Our eyes are perfectly stable

John Bald, Vice-chairman, Linton and Balsham Branch, writing in a personal capacity.

There were a dozen of us in a side room in the local pub for a branch meeting to discuss the election results. Our constituency chairman and county council candidate, Roger Hickford, had defeated the Lib Dem incumbent by one vote in the highest turnout in the region, the year after he had beaten the same opponent by the same margin in the district council. One vote, two years in succession, and surely unique. UKIP had 11.%. We had put four leaflets through every door in the constituency over a period of around three weeks, on district and county issues.

All of us had put in at least thirty hours of canvassing, persuasion, writing and downright footslogging, and some several times that. At a by-election in Balsham, Andrew Fraser had beaten the same persistent LibDem candidate by nine votes after a similar, all-out effort. Late in the day, Vicky Ford MEP phoned to say that the Balsham Conservatives had knocked on every door in the village. So, two seats won, and the culmination of a local campaign against Liberal dominance that started five years ago. We are grateful
to Cllr Richard Barrett, who now probably counts as a veteran, for making sure that we tell the electorate that Conservative councillors will work for everyone, whether they voted for us or not.

Taking on Lib Dem pavement politics

Cllr Eithne Webster, of Tandridge District Council, reports on her campaign to gain a seat from the Lib Dems in the Surrey County Council elections

You might perhaps think erroneously that Surrey is as blue as it gets. Affluent commuter towns and picture perfect villages should be bedrocks of Conservative support. This is true to an extent – all our MPs are Conservative – but the time has gone when celery sticks with a blue rosette would be elected no problem.

At a local level the Lib Dems have been nipping at out heels and could easily eat into our support – after all who would have guessed that Eastbourne and Lewes would fall victim to the yellow peril.

Below I will share how I intend to fight the Lib Dems as we gear up to a tough fight in 2013 for County Councils. The importance of these contests cannot be stressed enough; we cannot afford to do badly nationally as we head into 2015. More importantly however, we cannot let good Conservative councils who provide better value for money for hard-pressed taxpayers to come under threat either.

Why should young people stand for council?

Local Government Minister Brandon Lewis says young people have large networks of friends that helps them run campaigns - more should stand for their local council

At a Conservative Future event recently I was asked to outline why young people should stand for council. This, initially, seemed a peculiar argument to put to CF – they are the largest political youth organisation in the UK and surely need no persuasion to be politically active. On second thoughts, however, even CF may need some persuading. There is a big difference between being a local activist or party supporter and becoming a councillor. It is important to remember too that young people affiliated to a political party are a rare breed.

Young people are – and always have been – political, but the politics of youth is often one of gut reaction single issue movements, not what can be seen as the more sober and cautious atmosphere of party politics.

What we as a party need to show young people is that they have been given a real place in local politics. Young people, perhaps more than any other group, spend a lot of time in their local area. They have not yet started families, taken on mortgages or bought cars. Their lives, therefore, revolve around bus routes, pubs, cinemas, cycle paths and parks.

No apology for ban on Council tenants displaying anti Labour election posters

Further to the story on Tuesday about Council tenants being banned from displaying anti Labour election posters I was expecting that by about now we would have had an apology. Something about an honest mistake by a well intentioned junior member of staff and how there are sincere apologies to the tenants concerned and procedures being tightened to ensure it never happens again.

Not a bit of it. As voting takes place in the Nottinghamshire County Council byelection for the Rufford division we still have Newark and Sherwood Homes, the council's housing "almo" justifying their position - which is that displaying posters in support of the Labour candidate John Peck are acceptable but posters opposing him are not.

I have been sent a statement from Newark and Sherwood Homes issued via their PR firm Dragonfly. What are they doing employing a PR firm anyway? The sooner spending transparency is extended to "arms length" council bodies the better.

Anyway here is the statement:

10 questions for the Labour candidate in the Corby byelection

The Labour candidate in the Corby byelection has a keen interest in local government. He is Andy Sawford who is the Chief Executive of the Local Government Information Unit. While he and most of his team are socialists, they have persuaded many Conservative councils to give them money. I included this as item 20 of my 100 ways to cut Council Tax without cutting key services.

Mind you, the LGIU has mellowed over the years. It was originally formed in 1983 as the Local Government Campaigns Unit by a group of far left Labour councils. As I understand it, they were against councils setting a legal budget - a position which the GLC leader at the time, Ken Livingstone, regarded as too extreme.

In 1985 the then Environment Secretary Patrick Jenkin said:

The Labour party-inspired Local Government Campaign Unit has systematically, month by month, enforced a policy of non-compliance on its authorities. Because of that stupid boycott, councils have refused to operate the procedures of the Act even when that would be to their advantage. They have been threatening to break the law, either by failing to make a rate or going in for deficit budgeting. Instead of spending money sensibly for the benefit of their communities, they are squandering millions on extravagant propaganda campaigns intended to discredit the Government and the legislation of the House.

That coterie of Marxist-dominated authorities is just another example of what we have seen in the actions of the National Union of Mineworkers, the strikers who nearly brought Cammell Laird to its
knees and the repeated disruption of the nation's railways.

That is the ugly face of the Labour party and it is to the eternal discredit of the Opposition Front Bench, who claim to represent the reasonable face of the Labour party, that they have lent their authority to the disreputable campaign of the town hall wreckers.

The battle for Hampstead Town

Simon Marcus on why he is standing in the Camden Council Hampstead Town Ward byelection 

Hampstead Town is the ward that centres around Hampstead Village. It comprises some of the most beautiful parts of London, including the oldest parts of the Village, South End Green, parts of the Hampstead Heath and Belsize Park. Famous past residents include George Orwell, Peter Cook and Richard Burton and going back a little further, John Constable.

I grew up in Hampstead, have lived there most of my adult life and it is a real privilege to have the opportunity to stand for election to represent the area as a councillor. Hampstead may be seen as 'posh', but its history and the stories around it draw people in from all walks of life, not just from the rest of London and the UK, but from all over the world.

Representing Hampstead Town is really about putting the ‘conserve’ back into Conservative. Saving Hampstead for the next generation is a constant vigil; it is also about taking action. In founding the Boxing Academy for excluded students, beating the BNP into third place in the general election in Barking and being an outspoken member of the Independent Riots Panel, I have a proven record of action.

Bob Neill to become Conservative Party Vice Chairman for Local Government

Having lost his Ministerial post last week, I understand that Conservative MP Bob Neill is bouncing back as Conservative Party Vice Chairman for Local Government. This is a post which has not existed for a while and its restoration is an encouraging sign. Not merely is local government important in itself but having an army of Conservative councillors across the land is crucial to the campaigning strength of the Conservative Party and thus to winning General Elections.

We can't rely on prospective council candidates to push themselves forward. A few do with political ambition - perhaps seeing it as a stepping stone to Parliament. Good for them. Having this ambition does not mean they will be lazy or incompetent councillors. Yet I also know of many dedicated, highly effective councillors who only stood in the first place because they were approached to do so. How many people are there out there who could be fantastic Conservative councillors but, with English reserve, are waiting to be asked to stand?

I don't think we should only look at those who are already Conservative Party members. There will be plenty of local businessmen and resident association activists who have strong Conservative views but have not joined the Conservative Party. Perhaps they tried to but got no reply, or were told the Party "was closed to new members."

They might not have direct political experience, but may have served the community as school governors, by setting up Neighbourhood Watch, or done other voluntary work which will assist them should they be elected as councillors.

Labour council candidate insults The Queen

There are lots of issues Labour politicians are at odds with public opinion including their own supporters. Most Labour voters want to restore capital punishment, to withdraw from the European Union and would like the Government to go rather further on its measures to restrict welfare spending such as capping Housing Benefit.

But surely there is no issue where the gap is wider between Labour politicians and the public than in the attitude to the monarchy. I suspect most Labour MPs and councillors are closet republicans. But from time to time they make their hostility to the Royal Family public. What makes it worse is that rather than high minded, albeit misguided, constitutional argument this republicanism comes in the form of unpleasant personal abuse.

Here is a tweet from Lazzaro Pietragnoli, the Labour candidate for the Camden Town and Primrose Hill Ward byelection taking place on May 3rd:

"Old fart Betty": don't tell me you are one of those sanctimonious people still calling @queen_uk "Her Majesty the Queen."

Call for council candidate selection by open primary

Cllr. Howard Roberts, of Dunchurch and Knightlow Ward on Rugby Borough Council, has called for open primary for the selection of candidates for the next elections next year. A third of the seats are due to be contested.

Cllr. Roberts said:

“In the 2011 elections the same party won in 13 of the 16 wards contested in 2003. It shows that the reality is that the party hierarchy picks who represents us rather than the public.” 

“When I was selected to be my party candidate there were no more than a handful of people in the room. I would like to see open primaries brought in so that we re-energise the public in the democratic process, giving legitimacy and a stronger mandate to councillors.”

“Remember, our current MP Mark Pawsey was selected by an open primary. He has shown that the process leads to the best candidate for the area being chosen rather than a party favourite who appeals to a narrow party base.”

One Dynamic Nation campaign launched

Cllr David Meikle, a member of Glasgow City Council, on his new campaign to support the union

I am delighted to have the opportunity to introduce you to a new organisation which I hope you can support.

I have been involved with the setting up of One Dynamic Nation which was officially launched on 30 September to campaign against Scotland leaving the United Kingdom.

One Dynamic Nation believes in the United Kingdom. We will advance positive messages about the United Kingdom and the benefits to Scotland remaining part of the UK. We will also build up support for the UK across Scotland and the UK.

One Dynamic Nation will be a people-powered, grassroots campaign to highlight Scotland’s support for remaining part of the United Kingdom and our opposition to independence in the referendum which the SNP government intends to hold in the second half of its term.