Christian May: CF's role is to campaign

When you’re inside an organisation it’s very easy to get bogged down in the internal politics and forget what the organisation is there to do (as any CF member will know).  But with the election round the corner it’s important to keep in mind what CF’s role is, where it fits into the battle to return the Conservative Party to power, and what needs to be done to ensure CF succeeds in fulfilling that role.   

At the very latest the next general election will take place in June 2010.  But as we learnt in autumn of last year, an election could take place at any time between now and then.  From our point of view as CF members that means one very simple thing; we have to get into fighting shape, and we don’t have very long to do it.   

As we all know there are a lot of things that could be better about CF.  But in assessing areas of potential improvement there is one simple question which must be asked; will improving X or Y better equip CF to fight for a Conservative victory in the next general election?  If the answer is no, then now is not the time to commit to that improvement.   

There’s a lot the next CF NME could do.  But now is the time to focus on what it needs to do.  The Conservative Party needs CF now more than ever, and CF needs to do what it needs to do; and that’s campaigning.   

Anything else just takes us a step further away from Downing Street.