Will Scottish Conservatives fight next year's Council elections?

Cllr David Meikle, the only Conservative councillor on Glasgow, could be fighting in the elections next year for a new party. He says it must be identified with the Scottish national interest.

Yesterday members of the Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party attended a special conference in Perth to approve the party’s new constitution.

This new constitution came about as a result of the Sanderson Commission which was set-up by the party chairman in Scotland after the 2010 general election result when (again) the Conservatives returned only one MP in Scotland despite running a very high profile and well-resourced campaign.

The Commission was to review the structures, function and operational activity of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party and to recommend any changes that would strengthen the party as a modern, effective, political campaigning entity in Scotland. Its recently published report can be viewed here.

Taxpayers Alliance start street campaigns against Pilgrims

John O'Connell, Research Director of the Taxpayer's Alliance, takes to the streets of Tameside where the local council has increased spending on union funded posts by 50%

On Saturday members of the TaxPayers’ Alliance took to the market square in Ashton under Lyne. Our grassroots activist in the area – Tameside’s brilliant Liam Billington – arranged for us to petition local residents and shoppers. A big issue there is the amount of taxpayers’ cash that is spent on giving public sector staff time to perform union duties. This is something the TPA researched last autumn, and we found that around £85 million had been spent on Pilgrims, as they’re otherwise known. Tameside’s bill has just shot up by nearly 50 per cent in just a year. This is at a time when spending is necessarily being cut in other areas.

We faced some hostility as we talked to the locals, particularly one market trader who made a point of approaching us to tell us that the cause we were fighting was, as she put it, dangerous. A self-declared ‘unionist’, she informed us there would be no jobs without unions and paid time off for staff to perform union duties, not even in the private economy. No, I didn’t quite grasp it either.

I’ve been out on numerous action days with activists during my time with the TPA. In all honestly, Tameside was a particularly difficult day. Most of the people we talked to up there were defensive, and had relatives or spouses that were members of unions.

Richard Bunting fights to be Boris Johnson's local (Tory) councillor. Can you help him?

Richard Bunting, the Islington Conservative Chairman and our candidate for the St Peter’s Ward by-election on Thursday, with his campaign report.

It has been all hands on deck in Islington over the past month, with the sudden call of a by-election after the resignation of Shelley Coupland. She resigned ‘to clear her name’ on allegations of benefit irregularities.

St. Peter’s Ward is the home of Boris Johnson, the famous Camden Passage Antiques market, has street after street of Georgian terraced housing and is bounded by the Grand Union Canal – Just a stone’s throw from the City. There are though large parts of the ward with social housing and deprivation. The ward has been a target for the Federation for a number of years, increasing our share of the vote election after election. In the 2010 elections, we managed to push the current Lib Dem candidate into third place.

Labour election candidate avoids Party label

There is a postponed Council election tomorrow in South Kesteven. It is the contest for the Deeping St James Ward which was postponed from last month after the sad death of sitting Conservative councillor Ken Joynson.

At first sight it would appear their are no Labour candidates. But the electors of Deeping St James should be aware that Phil Dilks, who gives himself no Party description, is a Labour Party member and former Labour councillor and Labour press officer. If even someone like him is  embarrassed of his Party association then Ed Miliband really is in trouble.

Mr Dilks styles himself "Fair Deal Phil". Wouldn't it be offering a fair deal with the electorate if he was straight with them about his allegiances?

Help Camberwell and Peckham Conservatives fight their third council by-election in three months

Simon Kitchen is Deputy Chairman of Camberwell and Peckham Conservative Association.

Here in Camberwell and Peckham we’re in the midst of by-election fever! The sad passing of the Mayor of Southwark has sparked a third council by-election in as many months.   The Mayor's distinguished career stands in stark contrast to that of other members of Harriet Harman's Labour Party. Only one year into their control of Southwark Borough Council and two Councillors have resigned, one after being convicted of housing benefit fraud, and another, the Cabinet member for community safety, facing trial for an internet offence, while a third has been suspended from the Group, for failing to disclose a conviction in the United States.

Despite the extraordinary behaviour of some of their Councillors, disastrous local policies which divert vital resources from social care to free school meals for parents who can afford them and a damning legacy of welfare dependency, Labour continue to romp home with stonking majorities in inner city areas like Camberwell and Peckham.

Come and help keep Brent's Kenton ward Conservative!

Hind Essoussi is chairman of North West London Conservative Future.

Following the untimely death of long-standing Conservatvie councillor, Arthur Steel, on New Year's Day, a by-election has been called in Brent’s Kenton ward for February 17th. In anticipation, the Kenton Ward has been transformed into a political battleground, with active campaigning by the various candidates very much underway.

The Brent Conservatives have selected as their candidate Suresh Kansagra (pictured). A competent successor to the long-serving and dedicated Cllr. Steel, Suresh has been locally engaged for 36 years and is a highly-esteemed figure within the community. He has a keen appreciation of the needs and priorities of the local residents having acted as the Director of the Kadwa Patidar Centre in Kenton for the past twenty years.

Speaking recently to the Harrow Times, he cited the planned closure of six of Brent’s twelve libraries and the cuts orchestrated by Brent Council’s Labour administration as the most important concerns of the local residents. Having previously served as a councillor in the neighbouring Barnhill Ward, Suresh also has the benefit of twelve years of local government experience, which will greatly assist in holding the Labour-dominated council to account and in ensuring that the interests of the Kenton locality are effectively championed.

A decisive Conservative victory is crucial in the Kenton by-election. An extremely marginal seat at present, only five of the 63 seats in the Brent Council are held by the Conservatives. But a decisive victory will do more than just bolster Conservative influence in the Brent Council. This by-election will be an important indicator of voter intentions ahead of the 2012 Mayoral election.

Polls demonstrate a marked disconnect between the Government’s popularity and that of the London Mayor, Boris Johnson. His outspoken views may have brought him into conflict with the Government on such issues as the housing benefit cuts, but they reflect his enthusiasm to ensure that the unique character of London is safeguarded in the face of the cuts agenda. In October 2010 a ComRes survey, the first poll conducted since Boris Johnson’s confirmation as the Conservative candidate, placed him on 44% and Livingstone on 35%. While the poll put him at a 9% advantage over Livingstone, the same poll placed Labour 3% ahead of the Conservatives on general election voting intentions. What the poll exemplifies is that Johnson’s personal appeal almost transcends party political lines and that his popularity has remained at a consistent level.

Thus, drawing on Mayor Johnson’s achievements in the Brent area whilst campaigning on Suresh’s behalf will be a crucial way to neutralise any hostility towards the Conservatives on the Kenton doorsteps. Against the backdrop of the fact that there are no Conservative Parliamentarians in Brent (Brent North and Hampstead & Kilburn are both Labour seats and Brent Central is held by the Liberal Democrats), it will be important to underscore Mayor Johnson’s proven track record of bringing about improvements for the residents of Brent.

His achievements for the area are numerous and, as cited on the BackBoris2012 website, include extending Oysterised overground rail services in Brent, planting 170 street trees in the Neasden area and providing 1,286 more affordable homes. Further, 104,338 Brent households have financially benefited as a result of the Mayor freezing City Hall’s share of the Council Tax bill. He has also delivered an additional 14 police officers on to the beat in the area and since his election there has been a 12% decrease in youth violence in Brent.

However, a victory in this by-election will only be possible through the hard work and support of our Conservative activists and volunteers. The regional London Conservative Future team led by Chairman Nicolas Clark and Deputy Chairman (Political) Einy Shah - has organised a Super Saturday campaign day for this coming Saturday, February 12th, and we will be joined by Syed Kamall MEP and Bob Blackman MP.

If you would like to join us as we hit the camapign trail, email Nicolas, Einy or me for further details.

A Lib Dem fights dirty in Solihull

Tim Montgomerie

PragueTory has drawn my attention to an unpleasant leaflet being distributed by a Liberal Democrat councillor in Solihull. You can't tell from the scan but, printed on blue paper, the Lib Dem has circulated a leaflet on the eve of poll, apologising for dirty Tory campaigning. In reality the Tories have run a very clean campaign! The Tories are the largest party but the council is run by a Lib Dem/ Labour coalition. More here.

THE COVER OF THE LEAFLET

THE MAIN MESSAGE

Lib Dems won most council wards in Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency

All nine wards in the Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency come under Oldham Council. Seven of those nine wards  (Crompton, Saddleworth North, Saddleworth South, Saddleworth West and Lees, Shaw, St James' and Waterhead) were won by the Lib Dems in contests held the same day as the General Election. Only two (Alexandra and St Mary's) were won by Labour. Yet, of course, Labour won the Parliamenytray seat.

Some number crunching by the 24dash.com website confirms the discrepancy. They say:

Analysis of the May 5 voting in the constituency shows a high level of vote splitting, suggesting a "soft" Labour vote then - if not now.

Votes cast in the General Election contest were: Woolas (Lab) 14,186 (31.86%), Watkins (LD) 14,083 (31.63%), Ali (C) 11,773 (26.44%), Stott (BNP) 2,546 (5.72%), Bentley (Ukip) 1,720 (3.86%), Nazir (Christian Party) 212 (0.48%).

But in the same day's council polls the figures in the nine Oldham council wards covering the constituency were Lib Dem 18,339 (40.96%), Lab 11,950 (26.69%), C 10,621 (23.72%), others 3,877 (8.66%).

In next door Rochdale constituency, which also saw a close Labour win over Lib Dem, the parliamentary result differed only slightly from the council one.

The huge divergence at Oldham East might suggest Mr Woolas had a high personal vote or that his leaflets persuaded some Lib Dem supporters to abandon Mr Watkins but not their party's council candidates.

Neither of these explanations seem adequate to account for a majority difference of nearly 6,500.

Chance for a Conservative county councillor for Cambridge

Matt Bradney reports from the front line on his byelection campaign where the battle with the Lib Dems is as tough as ever

A by election in Cambridge has been called and I have been selected as the candidate. I was a County Councillor in Cambridgeshire before, and was in fact the youngest ever Cabinet member for the County.

I was responsible for Housing Growth and Transport. I opposed congestion charging and promoted cycling. I am proud on what we achieved - particularly road safety improvements on the A1307 to Haverill.

When it coms to housing I agree that Cambridge and Cambridgeshire must grow, but it has to be local people making those decisions and letting the growth happen in a home grown fashion is imperative. I was delighted to see the back of the Regional Spatial Strategy and Regional Government. Any changes should be made and shaped by local people, not faceless Civil Servants.

Sadly I lost my seat in 2009 by a painful 34 votes... Most people, including me, were of the opinion I lost my seat due to my closeness (geographically and being the lead member) to the controversial Guided Bus project.

The election is on the 16th September, and I am absolutely up for taking this seat from the Lib Dems. Cambridge suffers very badly from  not having a single Conservative County Councillor, and it is time we changed that.

Can you help the campaign to replace a new Labour MP with a Conservative in his old council seat?

By Jonathan Isaby

We don't usually cover local by-election campaigns on ConHome, but there is one contest taking place a week today which is especially worthy of note.

Bill Esterson narrowly won the Merseyside seat of Sefton Central for Labour at the general election. However, it would seem that he had his doubts about whether he would win that seat since he opted to remain a member of Medway Council more than 250 miles away in Kent, until he discovered the result of the general election.

So he has now resigned as councillor for River ward and the contest to replace him is entering his final week.

As local MP Mark Reckless explains:

"It is in a split ward where we won one seat and Labour the other at our last local elections in May 2007. I'd be really delighted if we could pick up the other seat as we have an excellent candidate in David Craggs, a local headmaster, and Craig Mackinlay, our current councillor for the ward, is leading a really strong and well organised campaign.

"Another reason to support the campaign is that Bill Esterson has used his new position to talk down Medway - specifically the standard of education and grammar schools - and attack Michael Gove for reviewing funding for three academies, despite the fact that he opposed funding them when he was Labour's education spokesman in Medway. Worse, he avoided scrutiny of his inconsistency in the Commons by flouting convention and not notifying either me, Tracey Crouch or Rehman Chisthi that he was going to refer to our constituencies on the floor of the House and then, when Rehman Chisthi sprinted to the chamber to respond, refused three times to take an intervention."

Anyone wanting to assist to assist the campaign should email Craig Mackinlay.