdale at the adjoining table. This is how and where we planned our very own Peasants' Revolt. </span></span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;"></span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">Despite the uncomfortable and slightly absurd surroundings the team gathered around that table were first rate.</span></span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;"></span>
</span><br />
<ul class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li class="yiv4263784743" style="color: #26282a; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">From the parliamentary party we had <b class="yiv4263784743">Steve Baker</b>, <b class="yiv4263784743">Chris Heaton-Harris</b> and <b class="yiv4263784743">Michael Tomlinson</b>. </span></li>
<li class="yiv4263784743" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b class="yiv4263784743" style="color: #26282a;">Helen Mayer</b><span style="color: #26282a;"> was there, fresh from Vote Leave. Helen was a former senior adviser at the LibDems but left having realised they were not very liberal nor very democratic. Helen was in charge of "development" and events </span><span class="yiv4263784743">(but not this one!)</span> <span style="color: #26282a;">and has since become a good friend and confidante.</span></span></li>
<li class="yiv4263784743" style="color: #26282a; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The writer, author and historian <b class="yiv4263784743">Dr Lee Rotherham</b> was there and in charge of policy and research. The formidable Dr Ruth Lee and Shane Frith were also working on policy.</span></li>
<li class="yiv4263784743" style="color: #26282a; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b class="yiv4263784743">Tom Borwick</b>, also from Vote Leave, was in charge of digital comms.</span></li>
<li class="yiv4263784743" style="color: #26282a; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b class="yiv4263784743">William Norton</b> was the legal agent and in charge of compliance.</span></li>
<li class="yiv4263784743" style="color: #26282a; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b class="yiv4263784743">JP Floru</b> was in charge of administration and office management.</span></li>
<li class="yiv4263784743" style="color: #26282a; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">And finally <b class="yiv4263784743">Bill Clare</b> was her press officer and director of comms. </span></li>
</ul>
<div class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">
<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">With the exception of Bill Clare, I knew, liked and trusted everyone around that table.But I took an instant personal disliking of Bill Clare, who I found arrogant, semi-detached and not at all collegiate. A view I later found was shared by many of my colleagues. </span></div>
<div class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">
<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span></div>
<div class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">
<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">My mind wandered to how Team Gove and Team May would be planning their campaigns. I had no doubt they would have proper air-conditioned offices and enough chairs for everyone to sit on. But I was also confident we had the upper hand. We were a disparate group of driven individuals, brought together by unexpected circumstances and a shared endeavour. We were the insurgents who spoke for the heart of the Conservative membership; I believed that we could win.</span></div>
<div class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">
<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span></div>
<div class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">
<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Everyone around that table was involved because they <b class="yiv4263784743">believed</b> in what we were doing, not out of loyalty to their employer nor through a sense of entitlement. And if we were going to win, our campaign had to be fought in the constituencies, not from plush offices in SW1 nor via grand stage-managed speeches surrounded by starry-eyed adoring supporters. </span></div><div class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;"><span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Later that day I returned to Kent to plan in minute detail how we would win. I adapted my General Election war book, which has stood me well for many years; almost everything was adaptable for the campaign ahead. </span></div>
<div class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">
<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span></div>
<div class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">
<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">My first task was to recruit a small army of voluntary researchers, which I drew from personal contacts, friends and Vote Leave activists. They were split into four groups:</span></div>
<div class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">
<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span></div>
<div class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">
<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b class="yiv4263784743">Group one</b> (thirty people) were tasked with trawling through every parish, borough, district, unitary, county council and Conservative Association website to populate a database of key Conservative activists. Each volunteer was given two or three counties and 48 hours to report back. </span></div>
<div class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">
<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span></div>
<div class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">
<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b class="yiv4263784743">Group two</b> (about ten people) were asked to download every set of Conservative Association accounts from the Electoral Commission website, and produce a database of where our members lived (ie, numbers in each Association) and where we had active branches. This data would be used to plot Andrea's campaign in the constituencies, ensuring her time spent matched where our members actually lived. </span></div>
<div class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">
<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span></div>
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<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b class="yiv4263784743">Group three</b> (again, ten people) were cross-referencing names produced by group one against various social media platforms and scrolling back to see if they were Leave or Remain. My view was the overwhelming majority of Leave supporters would want a Leave supporting party leader.</span></div>
<div class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">
<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span></div>
<div class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 13px;">
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b class="yiv4263784743" style="font-size: 16px;">Group four</b><span class="yiv4263784743" face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"> (just me and two others) were making personal contact by phone or email with those identified by Group three as “sympathetic", to ask if they would take on a county or constituency organising role for </span><i class="yiv4263784743" style="font-size: 16px;">Leadsom for Leader</i><span class="yiv4263784743" face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;">. Amazingly, apart from those unable to help due to health or age, almost everyone asked was willing to help and they, in turn, introduced me to other local activists who would fill in the gaps or offer additional support. </span></span></div>
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<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Sadly I cannot name this amazing team; some did so on the basis of anonymity, others now hold senior elected positions within the National Convention, some worked for MPs who were supporting Mrs May, and some were not even party members but desperately wanted a Leave Prime Minister to implement what our country had voted for. They know who they are and what they helped to achieve in the first 72 hours. Thanks to this group's efforts I was able to report back to a joint meeting of Leadsom's Campaign Team on Wednesday 6 July that we had built up a database of almost 15,000 members and we had over 400 constituency organisers in place across the UK, with hundreds more potential organisers to contact. My colleagues were making equal progress within their own areas of responsibility. </span></div>
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<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The next stage of my plan was to devise a series of tours getting Andrea out of Westminster and into the constituencies four days each week. Andrea's great strength was face to face; she is charming, thoughtful and genuinely interested in people. I was convinced the best way for her to win their trust and support was to ensure as many as possible had a chance to meet her in person. I now had the infrastructure in place to make that happen. </span></div>
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<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I was planning for her to visit each region between two and five times during the three month campaign, with on average 4 events a day; these could be anything from a local coffee morning, a lunch, afternoon tea or an evening "town hall" style Q&A meeting in major towns. My aim was for her to meet 4,000 members a week (or 50,000 over the three month campaign). </span></div>
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<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">I believed Mrs May's campaign would be top down and her programme of activity outside London to be severely restricted by the security demands of being Home Secretary. I wanted <i class="yiv4263784743">Leadsom for Leader</i> to be fleet of foot, spontaneous and driven by our members and supporters. Team May had been planning and plotting this bid for 10 years; I remembered being asked several years earlier by a member of her team when we invited her to address the Kent Patrons' Club <i class="yiv4263784743">"exactly how many Association Chairmen will be present?" </i>We had been planning and plotting for just 72 hours. I knew we couldn't take them on and win in a traditional media dominated broadcast campaign. But we could win by running the insurgent campaign and riding the Brexit wave from the constituencies all the way to Westminster. </span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="yiv4263784743" style="font-size: 16px;"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span><span class="yiv4263784743" face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;">Thursday 7 July 2016: We gathered in Millbank Tower, Westminster for the hastily arranged<i class="yiv4263784743"> Leadsom for Leader</i> <i class="yiv4263784743">Rally</i>. Many of us were nervous about this event, but the decision had been taken and by the time we were told, it was too late. In the end, the rally itself passed off well. The setting was fine, the backdrop had been improved and Andrea's speech was actually very good - for the first time showing depth and policy beyond Brexit. I have published a transcript of that speech</span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><a class="yiv4263784743" href="https://votingandboating.blogspot.com/2018/12/andrea-leadsons-millbank-speech.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #654504; font-size: 16px;" target="_blank"><b class="yiv4263784743">HERE</b></a><span class="yiv4263784743" face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"> </span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="font-size: 16px;">for those who are interested.</span></span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="yiv4263784743" style="font-size: 16px;"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="font-size: 16px;">Then came the bombshell.</span></span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="yiv4263784743" style="font-size: 16px;"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="font-size: 16px;"><i class="yiv4263784743"><b class="yiv4263784743">"Have you heard what they are planning?</b></i>" asked Helen Mayer. </span></span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="yiv4263784743" style="font-size: 16px;"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="font-size: 16px;">I hadn't. </span></span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="yiv4263784743" style="font-size: 16px;"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="font-size: 16px;">"They are planning a <i class="yiv4263784743">Leadsom for Leader</i> March down Millbank to Parliament Square, led by Tim Loughton and Julian Brazier. And it gets worse. Tim Loughton will be chanting <i class="yiv4263784743">"what do we want"</i> and the crowd is expected to reply <i class="yiv4263784743">"Leadsom for Leader" </i>followed by<i class="yiv4263784743"> "when do we want it" </i>to which we must reply<i class="yiv4263784743"> <b class="yiv4263784743">"NOW."</b></i>.</span></span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="yiv4263784743" style="font-size: 16px;"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="font-size: 16px;">I burst out laughing. I seriously thought she was joking. Then Tom Borwick joined us and confirmed it was true. "<b class="yiv4263784743"><i class="yiv4263784743">We have to try to stop it</i></b>."</span></span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="yiv4263784743" style="font-size: 16px;"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="font-size: 16px;">The three of us went to speak to Steve Baker who I think was sympathetic to our point of view, but said it was too late. Apparently the press had been tipped off and if we cancelled it would make us look weak. I remember saying very loudly, "<i class="yiv4263784743"><b class="yiv4263784743">perhaps it's better to look weak than to look fucking ridiculous."</b></i></span></span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="yiv4263784743" style="font-size: 16px;"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span><span class="yiv4263784743" face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;">And so we gathered outside; Helen Mayer in her Harris Tweed jacket and me in my trademark red jeans and open neck shirt, surrounded by 200 pink faced Tory boys in their best chalk stripe suits. I can do no better than to quote the Evening Standard,</span><i class="yiv4263784743"><b class="yiv4263784743"><span class="yiv4263784743" face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"> "they resembled a march of City Bankers demanding back their bonuses”. </span></b></i></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>(c) London Evening Standard</i></span></td></tr>
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<span class="yiv4263784743" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">To this day I do not know who thought that march was a good idea, but whoever it was turned us into a laughing stock and seriously undermined our credibility as a serious campaign and Andrea as a serious contender. And as for those of us who fight elections for a living rather than for a game, we were determined to have no part in it. We removed our Leadsom badges and t-shirts and dropped back 50 metres, a safe distance between us and the chanting mob, where we were joined by others who had more sense. </span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;"><br class="yiv4263784743" /></span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;"></span><span class="yiv4263784743" style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-size: 16px;">One freelance photographer was having a field day. Having photographed the last gaggle of banner-waving Tory boys he turned his attention to us. "<i class="yiv4263784743">Is this the end of it?</i>" he asked (meaning the end of the march). "<b class="yiv4263784743"><i class="yiv4263784743">It might well be</i></b>", I replied. </span></span><br />
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Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-40198508310742931672018-12-26T08:48:00.001-08:002018-12-26T08:48:46.341-08:00Andrea Leadsom's Millbank Rally Speech - Thursday 7 July 2016<div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; margin-bottom: 10px;">
Thank you for coming along this morning.</div>
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I’d like to begin by taking a moment to remember all those that died in the 7/7 bombings eleven years ago today.</div>
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Above all things, our thoughts and prayers are with their families on this day.</div>
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We should never forget how special our democracy is.</div>
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Over in the House of Commons, I and my colleagues are about exercise that democratic right to make an incredibly important decision.</div>
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We will be selecting two MPs to go forward to the country so that many of you can decide who will be our next Prime Minister.</div>
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That person will face enormous challenges and today I want to tell you why I want to lead the Party and this great country of ours.</div>
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You see, I am an optimist.</div>
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I truly believe we can be the greatest nation on earth.</div>
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As we show that the UK is once again open to the world and united in our new destiny, so we will expand our horizons.</div>
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Prosperity should be our goal, not austerity.</div>
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I want to spread prosperity to every corner of our country.</div>
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I want to help create more jobs.</div>
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Because, we need to hear and heed those millions of our fellow citizens who feel and fear that their country’s leaders don’t worry about them.</div>
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Those people who think that chief executives of big businesses get telephone number salaries, that bear no relation to the performance of their companies.</div>
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I say to all of those people – I am with you and I want you to share in the great future for this country.</div>
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I want to see better training, smarter working yes, and higher pay for the many.</div>
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I want to lead a nation where anyone who aims high can achieve their dreams.</div>
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Mark Carney, Bank of England Governor, was exactly right last week when he said:</div>
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“The UK can handle change. It has one of the most flexible economies in the world and benefits from a deep reservoir of human capital, world class infrastructure and the rule of law. Its people are admired the world over for their strength under adversity. The question is not whether the UK will adjust but rather how quickly and how well.”</div>
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He then goes on to say that a clear plan is needed. He’s absolutely right.</div>
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So today I want to speak to the markets as well as to the nation.</div>
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No one needs to fear our decision to leave the EU.</div>
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We will do so carefully, reassuring our European friends, and those businesses who are worrying about change</div>
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Trade must be the top priority: continued tariff free trade with the EU; continued free trade with those countries we have agreements with as a current member of the EU; and vitally, seizing the opportunity to take up new free trade deals with fast growing economies around the world.</div>
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There’s a big job to do.</div>
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But we also have to give certainty to different groups in our own country.</div>
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Certainty on migration. We want fair but controlled immigration – fair to those who are already here; and fair to all the talents across the world.</div>
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So I tell you today – I will not use people’s lives as bargaining chips in some negotiation. People need certainty and they will get it – I say to all who are legally here that you will be welcome to stay.</div>
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Certainty for farmers, universities and others who currently receive EU money. To them I say the UK government, my government, will give you the same money when we leave, and we will work with you to make more targeted use of the subsidies.</div>
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Certainty for those who want to travel, study and collaborate with others on the continent I say to them, you will be absolutely free to do so.</div>
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But a key job of our new Prime Minister will be to ensure the continued success of the UK economy.</div>
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Already we can see that the forecasts of a disaster for sterling, for equities and for interest rates have not been proven correct.</div>
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The pound is weaker, partly as a result of the markets being wrong on the result of the referendum, and partly on the expectation of further interest rate easing. But lower sterling is good for exports and makes inward investment more attractive.</div>
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It means we may import less and buy more at home.</div>
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The FTSE 100 is trading higher, and outperforming other global stock markets.</div>
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The government cost of borrowing has dropped with private sector loans available at the same rates as before.</div>
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That means the price of our state borrowing has fallen by a remarkable 40 per cent with 10 year interest rates below 0.8 per cent versus 1.37 per cent on 23 rd June.</div>
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Our valuable financial services sector has been boosted by both Barclays and HSBC bosses saying their plans are to stick with the U.K.</div>
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I will work tirelessly to reassure investors that the UK is open for business and a great place to employ people.</div>
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When we come to see the post EU figures I expect to see continued growth.</div>
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I expect to see people buying goods, going about their normal business, buying their homes and yes, enjoying a pay rise.</div>
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I will expect high standards of company behaviour, recognising their obligations to their communities and to their employees.</div>
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Mine will be a realistic but optimistic voice.</div>
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I believe we have a great future ahead of us.</div>
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We need to unite, to be positive and to make the most of our enormous strengths:</div>
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We are one of the world’s biggest economies;</div>
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We speak the worlds international business language of English;</div>
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Our contract law and our judicial system are second to none, inspiring great investor confidence;</div>
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We are part of a Commonwealth of 2.3 billion consumers, many of whose economies are growing fast;</div>
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We have historic trading links across the world, and from tourism to software to financial services to manufacturing, we have a great deal to offer.</div>
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This is the country that gave the world the rule of law, parliamentary democracy, the right to own property, the English language and the free market.</div>
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We are a remarkable people and we have so much more to give.</div>
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That is why here today I say, let us unite, and together we will write another great chapter – one of prosperity, tolerance and hope.</div>
Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-55494998206855847622018-12-24T05:07:00.001-08:002023-01-19T09:00:09.226-08:00The 2016 Conservative Leadership Election pt 1<div style="text-align: center;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: blue;"><b><i>"Well, at twenty minutes to five we can now say that the decision taken in 1975 by this country to join the Common Market has been reversed by this referendum to leave the EU. We are absolutely clear now that there is no way that the Remain side can win. The British people have spoken and the answer is "we're out".</i></b></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">This announcement by David Dimbleby was my trigger to finally go to bed and try to sleep. Like most of my friends I had been up for 48 hours and this brought a thrilling end to a dream I had pursued for over 30 years. My Euro-scepticism was not new-found; I first wore a badge reading "<i>Set Britain Free from the EEC</i>" at the Conservative Party Conference in 1983. I had never wavered. </span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">As Dimbleby spoke I couldn't help but notice that my home borough, Tonbridge & Malling, one of forty where I was leading the Leave campaign, appeared on the screen. </span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Tonbridge had also voted Leave by by 56% to 44% - a clear margin of 12%. In a wealthy West Kent commuter belt, packed with bankers, city workers and rural farmers, this was a personal and very significant victory against a united local political establishment determined to Remain. </span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I fought and failed to hold back my tears; not just tears for joy at the outcome, but tears of pride in my fellow countrymen (and women), for defying the elites and daring to dream. I gazed out into the morning light and the words of Gilbert Keith Chesterton's The Secret People flooded into my mind, </span><br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">We hear men speaking for us of new laws strong and sweet,</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">Yet is there no man speaketh as we speak in the street.</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic;"><i>It may be we shall rise the last as Frenchmen rose the first,<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></i></span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: arial;">Our wrath come after Russia’s wrath and our wrath be the worst.</i><br />
<i style="color: #333333; font-family: arial;">It may be we are meant to mark with our riot and our rest </i><br />
<i style="color: #333333; font-family: arial;">God’s scorn for all men governing. </i><i style="color: #333333; font-family: arial;">It may be beer is best.</i><br />
<i style="color: #333333; font-family: arial;">Smile at us, pay us, pass us. But do not quite forget.</i></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">But we are the people of England; and we have not spoken yet.</i></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">There were many things that angered me about the Remain campaign, but none more than their constant accusation that all Leavers were </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">"angry, uneducated, racist little Englanders looking back a halcyon days that never were." </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">I would like to pay tribute to the team that worked tirelessly alongside me to deliver a Leave majority of 190,000 votes in Kent. Of the ten key members of the campaign team, only three were over 50 and six were under 30. Of the wider group of perhaps 50 constituency and ward organisers, 75% were under 30. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">In fact the average age was 29 and between us we has 44 degrees, eight of which were 1 Class Hons, t</span><span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21;">hree read at Cambridge, three at Oxford and two each at Durham, Exeter and Harvard. We had an MBA in Business Management, two marketing directors, a doctor, a paediatric nurse, two company directors, a farmer, an army officer and a film set designer. And I can happily confirm there was not a thick, angry, uneducated racist among</span><span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21;"> us. The insults which were designed to belittle and demoralise us failed; we won because we worked harder and we were better. I have never been prouder to be part of a team. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73xE5rnqBigAhK7J339dmC9zehyphenhyphence-bc9q71Ho5M3_3cApiEIjNPtlNguW1VZmy27Gx02225LER-Xa5KlpXqchTePBS-WoqLx0qLd4o4Jk9pQ78dWad06OosSE0NLfhavnpBNVsLZJIg/s1600/Team.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="960" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73xE5rnqBigAhK7J339dmC9zehyphenhyphence-bc9q71Ho5M3_3cApiEIjNPtlNguW1VZmy27Gx02225LER-Xa5KlpXqchTePBS-WoqLx0qLd4o4Jk9pQ78dWad06OosSE0NLfhavnpBNVsLZJIg/s640/Team.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>Some of the team that delivered Leave in Kent; not a thick, angry, uneducated racist among us!</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21;">A few hours later Steve and I packed the car with our bags and two cats and headed off for a week of rest and recuperation on our narrowboat Barleywood, on the Thames. Barleywood has been abandoned in Windsor five weeks earlier due to dreadful weather and was still there, neither of us having had a day off since to move her. Steve drove and I sat exhausted and dazed, gazing out of the window. Everything looked the same, but it wasn't. In less than 12 hours we had voted to Leave the EU and David Cameron had resigned. My mind turned to the shape of the Conservative Party post-Brexit and who would lead us. Surely it had to be a Brexiteer who commanded trust and believed in the outcome?</span></span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21;">We cast off from Windsor and within half an hour we were heading into the Maidenhead constituency. Steve was at the tiller and I was up front reading and dozing. He sounded the horn to get my attention and there, on the left hand bank was a big property with a sloping garden to the river. A European flag flew at half mast and in the garden was a hastily erected home made sign reading "YOU HAVE RUINED OUR COUNTRY". Directly opposite, on the other bank, an equally grand property had a giant Vote Leave poster in the garden alongside a Union Flag. Over the poster was a handwritten sign "EU LOST". </span></span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21;">I looked at this example of bravado with sadness and a sense of bemusement; two clearly wealthy, educated and successful neighbours, who as far as I know have lived happily facing each other for many years, were trading childish insults across the River Thames. Little did I know that this behaviour, intolerance and anger would define politics for the foreseeable future. This is the point I realised that I had to help in whatever way I could to help a pro-Brexit candidate win the leadership of the Conservative Party. I phoned around my friends to take the temperature and having listened to the majority share my view about the debates, the need for a fresh face and a new start, I sent this text to Andrea Leadsom with a copy to High Wycombe MP, Steve Baker.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIyAmr-C7UCtI-02gDu-kPD2mgdpL8plJ0Fyx40gvYV-E2Q_sbsIY43ZbvlC7qSbAWQf0uDDjxpQWkmHRCaBq4kdmreOcxo1XpQffGxt8b4cvQ3_ze6TlWvWGDVrL5QdspwFX9a2YxSV0/s1600/LeDSOM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="950" data-original-width="1080" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIyAmr-C7UCtI-02gDu-kPD2mgdpL8plJ0Fyx40gvYV-E2Q_sbsIY43ZbvlC7qSbAWQf0uDDjxpQWkmHRCaBq4kdmreOcxo1XpQffGxt8b4cvQ3_ze6TlWvWGDVrL5QdspwFX9a2YxSV0/s400/LeDSOM.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21;">Andrea promptly replied to thank me, along with a standard holding response, which I expected. I then resolved to do my best to put politics, Brexit and intrigue aside and focus on my husband and our week together on the Thames. Politics is a demanding mistress. Our post-election holiday has always been cathartic for my own mental health after the stress of an election, and for our relationship which takes a bit of a battering during a campaign. Like most people involved in politics I couldn't do what I do without Steve's love, patience and support.</span></span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21;">For a week my phone fell silent as we blissfully meandered west along the course of the Thames, stopping at our favourite towns and villages; Marlow, Henley, Abingdon, Oxford and then on towards Lechlade where the Thames turns into a narrow river through stunning countryside and Cotswold stone hamlets and villages. Finally, on Saturday 2 July we reached Eynsham. Alongside the lock we noticed a sign for the Eynsham Carnival later that day and decided to go along.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">
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<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21;">We stopped for coffee en route and as we chatted my phone rang. The name "STEVE BAKER" appeared on the screen. For those who don't know, Steve is one of the nicest and calmest people I know in politics; he is also one of the most ruthless Parliamentary organisers in the business. After exchanging pleasantries he asked, in his usual quiet and low-key way, if I was still "on board?" "Yes, of course", I replied. "How can I help?" "Well, there are may hurdles to jump and anything can happen over the next few days, but if Andrea gets through the MPs vote and makes the final two I would like you to come on board as her national Campaign Manager. This hasn't yet been confirmed with the wider team, but we are meeting later this afternoon. I just wanted to check you would be OK with that if it was formally offered."</span></span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21;">I remember slumping back in my chair, rendered speechless by what I was being offered. When I had called Andrea a week earlier I thought I would, at most, be asked to help her in Kent. Perhaps call around my friends and contacts and organise a meet and greet. I never anticipated a national role, let alone running her campaign in the field.</span></span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21;">My mind raced. No-one involved in politics at my level could fail to be flattered and excited at being asked to run a leadership campaign. But I was also very conscious that I had never worked on a national leadership campaign before, let alone run one, I wasn't convinced I knew what to do, or had the skills or capacity to deliver. I tried to articulate my concerns (fears!) to Steve Baker while not sounding ungrateful or negative.</span></span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21;">The phone went silent for what seemed a long time. </span></span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21;">"Andrew, as an agent you have probably fought and won more elections than anyone else I know. You have an unmatched ability to communicate with our voters and turn them out to vote. And unlike a normal election, in this campaign you have a unique knowledge and understanding of those who will vote; our members. I see no reason why you shouldn't do it."</span></span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21;">His argument was strong and factually correct, in fact it was exactly the same argument I deployed when trying to convince a reluctant member to stand as a councillor, but in this case the stakes were higher. We agreed to talk a few hours later once we had both had time to think and consider our positions.</span></span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21;">As Steve and I walked to the Eynsham Carnival I resolved that, if appointed, I would treat this campaign as I would any other. Strip away the glamour, the media, the stakes and the prize, Andrea Leadsom was like any of the other 2,000 candidates I have worked for over the past 30 years, but instead of their being an electoral roll there was a membership list. My job, as always, would be to identify those who would vote for her, convince those who were unsure and then turn them out to vote. It's a remarkably simple process which others always tried to make more complicated than it need be. </span></span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21;">And so, two hours later, standing in a damp field in Eynsham (ironically in David Cameron's constituency) and competing to make myself heard over the tannoy announcing the start of the vintage tractor parade, I accepted the offer to be Andrea Leadsom's campaign manager. Game on!</span></span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;">This is the first of three articles I will publish over the Christmas and New Year period about the 2016 Conservative leadership election. The next installment will be published on this blog on Thursday 27th December and will cover the campaign launch, the team, the infamous Leadsom for Leader march on Parliament and how I planned to deliver victory in the country. </span></span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21; font-size: x-small;">The third article (published Sunday 30th December) will cover the MPs final vote and Andrea's confirmation as one of two candidates going to the membership, the weekend commencing Friday 8th July (including the interview with Rachel Sylvester published on Saturday 9th July) and her withdrawal on Monday 11th July. </span></span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #1c1e21; font-size: x-small;">And my final blog in this series (which I will publish on 4 January 2019) will cover the next campaign and the lessons learned. </span></span></div>
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</span>Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-81089640153939445542018-12-20T09:06:00.002-08:002018-12-20T09:10:18.165-08:00Nothing to wine about!<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="9gpqj" data-offset-key="5fn5c-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our incredibly cantankerous neighbour, who Cllr Paperclips and I refer to as "Victor Meldrew" due to his permanently miserable face and hostile demeanor, has just knocked on our office door. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Yes?" I said, suspiciously, expecting another of his long moans about the 1001 things we do to irritate him. He actually once sent me a rude note complaining that I had parked my car overlapping into the neighbouring parking bay by 2 cm (he had measured it) despite the fact the bay I had strayed into was also one of ours. Apparently I was "setting an overlapping precedent which, if not addressed, might cause similar issues with other tenants." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Anyway, rather than moan, he said "I have something for you, it's wine" and handed over what was clearly a box of wine. I was somewhat taken aback, this is the guy who when I once wished him "good morning" in the lift he actually replied "it was until you interrupted my concentration."
I was a bit lost for words and started thanking him profusely for his kindness. In fact, I think I was a bit over profuse as I wanted to ensure he knew I appreciated his gesture and perhaps build a new, friendlier relationship next year. He stood listening to me, smiling and nodding, before saying - right, must go. I hope you enjoy it. And off he went back to his office. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> I returned to me desk and then the horror dawned on me. On the box was a DHL courier label. The wine wasn't from him. It has been sent to us as a gift and one of his staff had taken delivery as Jon and I were out. He clearly knew I had misunderstood and was listening to me thanking him knowing the truth, and probably enjoying the situation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I now feel like banging on his door and withdrawing my gratitude and pleasantries ,but I wouldn't wish to give him the satisfaction! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Anyway - I am now the proud owner of two bottles of wonderful Chateau Miraval Rose, but absolutely no idea who they are from, as there is no delivery note or card in the box. If you are the sender THANK YOU but please text or email to to let me know, as I would like to send a note of thanks and also drink to your health and happiness when we open them over the Christmas holiday.</span>Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-2637852532148570472018-12-11T07:18:00.000-08:002018-12-11T07:18:13.940-08:00West Kent's Calling Cards <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For those who follow what we do in West Kent and have in interest in our campaign techniques, I am pleased to publish today samples of our 2019 local election calling cards (or <i>Sorry you Were Out Cards</i> as they used to be known).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have not used "<i>Sorry you were out</i>" for many years now as I like our candidates to hand over the card on the doorstep while chatting, or leave through letterbox if the resident is out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our new design leads with a high quality panorama of the ward. This same photograph is being used on the newsletter "banner", the VI/Residents' Survey, the main election leaflet and GOTV / GOTPV material, giving a sense of continuity and locality throughout the campaign. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The back of the card has the candidate's photograph, contact details and three pledges. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have sourced the photographs through Alamy, Photobucket or, where there is no commercially suitable photograph available, we have asked our photographer to visit the ward to take one of our own.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope you like these examples:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-67257624328756729252018-12-07T14:57:00.002-08:002018-12-08T00:47:47.149-08:00We need more Pat Matthews'The late US President George HW Bush described volunteers and those who give their time to their community and for the benefit of others as "a thousand points of light on a broad and peaceful sky". It was a lovely analogy, and here is a fine example. <br />
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I spent today in Priti Patel's constituency of Witham. Walking to a meeting I spotted a decorated pillar box and crossed the road to see what it was.<br />
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It was a crochet and knitted 'winter wonderland scene' which overnight have appeared on 12 of the town's pillarboxes. Each has been lovingly produced showing a different traditional Christmad scene. They were attracting a great deal of attention, especially from children.<br />
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On closer inspection they turn out to be the work of one community minded lady called Pat Matthews and are designed to raise money for a local hospice (as the laminated note below explains).<br />
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What a lovely, thoughtful and selfless thing to do. In a word of "me me me" and amid the vulgar commercialism which now defines Christmas, I found this lady's efforts to brighten up her town while raising money for a local hospice to be quite moving and humbling.<br />
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I don't know Pat Matthews and I suspect we shall never meet, but I have just made a donation to the hospice via her Just Giving page. I am sure the hospice does wonderful work but more importantly I wanted to express my thanks and appreciation to this lady who has gone to do much effort to make a difference for her local community. This world needs more Pat Matthews'.<br />
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Here is the link if you'd like to donate<br />
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/peter-tidd1<br />
<br />Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-998078056081146372018-12-04T04:10:00.001-08:002018-12-04T04:10:34.387-08:00Forget Brexit - this is the politics that really matters!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Forget Brexit, Backstops and Barnier.... in the constituencies it's business as usual:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Above, Cllr Owen Baldock and Chris Baldock undertake the end of year audit of Ann Widdecombe's balls, ensuring that all 1,100 balls are present and correct ahead of the new year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And at the other side of the room, two more of our regular volunteers, Cllrs Janet Sergison and Vivian Branson, have spent the day folding Christmas Draw tickets stubs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The SW1 elite may scoff at such parochial endeavours, but these two activities (the 500 Club and our Christmas Draw) have this year raised almost £30,000 for West Kent funds. Enough to cover the cost of three parliamentary election campaigns! </span><br />
<br />Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-65911970837047030212018-11-25T08:50:00.000-08:002018-11-25T08:53:00.055-08:00If we don't defend free markets, who will?<div dir="ltr">
In the mid to late 1970s Jim Callaghan and Denis Healey, r<span style="text-align: center;">ocked by the collapse of "In Place of Strife" and the ensuing Winter of Discontent, lost their confidence and stopped defending collectivisation, trades unionism and nationalisation. This created the political space needed for Maragaret Thatcher to privatise state assets and roll back the post-war Butskill consensus.</span></div>
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For too long now the Conservative Party has failed to defend the free market. For too long now we have sat by and allowed a narrative to take hold which confuses globalisation and capitalism with free markets and consumer choice, to a point where public mood has now turned.</div>
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And now we have headlines like this:<br />
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Globalisation and corporate greed are not the same as entrepreneurship, competition and choice.<br />
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Unless we stand up for free markets we will have allowed, in fact created, the space for Socialism to return.<br />
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And we will only have ourselves to blame.</div>
Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-21218352468090147842018-11-23T06:17:00.000-08:002018-11-23T06:28:06.501-08:00Bullying and victimisation cited by Chatham Labour Councillor for resignationStatement from former Chatham Labour councillor, Sam Craven, on why she has just resigned from the Labour Party and will now sit as an Independent.<br />
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I have loved working with the residents of Luton and Wayfield since they elected me as one of their councillors in 2011. It is an honour to represent the ward and I will continue to work hard for the residents as an Independent councillor.</div>
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This is not a decision I have taken lightly and have tried for months to find a solution to the problems I have raised with the core leadership team. However, I can no longer remain a member of the Labour Group, or the Labour Party, after yet another broken promise has left my position untenable.</div>
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I made my concerns known to the core leadership team about the actions of a councillor and a candidate many months ago. I offered my resignation then, and on subsequent occasions since, as I felt I could not work with them. I was persuaded to stay while the leadership team pursued a resolution to the treatment I received which they acknowledged could be seen as ‘ganging up against a woman, bullying and victimisation’.</div>
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From this process meetings were held and a set of protocols were put in place. I followed instructions as promised. However, these agreements were never met, with no repercussions. Equally there had been communications which I was not fully involved in, or received, all leading to further undermine my position.</div>
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I had been working collaboratively on our ward newsletter (that I had been requesting since February 2017) as agreed to find out that an alternative newsletter had been designed and signed off to a deadline that I never knew existed. I never saw a copy until the leaflet had been printed and I did not feature in any form – though ward work I had specifically done was included. I only found out about the newsletters existence at one of our branch meetings, when a candidate told the meeting it was available.</div>
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The core leadership team had reached a compromise to produce two separate leaflets without informing me until after the fact. However, the promise they gave me for the production of my own newsletter has now been broken as they have decided this will not happen, taking away my right to correspond with residents.</div>
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On Tuesday evening I received an email telling me the full Leadership team has considered ‘the negative impact of leaflets going out without all of the candidates on, and that the re-selection for the third Luton and Wayfield candidate is imminent, it has been determined that a single leaflet solely with your content will not proceed but that funds for an additional leaflet which will contain all three candidates will be provided once the new candidate has been selected. This leaflet will be designed and signed off centrally instead of by Councillors or candidate’.</div>
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This suggests an admission that their own resolution had failed and appeared to be a poor idea to begin with. If they had actually managed their own protocols effectively in the first place this situation would never have spiralled so out of control and left me feeling my position within the group as untenable.</div>
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I thought I could have remained working within the group once my leaflet had gone out as agreed. But now they have broken that promise there is no way I can work with the core leadership team. I just can’t trust them anymore. Poor judgement, lack of leadership and a string of broken promises as led to this. I followed their instructions to the letter, put faith in their procedures and I have been let down at every step. They know I have strong opinions about how councillors and candidates should act and they have used this to drive me out instead of resolving matters.</div>
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They have succeeded.</div>
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When I got involved in politics, I was just a mum fighting to save her son’s school and I have always taken that approach since being elected. I am elected to help people so I have avoided the political game-playing that has turned so many people off politics.</div>
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My values have not changed but the party around me now seems to tolerate behaviour I find unacceptable and should not be shrugged off as political rough and tumble. There are serial offenders within the local party that no matter how many times they are spoken to, or investigated, keep on causing problems. I’m convinced it is only a matter of time before something really serious happens that cannot be swept under the carpet and I do not want to be associated with it.</div>
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In fact, it is relief to be away from nonsense like a councillor boasting about the deal they did with another member to ensure councillors were reselected without problems – all without the knowledge of the actual sitting councillors. It’s objectionable, makes a mockery of the selection process and is disrespectful to the membership as well as many of my ex-<br />
colleagues who work tirelessly for the benefit of their wards.</div>
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Thankfully, I can now just concentrate on working hard for the residents of Luton & Wayfield with my head held high.</div>
Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-45712282857396047492018-11-16T07:26:00.001-08:002018-11-16T07:26:15.649-08:00Defective Defections <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I take a degree of absurd pleasure when a councillor who is not re-approved or <br />re-selected grandly announces that he/she (almost always a he) is defecting to another party. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apart from sense of self-flagellation, why would this please me? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Simple because there is no faster, more definitive or simple way to prove that the Approvals Committee or Branch Committee were absolutely right to dump them in the first place. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I simply do not comprehend how anyone can suddenly change their core political principles due to actions of the local Conservative Association's Approvals Committee. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If the Chatham & Ayesford Local Government / Approvals Committee decided to turn their fire on me and dump me as a candidate I would have every right be be irritated / upset / bloody furious / vengeful <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(*delete as appropriate)</span></i> with the members of that committee. I might decide they were all a shower ungrateful shockers and resign from the Association or even give my money and energy to another Association nearby. But the one thing I wouldn't (couldn't) do was suddenly decide after 40 years belief in free markets, small government and personal liberty that I am becoming a big state, internationalist Socialist and fan of high taxes. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unless, of course, the councillor was never a real Conservative in the first place, and was just using the party as a stepping stone to self aggrandisement. In which case their defection is not surprising, because clearly it's all about them and not about principles or beliefs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Which brings me back to my original point..... the Approvals Committee were absolutely right in the first place !</span>Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-39355921857729170222018-11-15T11:59:00.000-08:002018-11-15T12:02:52.945-08:00There's still more that unites us than divides usAs passionate and determined as I am about Brexit, we all need to remember that when it's finally over there will still more that unites us than divides us. And the only alternative to us is Corbyn.<br />
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As angry as I am with the 'deal' I do not believe for one moment that those who support it, or take a different view to me, are 'traitors' or 'evil'. I believe they are wrong. But I also believe that they are doing what they think is right.<br />
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I don't take any pleasure in finding myself so opposed to so many of my friends and colleagues. In fact, despite the bravado, I am actually finding this whole business quite disturbing and upsetting. It has divided friendships, families, communities and parties.<br />
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I want it to be over, but I will fight to the bitter end for what I believe. As must you, whatever side you are on. But let's fight with facts and humour and grace, so we can at least pick ourselves up when it finally ends and rebuild those friendships and loyalties that have held us together and made us the most successful political party in the world.Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-37745932700877457572018-11-12T10:11:00.001-08:002018-11-12T10:11:37.727-08:00Thank You x 14,000<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/con500club"><img border="0" data-original-height="765" data-original-width="1600" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsPPAFuxc95KQbj6jmpoFeZnXv3GZjI-BIUZslo2OVwn2cYbBOncwrsIp3PruVrex2msbwQPI69VW_LED3-N5SpXUbUFZtzmwGBcEI1Xx9v26ULnY_Ni6Nh77VhsEhyuGVSkRarkx7Qk/s640/500+Club+A4+6pp+leaflet+proof-page-001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the great but unexpected successes of the West Kent Group is our ability to use our numerical strength to raise substantial amounts of new money. And a good example of this is the West Kent 500+ Club.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The great <b><a href="http://tinyurl.com/con500club">Ann Widdecombe</a></b> is the Club's Patron, and having such a respected and popular name involved certainly helps. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you opened a letter from Andrew Kennedy asking you to stump-up £30 it would probably go straight into the bin. When you see Ann's familiar face and signature, you at least read what she has to say!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Club is now coming to the end of its third successful year and has once again raised over £14,000 profit for local Association funds. Since its formation, it has raised over £40,000 and given a similar amount back to members in cash prizes. It takes about 10 hours per month to administer from the office with no burden whatsoever on our Associations. Imagine how many BBQs, Cheese & Wines or Jumble Sales you would need to organise to raise £14,000!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What's more remarkable is the West Kent 500+ Club is a very simple and popular entry point for supporters to help the Association financially. At the end on this year over 50% of our 500+ Club Members are pledges rather than Party members. Many 500+ Club members now also buy Summer and Christmas Draw tickets, attend social events and a few have even got actively involved. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ideally you need a group of Associations working together to make this happen. One Association alone will not produce the size of membership required to make joining an attractive proposition. Asking people for £30 with a chance of winning £80 is not that enticing. Asking for £30 with a chance of winning a share of £15,000 (with a top prize of £2,500) really is worthwhile! You need a critical mass to make it happen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are now recruiting members for the 2019 Draw, starting in January. If you'd like a gamble and a chance of winning, please sign up by clicking <a href="http://tinyurl.com/con500club"><span style="color: red;"><b>HERE</b></span></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And if you are an Association or Group/Federation Chair and you would like to see if the West Kent 500+ Club model could work for you, email me via <a href="http://andrewkennedycampaigning.co.uk/contact/"><b><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></b></a></span><br />
<br />Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-38916801287945250022018-11-10T17:00:00.001-08:002018-11-11T01:49:51.275-08:00The nine most terrifying words in the English language<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">President Reagan once said that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, <i>"I'm from the government and I'm here to help."</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">F<span style="font-family: "arial";">or an old school agent who believes elections are still won door-to-door, the nine most terrifying words I now hear are, <i>"<b>We need a committee to improve our social media</b>."</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm hardly shy and retiring when it comes to social media myself. I am a prolific Facebooker, I have a Twitter a/c with 2,200 genuine followers, I use Insta and my consultancy has a website. And the ward where I am standing for election in May 2019 also has a FB page which is growing slowly and makes a nice <i>addition</i> to our traditional campaign toolkit </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My issue therefore isn't with social media, it's with people who think it can replace traditional campaigning. These fall into two groups:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(i) the new and enthusiastic who genuinely believe it to be true, and </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(ii) the habitually bone idle who think it might save them from doing some hard work. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At present I have two "social media committees" in my patch, each of which is "developing a strategy". Endless meetings are held, policies produced and plans made. But nothing every bloody happens. There are never any outcomes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I suspect the type of people who convince themselves that they can thumb and tap their way to victory are more or less the same type of people who registered to vote in their millions in the 72 hours before the EU Ref but couldn't be bothered to walk to the polling station to vote. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of these committees even convinced the Association to stump up two thousand pound so they had a budget, which they spent employing someone to tweet for them. And that's the problem. Some Orwellian "newspeak" which simply retweets CCHQ propaganda alongside municipal press releases is as much use as a chocolate teapot. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Last year I was sitting at my desk at West Kent Towers half listening to one of our Association's Local Government/Approvals Committees interviewing incumbent councillors in the adjoining room. The senior councillor being interviewed started berating the Association Officers for their lack of social media commitment. As she ranted on I searched her Twitter account; she'd tweeted nine times in the previous three years! "<b>Something must be done!</b>" as long as someone does it for me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When she sadly lost her formerly safe seat everyone else was to blame. Not enough support. Not enough money spent in her ward. Not enough time from the agent. Not enough literature. It was never mentioned of course that this ward had fewer pledges than any other, no peacetime newsletter had been delivered in the past ten years and two of her ward colleagues hadn't even been bothered to collect their main election leaflets from the office. Had that branch spent more time building a relationship with their residents, the residents may have been more willing to give them the benefit of the doubt when they needed it. In politics as in life, what goes around, comes around. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So yes, social media has its place. But for me it must be local, intimate and immediate. Association Twitter accounts blasting out CCHQ memes will never make the emotional connection with local voters that is vital to success. Councillors and candidates should use their social media pages to build relationships with their residents by posting examples of what they are doing locally and the difference they make to people's lives. For it to make a difference we must use social media to narrowcast, not broadcast. My most popular FB posts on my ward political page are when I post a lovely sunset or a photo of me with a random cat I have met on the doorsteps. These work because they tell a human story, and my goodness, now more than ever, those of us in politics must demonstrate that we are authentic and human.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And being human does not require a huge budget, a committee or a strategy. It requires a phone with a camera and an ability to talk to people on an emotional rather than political level. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">And that I am afraid is a skill too few of us have.</span> </span></div>
Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-46404235422720096642018-10-25T06:54:00.000-07:002018-10-25T06:54:10.794-07:00Best bits....<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Andrew</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Regarding this autumn newsletter. I really don't have time to write three stories, so I have sent you a copy of my annual report to my parish councils. Perhaps you could read through and pick out the best bits. I'm very busy you know.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Dear Councillor xxxxxxxxxxx</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Thanks for that. I have now read through it twice and I am struggling to find the three 'best bits' to which you refer. Could you narrow it down a bit for me?</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Best wishes</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Andrew</b></span><br />
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<br />Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3951799115847069359.post-30825395551349378662018-10-23T03:56:00.001-07:002018-10-23T03:56:19.813-07:00Chairman's Christmas Reception <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1hNbpPVT3KtI7o83V42wliriTT1UbcdU4cyL9lQSUxC_HCDFLpE9rvdgE2vuG_BFmeCr_VRKAHBuYLNec9RcBdHyisv2Lz8gvseXGQ1FW3_IH_6Vzp7ijj-kB1tRpZb1LFQL8uCDH8aRj/s1600/Chairman%2527s+Reception+Flyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="1240" height="451" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1hNbpPVT3KtI7o83V42wliriTT1UbcdU4cyL9lQSUxC_HCDFLpE9rvdgE2vuG_BFmeCr_VRKAHBuYLNec9RcBdHyisv2Lz8gvseXGQ1FW3_IH_6Vzp7ijj-kB1tRpZb1LFQL8uCDH8aRj/s640/Chairman%2527s+Reception+Flyer.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To book your tickets for the Chatham & Aylesford Conservative Association Chairman's Reception, hosted by Andrew and Steve at their apartment overlooking the River Medway and the North Downs, please use the link below. Space is limited to 25 guests. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Please be aware we have two very friendly cats (Berty and Mavis) who will jump on you and demand attention, so if you don't like cats or have an allergy to animal fur, best not come!</b></i></span><br />
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Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413121528961140051noreply@blogger.com0