Nadine Dorries MP: Take a sad song and make it better

Nadine Dorries MP - first elected last year to represent Mid Bedfordshire - reflects on last week's decision to  establish a single Liverpool-wide Conservative Association.

On the hottest night since records began, in an airless upstairs room of a Liverpool Conservative club, Chris Grayling, Shadow Minister for Transport, and I faced the assembled members of five Liverpool Conservative associations. It was the end of the road, and everyone in the room, almost, knew it.

The end was relatively painless really. You simply couldn’t argue with the facts. Liverpool doesn’t have a single Conservative councillor or MP. Yet in the room with us, observing through silent eyes, hung a portrait of the assembled Liverpool City Council of 1955, every single one a Conservative.

There were eight Conservative Liverpool MPs at that time. One thing I don’t think Mrs Thatcher ever really understood was that to have one you need the other. Local and national politics are inextricably bound together in a subtle and complex way which demands respect. We forgot that in the late 80s and early 90s.

Note to Shadow Cabinet – never forget the mistakes of the past.

Some of the activists sat before us had ‘worked their patch’ for fifty or more years. Dedicated and loyal, we were asking them to vote to dissolve their own associations so that we, from the centre, could establish a new, single, city of Liverpool association.

If they chose not to agree they would be placed into supported status. There’s no easy way to say that to a group of hard working proud Liverpudlians; I know, I’m a native.

Chris addressed the audience and did the difficult stuff. He knew exactly what his objectives were and how to achieve them. What was needed was a speech worthy of Ghandi with a touch of Robespierre. He handled the situation with tact and skill. An iron hand in a velvet glove.

Whilst what Chris had said sank in, I took over and explained why I, one of their own, someone who had grown up 500 yds from where we were sitting, was the MP for Mid Bedfordshire, over 150 miles away.

They looked hurt, except for the three CF members, sat in the middle, periodically checking their mobile phones, of course to them it made perfect sense.

I simply couldn’t have stood for a Liverpool seat. I wanted to be an MP so badly it consumed me. I had waited until two successful careers, one in nursing and another in business were under my belt and raised my three daughters before I began to apply for seats. Not to become an MP was simply not an option – I had waited too long.

The Liverpool structure was, at its best, fractured and weak. Any funds raised they kindly sent out of the city to other associations to help with their elections, that, in itself, spoke volumes. The workforce were ageing and had more than done their bit. We, the parliamentary Conservative Party had messed up in the past and Liverpool had taken the backlash heavier than most.

The rapid dominance of the council by Liberal Democrats and the parliamentary seats by Labour had washed over the Liverpool associations like a political tsunami and left them overwhelmed in its wake.

And yet still they fielded local candidates, who did exactly what they have always done, who stood and worked and failed, time after time.

Loyal and committed to the end, putting the Party first as they have always done they gave up the struggle and voted to dissolve.

I think some of the Liverpool members will view this watershed as the appropriate time to hang up their hats and call it a day. However, we very much hope that some will stay, especially Danny Doherty from Wavertree, who is possibly, unknowingly, one of the reasons I am a Conservative and who I have known since I was in nappies.

As I left I felt both proud and guilty. Proud because the association members had behaved in true Liverpudlian style, with pragmatic dignity. Guilty, because I was excited to be rushing home to Mid Beds.

As I drove home and passed by the fantastic architecture of Liverpool I mused on the fact that so many must share my guilt from all walks of life. Wherever in the world you live, in whatever role or profession, you will always find a Scouser.

Many of us had deserted the best city in the land, and failed to invest in its future. Significant talent had left the city and scattered. Recently I read an interview with an FD of a major record label. I first recognized the name, and then the face. He had once been a scruffy snotty nosed kid in my class. The interview was about a number of UK production company acquisitions his company had just made. A major mover and shaker, a wealth creator, made in Liverpool, living in Los Angeles.

It was dark, and as I drove ghostly cranes loomed up around me. The city looked in parts like a war zone so much re-development was taking place. Paradise Street was undergoing a drastic face lift that Donald Trump would be proud of. People were everywhere, the city buzzed and was alive on a very hot Thursday night.

I dropped a gear and turned left down the dock road. Smart new apartments and waterside shops stood in place of the dock terminals where once, only a youth time ago, stevedores had unloaded molasses and coal.

Liverpool is now a city of culture. People are moving in, not out. Buildings are going up not down. The football team has just had its best year in twenty. Contractors’ hoardings are everywhere and scream private investment. Liverpool is happening.

I finished my dawdle down memory lane, picked up speed and headed out towards to the M56.

Maybe what had happened in the West Derby Club tonight was symbolic and in step with much of what was taking place in the rest of Liverpool. There were distinctive parallels one could draw between Liverpool and the Conservative Party.

I admit, there is no huge in your face Beatles explosion taking place; but this much is obvious, Liverpool’s fortune is rapidly changing, and as it happens, so is ours.

As I headed out through the suburbs I passed the new John Lennon Airport on my right. It stands as a self confident spectacular testament to modernity and the future of Liverpool – and incorporated within it - respectful deference to the past.

Above us only sky…

Comments

[Steve]

Spot on Nadine. As a one time resident (now not too far away in Wirral), all sad but true history.

It had to be done. Perversely, some of these Associations actually have a fair bit of capital (cash and buildings) and properly structured, shorn of petty territorial squabbles, progress can be made.

Let's hope the future is brighter.

[Louise]

Well said Nadine. I think in some of our inner cities including my own home city of Glasgow, this is the only option.

The challenge now for the professionals (assuming there will be at least one agent) and the officers of the new city association is to work together as one association and not as five different groups pulling in different directions. It is important that this new association is one campaigning unit as well as one administrative unit.

I wish them the best of luck.

[Robert Halfon]

It is great news that Nadine Dorries has been tasked with rebuilding Conservative support in Liverpool with Chris Grayling. Nadine is a star in the making and I have no doubt she will have a dignificant impact.

[Umbrella Man]

Beautifully written Nadine.

Please make Nadine party chairman, Dave. She's the down to earth kind of person this party desperately needs.

[Nadim]

It may be 'beautifully written', and this may be the 'only' way to go, even if it's centralisation rather than localisation, but this is noteworthy:

Dedicated and loyal, we were asking them to vote to dissolve their own associations so that we, from the centre, could establish a new, single, city of Liverpool association. If they chose not to agree they would be placed into supported status.

Bit abrupt, don't you think? Doesn't this show great arrogance? There's nothing sensitive or relational about it; no appreciation; no recognition for slogging through years of loyalty when the Party was barely worth voting for. These people have been (and are) the bedrock of the Party. But the threat: 'If you don't agree, you're in supported status'. Well, we know all about that in Slough. The members of the Party are becoming mules - just there to carry the great burden of electioneering workload and obey orders. If the mule ever presumes to have an opinion, it is packed off to the butchers and turned into dog meat.

CCHQ have lost us three elections. Each time, the 'great ideas' of the strategy get retrospectively criticised by the bigwigs and ditched. If they were thinking what we were thinking, and they'd left us alone at the last election, we'd be facing a Labour majority in Slough of about 2500 instead of 7500. They are not infallible, so if I were them I'd be a bit more senstive before they threaten the nuclear option. Or are we going to hear it a lot more as the time approaches to impose female and minority ethnic candidates?

[Scouser]

The same piece could have been written about Glasgow and Newcastle. The Scottish Party, under David Cameron, had disastrous results in the Dunfermline and Moray by-elections (with hand-picked women candidates).

The Lib Dems have taken the Parliamentary and council seats in major cities that should be Conservative. They nearly pinched Bromley from us. Our campaigning skills are simply not good enough.

Many on the A-list have no experiencing of fighting elections or had poor results in 2001 and 2005. Many of the best electoral performers are not the on A list.

Merging several associations into one is symptom of the problem, not a solution. So what are you going to do turn it round, Nadine? There needs to be a clear action plan.

[Jonathan Mackie]

It has been tried before in Liverpool, although not on this scale, and led to mayhem.

This is absolutely the right way to go though. Too many people see their conservatism end at constituency boundaries. Something which is counterproductive to the party as a whole.

My previous role as Deputy Chair of Merseyside Area resulted in much frustration when I tried to pursue merging. Other constituencies should take note - St Helens South, Knowsley North etc, which need to merge to survive.

Sadly I think recovery in Liverpool is unlikely. Things have gone too far and the City despite having a strong Conservative tradition is simply unlikely to elect a Conservative any time soon. I hope I am wrong and the Party can find someone like Mike Storey whose charisma restored the Lib Dems to power in the City.

[malcolm]

No Nadim,'CCHQ didn't lose us three elections'.The whole Conservative party from the leader down was responsible for those defeats.In each we were short of good ideas and in 2005 particularly we sold those ideas we did have badly.
I have a huge amount of sympathy for those whose associations are being abolished but what is the alternative,more failure?At least with a single association a huge effort can be made in the most productive areas.If we can gain a few council seats and maybe 1 or 2 MPs as a result then the pain will be worth it.

[Nadim]

No Nadim,'CCHQ didn't lose us three elections'.The whole Conservative party from the leader down was responsible for those defeats

Really, Malcolm? How many policy ideas did you contribute to the manifesto? What input did you have into the focus on 'cleaner hospitals' (what a fantastic policy that was), immigration, or crime? Was it your idea to not focus on anything positive or feel-good? Was it your idea to not talk about tax? What notice did CCHQ take of associations during the election? None. The course was set and fixed. Only afterwards do the likes of Saatchi and Ashcroft point out the flaws, and did you appoint them Malcolm? No-one I know (over three associations) feels responsible for the last three elections, but if your guilt is fixed, I'm not going to interfere. Mine, however, is certainly not.

[Shane Greer]

I lived in Liverpool for four years whilst completing my undergraduate degree. Of those four years I spent three living in Aigburth, which is in the Riverside constituency, and made numerous attempts over that time to contact the local association. I found that the ‘association’ was an answering machine and that all messages left on said answering machine were ignored.

[Justin Hinchcliffe]

What an interesting article - quite moving in a way. The person who compared the Liverpool situation to the other major cities is spot on. I think CCHQ are to be congratulated for trying to improve our fortunes in the big cities - nothing is guaranteed but at least they're trying . Judging by this article, Nadine will go far.

[Toady alert]

"One thing I don’t think Mrs Thatcher ever really understood was that to have one you need the other". Yeah, Mrs T didn't know how to win thumping parliamentary majorities. Thank God Nadine has come along to put her straight on a few things. Well done Nadine! Give her a job soon.

[ADG]

HURRAH!! I'm from Liverpool originally and remember campaigning in the 1990's for Steve Fitsimmons and John Backhouse the then last remaining Conservative Councillors on Liverpool CC. Sadly once they fell the party appeared to retreat from Liverpool. This change is long overdue and will hopefully end much of the "boxitis" that used to be evident between the local associations. What's needed now however is a long term plan to chip away at the LD dominance of the City together with an inspiring local figure who can show that we COnservatives do have things to offer to the people of Liverpool.

[MH]

It simply epitomises the fact that the Conservative Party is dead and buried in so much of the UK and will never recover. Even in safe seats, the membership are dying off. Thank you and goodnight.

[Jack W]

Sadly for the Tories the very harsh reality is that Liverpool is, and is likely to remain a no go area in the near future. When resources are very tight and a close election likely I would suggest whatever time and effort is poured into Liverpool be redirected into some north west marginals.

Difficult to accept for the small band of dedicated Liverpool Tories, but if you continue to bang your head against an electoral brick wall, then the only result will be an awful political headache !

[Paul Kennedy]

Given the dire state of the party in Liverpool, a single association makes sense at this stage. All the best to all those involved in rebuilding the Conservative presence there. Interestingly, for those not familiar with the city, there are actually some very prosperous areas, it is a city I like and ran a business there some years ago.

[Old Hack]

"Note to Shadow Cabinet – never forget the mistakes of the past."

I seriously doubt they know what the mistakes of the past were, let alone what should not be repeated.

Seriously Ms Dorries - ask yourself how we managed to get to have so many Cllrs and MPs in Liverpool in the heyday of the Party in 1955 after the 1945 election wipeout?

Guess what - it wasn't by retrenchment, centralisation or consolidating. After 1945 the Party invested money and people locally to develop local organisation. It employed missioners - people going door to door campaigning and recruiting. It forced Associations to make money by depriving them of the benefit of their MPs largesse. It made sure membership was affordable, inclusive and not exclusive. It empowered and encouraged political debate. It created new organisations like the Young Conservatives. It did more than rearrange deckchairs.

Nowadays it seems that whilst the Party cannot or will not spend money on significantly more Agents or regional press officers it merrily chucks large chunks of cash the way of the likes of Steve Hilton - (for what - hug a hoodie?)and others of unproven ability or skills but with the right connections.

Despite the 'net and new media at its core politics remains a people business. If you don't invest in drawing in people at a local level you are not going to have a local organisation, local Cllrs or local MPs.

"As I left I felt both proud and guilty. Proud because the association members had behaved in true Liverpudlian style, with pragmatic dignity. Guilty, because I was excited to be rushing home to Mid Beds."

So what did you leave behind? - a better organisation, more members, more campaigners and more elected representatives? Somehow I doubt it - more likely a job half started and an expectation that they will sort themselves out without bothering you, or CCHQ again.

[Richard]

"Bit abrupt, don't you think? Doesn't this show great arrogance? There's nothing sensitive or relational about it; no appreciation; no recognition for slogging through years of loyalty when the Party was barely worth voting for."

Seems to me that she's just stating the facts, even if they're uncomfortable.

I would be interested to know why the Tories declined in Liverpool since 1955.

[Steve]

A lot of the decline was down to the switching of the working class Protestant vote away from the Party as religious division tailed off.

Then of course the final collapse post 1979 with the usual inverse performance of national and local government (exacerbated by a major recession on an already declining industrial port).

What 'Tory areas' remained (and there are quite a few in the south of the city) were colonised by the Lib Dems who in this area of the city are effectively closet Tories. Tory voters in the south of the city are now well practiced in voting Lib Dem as the anti-Labour party.

[Stephen B]

"Difficult to accept for the small band of dedicated Liverpool Tories, but if you continue to bang your head against an electoral brick wall, then the only result will be an awful political headache !"

Jack - good to see you over here on the 'dark side.'

Is the logical conclusion of your statement that the remaining Liverpool Tories should just give up and not bother any more? Or do they just need a good paternal Scottish Laird to whip them into shape...:)

[Deputy Editor]

It isn't centralisation in that CCHQ has more power, on the contrary, it should give Liverpool Conservatives a stronger voice with regards to allocation of funding etc. Pooling resources into a "central" office with a dedicated agent will work wonders.

The individual Associations as they stood were simply not big enough to justify complete division of resources. They were already being skirted around by Liverpool CF as you can't organise decent socials with just one or two members (literally).

If things went brilliantly, I would have no problem with it being split up again - but lets not get ahead of ourselves!

The other important part of this initiative is to set up a business forum to get in touch with "the missing generation" (there are barely any 25-50 yr old Liverpudlian Conservatives). I've always thought we could tap into the growing yuppie class in Liverpool - the more the city grows economically, the more enterprise-minded people there are.

Chris and Nadine have really got stuck into this, I hope other cities benefit from comparable levels of commitment and understanding from their Shadow Minister representative!

[MH]

Ms Dorries has a bit of a track record of cutting and running to suit her own ends. Didn't she second David Davis and then bolt overnight when she thought the grass was greener with the lad Dave. How lucky the people of Mid Beds are to have an MP of such principle.

[Deputy Editor]

Guess what - it wasn't by retrenchment, centralisation or consolidating. After 1945 the Party invested money and people locally to develop local organisation.

I sympathise with these localist sentiments, but at the moment this is just not practical. The party are not seen as a credible force in the city and we need to focus our efforts to start initiatives, get in the local media, strike an ideological chord etc.

You are right that a local focus is important, but I think this would actually be better facilitated by this new city organisation. Hopefully the Liverpool Conservatives website will have a section that splits issues down by constituency.

[Og]

That "there are barely any 25-50 yr old Liverpudlian Conservatives" tells you more about the city than it does the Conservative Party.

Hatred of conservatives (personally) and conservatism in general is a much-loved scouse sport. It will take another generation to gain a foothold there, and then only if there are good examples of Tory councils nearby which make the scouse tory-hatred seem illogical and self-defeating.

Open minded they are not, when it comes to politics.

[Old Hack]

"I sympathise with these localist sentiments, but at the moment this is just not practical...."

Dep Ed - if we'd taken the same view in 1945 there would not be a Conservative party about today.

"The party are not seen as a credible force in the city and we need to focus our efforts to start initiatives, get in the local media, strike an ideological chord etc."

And are we going to do this without investing in local organisation? Guess who has it in Liverpool - the Lib Dems. Guess who's neglected it and now thinks a quick fix is to consolidate without new investment so we can carry on as usual in London? Us. Pathetic.

For all Ms Dorries prose, there is no intent here to actually help make things better.

I'd like to see the Party try the same stunt in London.

[Neil Wilson]

The objectors that I've spoken to (and there hasn't been that many, if truth be told) seem to have a problem with the agent tthat will be coming.

Apparently the one they had before was awful.

The most vocal objector, however, just seems a little miffed at losing his little power base.

[Jack W]

Stephen B @ 1207pm.

Good to converse! .... I think on paper this policy appears a sound idea. However the political reality is truly daunting.

Perhaps the Liverpool Tories might band together and form a hit squad for a nearby marginal or two. Similar to the Lib Dems who put up paper candidate and then decamp to target seats.

You kindly?? endorse my own brand of Scottish Jacobite leadership, however I'm not sure even the most redoubtable of Scouser is quite ready for the "ballot box in one hand and claymore in the other" approach !!

I hope Inverness-shire remains kindly to you.

[Stephen Tolkinghorne]

It made me laugh when I saw that Nadine Dorries 'couldn't possibly have stood in Liverpool'. Why not ? Why could she not have stood in Liverpool and at least tried to get a Conservative message over ? Perhaps it's because she felt like it was fighting a losing battle, or too much like hard work. So, she ups sticks without even putting up a fight for Liverpool, and then disappears off to some easy safe Tory seat in the Shires. Her example is not one that the Tories should be taking note of, and indeed she's the last person who should be committing their pathetic tale to writing.

She hasn't really answered the question of why centralising the local Tory branches is going to work I've no idea. It just makes the party even more remote from the voters and their neighbourhoods, and even more reliant upon spin from central office, and even less likely to vote for them. It'll do the reverse of what Dorries and her little fawning fan club from Conservative Future obviously thinks it will, with less effective campaigning and less public contact. It's anti-democratic, but then that's how Davey likes it.

[Cllr Andy Jennings]

Shane Greer - very different from my experience as an undergraduate there with the same Aigburth ward in the late eighties. I found them most welcoming, and highly organised. As a "woolyback", I was even more surprised to be involved in the inaugraul Mossley Hill YCs branch.

And the memories of the Conservative Club just off Penny Lane.... about the only place in the city with cheaper beer than the D&R JCR.

[Nadine Dorries]

MH: Yes I did initially back David Davis. However, for the purpose of accuracy, I did not change my vote to David Cameron until I had sat down with David Davis and told him the exact reasons why I was unhappy with the campaign, discussed the reasons why I was unhappy, given him the opportunity to change my mind and given him due notice that I was changing. I did this before the first vote. I continued with my first vote for DD as I had promised it to him and honoured that promise.

He was and continues to be a great statesman and extremely effective scalp hunting Shadow Home Secretary.

Under David Cameron's leadership the Conservative Party is forward looking, the leadership election was months ago - get a life!

Nadine

[MH]

Well, hats off to you Nadine for responding. For the purpose of accuracy, I do have a life. It's a much freer one now as I have formally left the Conservative Party and become an Independent councillor after 20 years as Party member. You and Dave are welcome to the pale imitation of New Labour that you are creating. Just do not be surprised if many previously loyal Conservatives stay at home.

[Jack W]

Nadine @ 14.09.

That MH strikes out and doubts the value of your "principles" shouldn't mean you retaliate with "get a life".

We expect a little better of our elected representatives and I'm sure you might have done a little better than that.

[Cllr Carl Cross]

I've read this thread with a lot of interest, especially since I am a 25-50 year old Liverpudlian Conservative (35 actually!).

I was involved in politics in Liverpool from the late 1980s and witnessed at first hand the erosion of support which removed first MPs then councillors from our grasp.

As other contributors pointed out, the Lib Dems then were able to campaign as the only effective anti-Labour party and up against our dwindling resources and the usual anti-national government cycle, they have been very successful.

For all those involved with the local party for years in their various wards and constituencies, this was a painful process. Understandably, those activists who remained continued to soldier on and do their best as members, funds and votes dwindled away in a vicious circle. I stood as a local government candidate in Liverpool 6 or 7 times and with a tiny group of helpers, we did our best.

Thus we now find ourselves with a group of practically moribund associations, few members and no immediate prospects of winning any seats as such resources as there are are spread across the city.

Sadly, some reconstruction was and is needed. There is quite a lot of Conservative support in some parts of the city (the southern end) which currently votes Lib Dem. We should be targetting these areas (possibly only one ward if necessary) as a cohesive unit and if that means dissolving associations and creating a single city unit, I'm all in favour. It's sad of course, but the status quo is not sustainable. Naturally, it's a great idea to try to reinvigorate ALL the associations, but modern politics is all about targetting and the brutal fact is that some areas are going to be more fruitful than others.

I'm a councillor in Halton now (a more deprived urban centre than Liverpool) where we have 8 councillors (from only 1 a couple of years back). This is due to a lot of hard work by only a handful of activists and effective targetting of the most productive wards.

All politics is local they say and so it is. We do need to connect at a very local level to have any hope of re-establishing ourselves in Liverpool; but if that means merging 5 or 6 different assocations based on geographical territories into one unit, so that specific campaigning areas can be agreed upon, then it's a step in the right direction.

I very much hope it succeeds and best of luck to Nadine, Chris and all others who are prepared to have a go.

[Matt Davis]

I truly hope that this strategy works for us in Liverpool but it will amount to nothing unless and until we have a raft of offers to make to the voters of that great city. Offers that they can see will materially improve their lives and so overcome their visceral hatred of Tories bred, in particular, by the likes of Derek Hatton during the 80's.

[Stephen Tolkinghorne]

I think that Dorries has just revealed herself for what she is. She only wants to back the winning side, whomsoever that may be. Hence, she ran as fast as she could from Liverpool to get a safe Tory seat rather than fight, just as she ran to Call Me Dave from the Davis camp once she'd read the results of the opinion polls. Very much a fair weather and a 'here today, gone tomorrow type of politician'.

[Jonathan]

Nadine Dorries is good news and exactly the sort of spokesman the party should be putting forward much more.

Its obvious that something has gone seriously wrong in the cities and urban areas. For whatever historic reasons we are not trusted our organisation is weak.

Nadine is putting forward a cogent argument and dynamic action to bring about better results.

Far better that we here thoughts from someone who is in touch, level headed and prepared to work to bring about success than from metropolitan career politicians who dine in Notting Hill but don't want to get their hands dirty.

She's put her head above the parapet - give her some support!

[Alison Anne Smith]

"Under David Cameron's leadership the Conservative Party is forward looking, the leadership election was months ago - get a life!"

Very mature Nadine ! Is this how you answer a Constituent who's views differ from yours ?

Get rid of all Associations and you get rid of the Party. What a legacy Mr Cameron.

One Agent for 8 constituencies ?? Whoever thought that would be a good idea has obviously never experienced what Party Agents actually do !

[Daniel]

A quick reply to Jonathan Mackie: I was told that it's St Helens North that resists the local association merge in St Helens - not St Helens South.

[Lynn]

Well done Nadine. I would imagine that your critics who so harshly dismiss you as a 'little woman' are obviously of the 'crusty old colonel' types who have turned the Conservative Party into a dinosaur.
It's about time we had some new thinking in the party and I for one will reconsider my position and vote Conservative if the Tory party is starting to off-load these old farts and take seriously the view of a more modern and forward thinking team. Lynn.

[Stephen Tolkinghorne]

"Far better that we here thoughts from someone who is in touch, level headed and prepared to work to bring about success than from metropolitan career politicians"

I must have missed something. How does being an MP for Mid-Bedfordshire qualify Dorries to comment upon fighting for support in inner city areas. ? Referring to Alison Anne Smith's argument, she's absolutely correct in that good party agents have so much to do in local areas to win support, that expanding their territory only means that their effectiveness at a household and neighbourhood level is severely reduced. Winning seats at Council level is the most important thing to begin with, and it seems that Liverpool were well on their way to doing that and more using the existing structure, but Call Me Dave has now just wrecked it when the local associations' work is beginning to bear fruit.

[Stephen Tolkinghorne]

"It's about time we had some new thinking in the party and I for one will reconsider my position and vote Conservative if the Tory party is starting to off-load these old farts and take seriously the view of a more modern and forward thinking team."

Lynn, perhaps you don't seem to quite understand that nearly all of the money raised for the Tory party machine by local associations are the 'old farts' that you so charmingly refer to. Most of the canvassing done of the Tories at a local level is done by those same 'old farts'. Without those 'old farts', the Tory party would successfully manage to reduce their membership by about 80%, get little active support for cavassing, leafletting, etc. Mind, that's obviously what Cameron wants to do, as that's exactly what he's achieving. I've already got the Liberal Democrats to vote for, I don't want two Liberal Democrat parties, plus NuLab.

[Nadim]

I must confess, I too am a little taken aback by 'get a life!'. It is arrogant, and no way to speak to people who care just as much about the Party as she does.

We have a life, Nadine. It just sometimes expresses different opinions to yours.

[Chris Martin]

Nadine is just the kind of spokesperson that our party needs, someone with real life experience who isn't afraid to speak her mind and is much more representative of the country than many others on our benches.

I have read the thread of comments with interested and was most surprised to see some quite incorrect assertions that Nadine 'disappeared off to some easy safe Tory seat in the Shires'.

Having been part of Nadine's campaign team during the general election of 2001, I can assure all concerned that she fought incredibly hard for over two years in a seat we all knew could never be regained at that election. It is wholly inaccurate that she has taken an easy option into politics, she has more than proved her worth with a well fought campaign in Hazel Grove during 2001 and her efforts not only impressed the electorate and association officers in the constituency but also resulted in a 1% swing in our favour – one of only a handful of seats to achieve this!

An excellent article Nadine, you've done an excellent job in the short time you have been in Parliament and as others have already said, you're a star in the making!

[Lynn]

They may well raise the funds, but unless the Tories reform radically there won't be a party to raise funds for.

We don't want New Labour, and certainly not the loony Libs, but we can't stay in the last century forever. I too am worried by Cameron's seeming imitation of Blair, and he has to prove that he is not all spin and no action.

By restructuring the party with people like Nadine, who has worked in the Health Service and succeeded commercially in business, we will have a party of 'real' people who understand life as it really is, not just career politicians who live in a parallel universe.

[ChaunceyGardener]

Nadine wrote

"I simply couldn’t have stood for a Liverpool seat. I wanted to be an MP so badly it consumed me. I had waited until two successful careers, one in nursing and another in business were under my belt and raised my three daughters before I began to apply for seats. Not to become an MP was simply not an option – I had waited too long."

Becoming an MP should born out of a desire to serve you community and the country and NOT an end in itself as this comment seems to imply. In my experience some of the worst MPs I have come across are those who see becoming one as some sort of ego trip based upon personal ambition rather than a desire to make our communities and our country a better place. It has been said before that wanting to become an MP should automatically bar you from becoming one.

As for your 'get a life' comment in response to some criticism. IMO such a comment is rude and demeens yourself and the position you have been elected to. I expect better from my politicians.

[Stephen Tolkinghorne]

"They may well raise the funds, but unless the Tories reform radically there won't be a party to raise funds for."

Without the 'old farts, there won't be a party, either. It is they who do most of the work for the likes of Dorries. If their opinion doesn't count, why should they give up their retirement for the sake of helping the likes of her ? As for "succeeding commercially in business", how do any of us know how much of a success she was. If she was so successful, why was she so desperate to become an MP and abandon it ? So what if she was a nurse ? Obviously she didn't care that much about the profession, otherwise she wouldn't have been so ready to rush off to become a 'successful' business woman and then to Mid-Beforshire to be an MP in a safe Tory seat.

You're right about the awful despicable little careerist politicians, but I also like those who have some gumption and guts, such as fighting tooth and nail to win difficult areas over, e.g. Liverpool (as an example, see Andrew Rosindell in Romford). Also, I like those who have some constancy and don't simply drift which-ever way the political wind is blowing, e.g. from Davis to Cameron.

[Derek]

As a constituency chairman in a conservative-held seat in the south of England, our situation in many ways could not be more different to that in cities in the north, such as Liverpool. However I can empathise with them. Merging five or more constituencies into one organisation is a desparate last resort, but it may be the only option, to combine resources and concentrate on the least worst areas.

Such a strategy is likely to be a long-term job. In the end they will have to try to build up a local organisation in those targeted areas. Most people will not be willing to travel across the city.

Anything larger than a constituency will be very difficult to maintain an identity with. If a candidate is selected to fight each seat how will this large unit be able to cope with the task of fighting five campaigns?

We will only start to come back in these areas when we get back into government and show them that our policies are working for them. During the 80's when we were in government we turned the country round, but these areas were left behind.

[Ashley Green]

Nadine will have to and will work hard to support Liverpool.
Best wishes,
Ashley
Chairman - Mid Beds

[Stephen Tolkinghorne]

Lynn,

Further to my previous posting, I've just visited Dorrie's website, and come across one of her campaigning 'themes':

"Nadine’s priorities for Mid-Bedfordshire include the protection of rural areas against John Prescott’s damaging house building plans."

Perhaps then it's a little strange to read on a little further of her 'disappointment' that Centre Parks had been refused permission by the local council to build a whopping great facility right over the whole of Warren Wood, which is described by local people as a relatively small forest, a county wildlife site and area of outstanding landscape value, not to mention of high recreational value.

It seems that Dorries isn't such an opponent of the fat fool Prescott as she claims. The theme comes back to consistency. A quality which seem to be lacking, just as any long-term strategy is missing in Liverpool.

[lynn]

Stephen

You are very personal about Nadine, I do hope that you're one of those mysogonist Tories?

I think it is very much to Nadine's credit that she had a career in normal life and raised a family at the same time. Perhaps she is now in a position to help others do the same and I think she shows great passion and pride for her fellow scoucers, as well as her constituancy dwellers. Would you be so critical of a man who has had a varied career and then gone in to politics?

It would seem that Nadine has experience of fighting a toughie, Hazel Grove in 2001 - so I don't think you are being fair in your comments making her out to be some sort of flighty butterfly. She has certainly proved she has more about her. And I think you have to be pretty tough to be a nurse, so your flippant comments about 'so what if she was a nurse' is rather demeaning to those in the profession. Lets hope you never need nursing, with that attitude!