UCL Conservatives @ Party Conference 2007

The main speeches @ Party Conference

2007-10-04T23:36:00.000+01:00

Missed Party Conference - watch these speeches! I have included the main ones, but there were many more - the rest can be found here.

William Hague

Boris Johnson

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Michael Bloomberg

George Obsorne

IDS

David Davis

Change required

David Cameron

The final night

2007-10-02T23:50:00.000+01:00

Its been a really great conference and we are coming to the end. Wonderful speechs today continuing to show our solid, well thought out policies that will help our society and appeal to the voters. Off to finish the night as always with everyone in the imperial hotel - now we wait for our leaders speech tomorrow. Spoke to a member who came to our society last year - he has seen a draft of his speech and says it is going to be very, very good! Bring on the end of a manificant party conference!

Not quite yet...

2007-10-02T14:37:00.000+01:00

Well the rumours were wrong. A few people were saying that he was going to withdraw troops, but an election rumour was more fun! A good speech is coming up by Davis.

A rumour....

2007-10-02T02:29:00.000+01:00

Sitting here and we keep hearing that Brown is going to call the election tomorrow! Everyone is gearing up, two speeches have been written for the key shadow cabinet members. They have a press conference booked tomorrow if he calls it - the journalists are also saying it. It looks like he may call it to steal away from our leaders speech. It could all get very exciting!

State of the Union...

2007-10-01T20:26:00.000+01:00

In the TRG state of the union debate. Speakers include Nick Bourne and Malcolm Rifkind. the room is packed full of people and journalists, including BBC newsnight! A really great debate is going on about whether we want a union and the possiblity of an English Parliament. Off to the CF party later.

economics....

2007-10-01T20:19:00.000+01:00

Great speech from the shadow chancellor today - help for first time buyers and a raise in the inheritance tax, plus he also showed how he will pay for it. It shows the clear difference between us and Labour. Seems to be very good coverage and a major attraction for the voters! The large round of applause and comments after shows us the real sense and success of it!

The Hague speech

2007-09-30T14:52:00.000+01:00

William Hague gave an incredible speech to open the conference. It was powerful and commanding, attacking Brown for his failings and showing who the true heirs to Thatcher are! He did get delayed by 15 mins as the speaker system was not working properly and most could not hear that was being said!

End of the first day

2007-09-30T03:54:00.000+01:00

After convention we ended up in the hotel. Lots of people around including Paul Barton, spent many happy hours chatting with many conservatives including a lot of CFers! There is a very positive atmosphere although no one can answer the election question- now or not? We are all waiting to see what happens. Whatever the answer is you can feel that it is going to be a great conference!

Blackpool at night...

2007-09-29T20:13:00.000+01:00

Just finished at the convention. Heard some good speeches from members of the board. Plus we had a suprise visit from some members of the shadow cabinet, but i am sure you will hear about that in the news. We have seen the clear image that we are ready for a snap election, and that we would win!

We have arrived...

2007-09-29T17:54:00.000+01:00

Charity Auction

2007-09-28T17:02:00.001+01:00

To coincide with the Party Conference in Blackpool, the Conservatives are running an online auction to raise money for two great charities which combat family breakdown.

There’s a whole host of brilliant prizes on offer, including a signed copy of David Cameron’s 2005 Conference speech, a night in the Mandarin Oriental, and a signed political cartoon by Matt (Daily Telegraph).

The auction will run from 11am on Sun 30th Sept to 11am on Wed 3rd Oct – and Caroline Spelman, the Party Chairman, will announce how much we’ve raised at the Conference

Click here for more.

Two days to go...

2007-09-28T16:44:00.000+01:00

ConservativeHome reports that 8500 passes have been given out for the conference! Lets hope that a lot of them are for CF members. You can also now register to make a contribution to the policy debates - visit the conference site for more. Many of the policy group recommendations are being adopted or rejected so make sure you register to take part - that is to those going.

What is the Party Conference?

2007-09-28T11:46:00.000+01:00

How things use to be...

2007-09-28T11:32:00.000+01:00

Party Conference 2007

2007-09-27T22:24:00.000+01:00

The end...

2007-03-18T19:42:00.000Z

Well the Conservative Party Spring Forum is over for another year. Please do leave your thoughts about the conference here.

Check back in October for blogging reviews of the Conservative Party Party Conference in Blackpool!

Set Design - Day 2

2007-03-18T16:16:00.000Z

For the second day of the conference the Party changed the set - from
trees and flowers, to NHS views: images of doctors and nurses. Much more fitting - and far less 'pretty'

Debating policy...

2007-03-18T15:51:00.000Z

We are currently sitting on the floor of the train on the way back to London debating Party Policy - so far we want to get extra trains, and staff to unblock the toilet!

Been chatting to a staff member of the possible London Mayoral candidates - Lurline Champagnie - there have been 3 candidates at the conference trying to get support, but no Nick Boles!

DC's Speech

2007-03-18T15:09:00.000Z

It is good to be young - with our new Party image the people from CCHQ wanted lots of CF people at the front, so we got good seats! It was a usual conference speech - more uplifting and hopeful than actually full of detail! He asked for continuing support in our journey back into power, whilst reinforcing our message of the NHS and public services.

He even mentioned the Maggie statue, which got an even bigger round of applause! He did mention some policy pledges for the NHS - but it was not about that- it was a solid speech of support and a great conclusion to the forum!

All over

2007-03-18T12:36:00.000Z

Well DC has just finished and the forum is over for another year - off to get the train and will give full report of his speech then. In summary a great speech covering health policy and the current strength of our party!

Andrew Lansley on public health

2007-03-18T10:46:00.000Z

"Tough on health, tough on the causes of ill health."

Oh dear!

Summary - Day 1

2007-03-18T00:56:00.001Z

A good day overall - great speeches by DC, Osborne and Hague. Some good discussions covering PPC selection, campaigning and the general voluntary party. It was nice to see familiar friends of the society including Mark Clarke, Paul Barton, Tim Barnes and Richard Merrin.

Ended the day with a TRG reception with Ken Clarke - he was on top form giving an uplifting speech and staying for an hour and a half to chat to everyone! Even our group managed to behave - apart from a gala casino visit and Luca! High point of the day was William Hague and his inspiring speech - looking forward to DC's main speech tomorrow. From the rumours and leaks we have heard it could be quite interesting!

Please do leave your thoughts of today as a comment!

DC and the end of the day

2007-03-17T19:38:00.000Z

Great speech by DC - looking forward to the main one tomorrow - off out to
the TRG event and more drinking!

Local campaigning tool

2007-03-17T16:42:00.001Z

New site to help in campaigns www.campaigntogether.com

End of day 1

2007-03-17T16:32:00.000Z

The forum is nearly over for day 1 - DC is about to speak...

Set Design

2007-03-17T16:30:00.001Z

This year the party have created a set with pictures of trees and flowers - may be pretty but you dont want William Hague giving a serious speech on foreign policy with a picture of a blooming flower behind him!

Policy Group Question Time

2007-03-17T14:24:00.001Z

Just before lunch we had a question time with reps from the various party policy groups. The problem was that Oliver Letwin was chairing it - he spoke for most of the time, spoke the party line and would not allow the actual speakers to speak - and he wore white socks with a suit!

George Osborne on tax

2007-03-17T13:53:00.001Z

In lunch so i can report on his speech- the main theme was changing tax for income to tax for companies that pump gas into the air. The quote you will hear is: pay as you burn, not as you earn! A good opening speech!

An interesting convention

2007-03-17T10:57:00.001Z

What a boring meeting - too many old local people moaning about issues that are not important - the posters colour scheme! Good input from CF members including Mark Clarke and a good speech from Francis Maude - bring on the main forum starting in an hour!

National Convention

2007-03-17T07:36:00.001Z

Some of us are up early today to attend the party convention - i am not
sure why they have to hold it so early - but i am going to represent you -
will let you know how it goes!

A few problems...

2007-03-17T02:27:00.001Z

Right - we are here but am having a few problems getting info and news onto the blog - not much has gone on yet - apart from the trains and a lack of ID - will explain more tomorrow when hopefully all is working!

Theme of the Spring Forum

2007-03-15T13:02:00.000Z

Having only received my pass and programme today I can finally talk about the themes of the conference. It seems the whole Party message will be switching to public services. The title of the programme is "New priorities for a new era". This is then followed by the following phrases on the cover: "better public services, stronger families, general well-being, safer streets & quality of life".

It seems to be a welcome change for the Party to continue to talk about things that people actually care and vote about. In his welcome message DC says:

"...I want us to set out why the Conservatives are now the Party of the public services..."

Could be a very intersting few days.

Some Events

2007-03-15T13:01:00.000Z

Here a are few events that will be happening this weekend:

ESSEX UNI CF DRINKS RECEPTION
Friday 16th March @ 6pm
Slug & Lettuce, Lower Pavement
Essex Uni reception with Grant Schapps MP

CONSERVATIVE FUTURE DRINKS RECEPTION
Friday 16th March @ 8pm
Pitcher and Piano, NG1 1HN
CF Reception with MP's and others tbc

TRG RECEPTION WITH KEN CLARKE MP
Saturday 17th March @ 6:30pm
The Bell Inn, NG1 6HL
A pint with Ken Clarke MP

Agenda & Events

2007-03-13T13:33:00.000Z

The Party have finally got round to publishing the Agenda and some of the events happening at the Spring Forum.

Click here to view the agenda.

Click here to view the events.

There are other events happening that I will put up here soon...

The National Convention

2007-03-13T00:10:00.000Z

From CF Diary:

The NME yesterday decided how to allocate Conservative Future’s 42 National Convention Places (the 900-strong official voice of Party members to the Party leader).

Part of that allocation was 5 seats to the 5 biggest University branches: Oxford, Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester and UCL!

At the Spring Forum your President will represent the Society. I know very little about the Convention (does anyone?) other than it is having its AGM in Nottingham and that I have to be up for 9am in the morning? Seriously though I am very honoured to have a seat, but am unsure of the role it and I have to play - the documents I got from Party Headquarters were not very helpful!

Can anyone shed any more light on the role (other than It provides a focus for views of Party members and acts as a link between the Party Leader and its members.)

What is the Party Conference?

2007-03-12T23:51:00.000Z

Every year the Conservative Party (like the other two parties) hold 2 conferences. A main Party Conference in October, with around 10,000 people attending, and a smaller Spring Forum in March, with around 2,000 people attending.

Who can attend?
Conservative party members can all, in theory, go to conference having applied for a pass through their local associations or through one of the groups in the party.

What can delegates decide?
The Tory conference does not actually vote on any issue (unlike the Labour and the Lib Dems) and their delegates are referred to as "representatives".

Recently the conference has afforded members opportunities to raise concerns during a question and answer sessions with a relevant frontbencher.

And the Spring Conference?
The Spring Forum though is very different from the main Conference - with only 2,000 people going things happen on a much smaller scale. There are fewer events and fewer MP's will attend.

This year though will be different: the Party is putting a lot of effort into this one, which will include Policy announcements and more events. CF are also having a bigger prescence with more events taking place for those under 3o.

Any more questions?
Leave a comment and it shall be answered!

New Feature - Contribute to the Forum

2007-03-12T17:17:00.000Z

At the Spring Forum this year the delegates will be able to contribute to the debates etc. This is a feature that was started in Bournemouth last year and proved to work very well. The various sessions are listed below:

1. Policy Group Session
A 'Question Time' session chaired by Oliver Letwin with representatives from the Competitiveness, Quality of Life, Security, Globalisation and Global Poverty and Social Justice policy groups.

2. Public Services Challenge Session
Stephen Dorrell MP and Baroness Perry, co-chairs of the Public Services Improvement Policy Group will lead a discussion and invite ideas for further consideration in the vital areas of health, education and housing.

3. Community Campaigning Session
Eric Pickles MP and Grant Shapps MP host a session highlighting best practice in community campaigning, including the Voluntary Party Awards.

4. Public Health Session
Andrew Lansley MP will open a discussion on how the NHS has a vital role to play in the health of the nation, but public health is not just a state responsibility – it is a social responsibility. What are the main public health challenges facing Britain, and how should we encourage individuals, businesses and other organisations to take more responsibility for health?

5. Social Care Session
Caroline Spelman MP will introduce a session focusing on the challenges we face in delivering dignified and responsive social care; looking in detail at the innovative work being done by some local authorities in delivering social care, and the practical impact of absorbing cutbacks to the national health budget.

How things use to be...

2007-03-12T16:23:00.001Z

Welcome!

2007-03-12T16:22:00.000Z

Welcome to this new blog from the UCL Conservative Society. This blog will be a record of our trip up to the conference - recording, commenting, examining and enjoying ourselves in an effort to help educate our members about the Forum.