Donal Blaney: Introducing the Margaret Thatcher Library & Museum

Donal Blaney is Chief Executive of Conservative Way Forward and of the Margaret Thatcher Library & Museum project.

“A monument to her greatness”, proclaims The Sunday Telegraph in its lead story this morning, on Conservative Way Forward’s plans for the Margaret Thatcher Library & Museum.

The twin inspirations behind the Library & Museum are both in California. In 2002 I first visited Ronald Reagan’s beloved home in the mountains above Santa Barbara, Rancho del Cielo. Young America’s Foundation’s visionary President, Ron Robinson, had gambled and saved the Reagan Ranch for the nation in 1998. He then had the foresight to build and develop the Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara itself – a “schoolhouse for Reaganism” that fuses teaching facilities, educational exhibits and artefacts to teach young people about the remarkable life and presidency of Ronald Reagan.

It was in 2007 that I first visited the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum in Simi Valley, Reagan’s last resting place and a location with sweeping views across the valley to the West. Through a range of innovative exhibits, the Reagan Library tells the story of President Reagan’s life in an electrifying way. Both facilities ensure that you get to understand Reagan the Man as well as Reagan the President.

Donal Blaney: A new dawn for Conservative Way Forward

Donal Blaney is the Chief Executive of Conservative Way Forward (www.conwayfor.org) and the co-founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons’ Foundation.  

After the putsch against Margaret Thatcher in November 1990, a small group of committed Thatcherites resolved to protect the Iron Lady’s legacy within the Conservative Party. Conservative Way Forward was born a few months later, led initially by Lord Parkinson and eagerly supported by the now sadly missed Sir George Gardiner MP as the first editor of Forward and the redoubtable Mark Allatt as its General Secretary.

Over the last 21 years, CWF has achieved great success thanks in large part to its volunteer Executive Committee and its succession of Chairmen: the redoubtable Lord Parkinson, the late, great Eric Forth, Thatcherite favourite Chris Chope and the energetic Don Porter. It remains “the largest and most effective pressure group within the Conservative Party” (according to no less an authority than David Cameron) and many of its supporters are now prominent MPs, MEPs and councillors. CWF has helped to shape European, tax and defence policy and its networking and social events are spectacularly attended (could you get into the Midnight Drinks Reception at the Party Conference?!).

Lady Thatcher has been President of CWF since its formation: the only Conservative group on which she has bestowed this honour. She has closely followed its fortunes and continues to do so. Her key advisers, led by her ever-loyal Private Secretary, Mark Worthington, and her de facto PPS, Conor Burns MP, have been intimately involved in CWF’s activities and Lady Thatcher has attended dozens of CWF events since 1991.

Donal Blaney: Put Matthew Elliott in the Lords

Donal Blaney is the Chief Executive of the Young Britons’ Foundation.

The stunning victory of the No2AV campaign is a personal triumph for Matthew Elliott, its director. True, it could not have happened but for the support of the Prime Minister and the Conservative Party machine (and its donors). But No2AV was the epitome of an understated, cautious, well-run and organized campaign – although this should come as no surprise to those us who are longstanding fans of the TaxPayers’ Alliance.

Had Matthew Elliott not marshaled as coherent a team and strategy as he did, and had No2AV lost, the Conservative Party might never have governed alone again. The stakes were that high. Having worked through the TPA to save conservatism when its fortunes were at its nadir, Elliott has help to save Conservatism too. If he doesn’t deserve a peerage, who does?

He deserves our heartfelt thanks – as do those who worked closely with him, whose numbers make up the increasingly influential conservative movement in Britain. Indeed the outstanding result in the referendum ought to act as a reminder and wake-up call to the Prime Minister and his comrades at CCHQ: the conservative movement is an ally, not the enemy. Its organizations and leaders ought to be treated as a welcome help and not as an embarrassing hindrance.

Donal Blaney: If the Law Society wants to continue charging a compulsory levy on all solicitors, it must stop playing politics

Donal Blaney is the Chief Executive of the Young Britons’ Foundation and Senior Partner in Griffin Law, a niche litigation firm.

In the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher put pay to compulsory trades union membership and the abuse of the political levy. In the 1990s, John Major ended compulsory membership of students’ unions (although he baulked at requiring students actively to opt in). While freedom of assembly is a protected right, so likewise is the presumption that membership of organisations is and should only ever be voluntary.

I am a solicitor – one of 118,000 in England & Wales. Like my colleagues, I am required by law to pay a compulsory levy for the privilege of being a member of the legal profession. Last year it was in the region of £1,000. I have no choice whether or not to pay this fee. It is a compulsory levy.

Yesterday I, along with my fellow solicitors, received an email from the Law Society entitled “Fight for Justice”. It was, it said, “devoted to the Law Society’s campaign to defend access to justice”. The goal of the email was to help to “increase awareness of the devastating effect that the government’s proposed legal aid cuts will have on society and the rule of law”.

Engaging in scare tactics worthy of Ed Balls, the Law Society’s email continued by crying, in bold text and in capital letters, “THE GOVERNMENT IS PLANNING CUTS THAT WILL DENY MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ACCESS TO JUSTICE. DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN. SOUND OFF FOR JUSTICE”.

Donal Blaney: Britain's roads are snow joke anymore

Donal Blaney is the Chief Executive of the Young Britons’ Foundation.

Here’s a solution to the chaos on the country’s roads today that ought not to be beyond the wit of even the most inept local authority.

Why not introduce the system they have in the United States whereby that when a snow emergency is declared, vehicles are prohibited from being parked on main roads? Those vehicles that remain unlawfully parked are then ticketed and towed into a neighbouring street.

On one level it can be a nuisance for the vehicle owner. I know. I have had cars towed in Washington on more than one occasion. It is expensive too. But rather than being towed to an out-of-city pound, the City Council tows cars a block or two away.

If this solution were introduced in Britain, without the customary wasting of years debating it, key roads would be kept free of parked or abandoned vehicles and the arteries of our counties’ transport systems will remain as unblocked as possible. As well as ending the chaotic inconvenience of the past few days, it will also keep the economy moving. Has anyone even attempted to calculate the cost and damage to the economy of delayed journeys yet?

Donal Blaney: It is time for conservatives to boycott the Telegraph. Anybody with me?

Donal Blaney is the Chief Executive of the Young Britons’ Foundation.

“You’re damn right I’m angry.”

Just as the Church of England was said to be the Tory Party at prayer, so it was that the Telegraph used to be the Conservatives’ political bible. For decades, conservatives were able to rely on the steadfast support of what became known as The Torygraph – a newspaper that passionately stood up not only for conservative values even when the rest of Fleet Street went all gooey over Tony Blair but which proudly endorsed the Conservative Party as the best vehicle for the delivery of conservative ideals.

And then the Barclay Brothers arrived.

What are we left with now? In its naked desire for sales and profit, the Telegraph seems to have lost sight of the broader picture. While it is understandable that the tax haven-dwelling owners of the Telegraph might want to count their pennies and stroke their white cats on their island lair, have they forgotten that they rely on conservative-inclined readers to buy their newspapers? Fewer readers means less profit.

Which has rather got me thinking.

Leftists are masters at the use of popular protest to get their way. Deploying customers to express discontent has often succeeded in getting results for those whose views may not accord with ours as conservatives. The same tactics are being deployed by Manchester United fans, protesting against the Glazers’ continued ownership of Britain’s wealthiest football club, an approach now being copied at Anfield by similarly disgruntled Liverpool fans.

The Daily Telegraph was once a great newspaper. It has now morphed into a celeb-obsessed gossip rag which is increasingly making The Daily Mirror look like a serious newspaper.

“Don’t get mad, get even”, we are told. Norman Tebbit once said that that maxim was wrong in the context of politics. “Get mad and even”, he said. The sordid whiff of prurient homophobia disguised as concern for taxpayers’ money coupled with a galling display of cant from our political opponents has managed to drive from office a man who true fiscal conservatives were proud to have as Chief Secretary. David Laws showed himself to be ready, willing and able to put the national interest first. He had the determination to push through undoubtedly necessary public spending cuts in the face of opposition from within his own party (and, indeed, our own).

The same could not be said of The Telegraph. Either The Telegraph knew of this story and sat on it for over a year or someone (does anyone else smell a McBride-esque smear here?) has decided to deploy this negative information against David Laws and the Coalition at the very time our country needs fiscal conservatism to save us from a sovereign debt crisis born from Gordon Brown’s profligate and inept mismanagement of the economy since 1997.

So now is the time for all good conservatives to make it clear that enough is enough. The Telegraph long ceased to be a serious paper of record. It long ceased to be the natural home for conservatives. It long ceased to deserve our patronage and custom. It is time for conservatives to vote with our feet. It is time for conservatives to boycott the Telegraph. Anybody with me?

Donal Blaney: How to build on this momentous weekend

Donal Blaney, Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation and the author of Blaney's Blaney, offers ten lessons to be learnt if we are to keep our momentum.

Last Friday was Gordon Brown's 100th day as Prime Minister having spent 13 years licking his wounds after the Granita Pact with Tony Blair. It was the moment he had dreamt of for decades. Brown's spokesmen made a great deal of wanting to have a whirlwind first one hundred days. You wouldn't think so now, would you? It is a safe bet to say that with his decision not to call a general election, the climax to his first 100 days in office won't be forgotten soon.

Conservatives are rightly ecstatic that an election they feared last weekend they would lose, and which would probably had led to a fresh round of blood-letting, has been avoided. Such was the turnaround in the polls that the Tories have even swung into the lead. Much of the reason for the Tories' success in the past week rests on the fact that, at last, Team Cameron realised that the Party's strategy had been unbalanced. Tim Montgomerie has rightly and repeatedly called for the adoption of "the and theory" - rather than for a continued unbalanced strategy based on false choices.

Announcements that reconnected the Party's leadership with its grassroots - and with voters - on crime, immigration, education and tax are what have rescued the Tories from electoral disaster and fostered a new sense of unity and purpose. Having successfully shown Gordon Brown to have been partisan, inept, underhand and lacking courage, the Tories need to learn the lessons of the past 2 years, and in particular the past few months when panic set in. With that in mind, here are my suggestions as to how the Tories can best build on this weekend's momentous events.

Donal Blaney: Conservatives must oppose Labour's citizenship agenda

Donal Blaney is founder of the Young Britons Foundation and a director of 18DoughtyStreet.com.

Gordon Brown is a Scot. He represents a Scottish parliamentary seat. Devolution has not quelled Scottish separatism. It has fuelled it. In both England and Scotland there is a rising desire for the end of the Union (although I remain of the view that the Union will endure). Rather than answering the West Lothian Question, Gordon Brown exhorts us to promote “Britishness” – albeit that this ignores the fact that the Education Secretary in Westminster has no say over education policy in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

The latest attempt to redefine “Britishness” has come from a paper written by Sir Keith Ajegbo entitled “Diversity and Citizenship Curriculum Review”.

The DfES website announces – in phraseology that would do Mao proud:

“The key proposal is that the secondary curriculum for Citizenship Education should include a new element entitled 'Identity and Diversity: Living Together in the UK'. This will mean that all pupils, as part of compulsory secondary Citizenship Education, would be taught about shared values and life in the UK. This will be informed by an understanding of contemporary issues and relevant historical context which gave rise to them.

This approach should be supported by a range of measures to ensure that all curriculum subjects adequately reflect the diversity of modern Britain, and that schools are appropriately supported in delivery of this education for diversity.”

If conservatism remains an intellectually coherent creed, it must surely embrace localism rather than central planning. An overly prescriptive curriculum – particularly in such a politically sensitive area such as “diversity and citizenship” – runs contrary to the needs of education and of broader society.

In an era when even leftists such as Trevor Phillips realize that multiculturalism has encouraged ghettos and a form of social and cultural apartheid, why is it that a retired educationalist with a track-record second to many, joined by two other individuals from ethnic minorities – not much sign of diversity there -  is promoting a politically correct revision to the curriculum.

I am willing to bet that most conservative activists believed that the addition of citizenship to the curriculum in the last decade was simply that: the addition of citizenship classes that ensure that students learn about British history, our political system and truly shared values.

Instead, the DfES report makes it clear that the government’s focus is more interested in “diversity”. Rather than actively ensuring that citizenship is at the core of the curriculum, the report urges that citizenship is taught “discretely”.

Hidden away in the report are some statistics that should be highlighted, most notably:

• Ethnic minorities now number 7.9% of the population (as at 2001);
• Ethnic minority numbers in schools are closer to 1 in 8 (as at 2001);
• This proportion in schools is set to rise to 20% (1 in 5) by 2010;
• By 2017, 15% of the workforce in Britain will be muslim.

These figures are official government figures: the real figures are bound to be more shocking still.

What is of concern – and again, what has not been highlighted elsewhere – is the assertion that diversity requires, “in the first instance”, that students should explore “their own identities in relation to the local community”. So while we are told that citizenship education is to encourage an end to multiculturalism and the embrace of “Britishness” and integration, the converse is the case in this DfES report.

The report reads as the worst form of leftist self-congratulation. It is extols the virtues of the “anti-racist work in the 1980s” in what can only be seen as a snide jibe at Thatcherism. Why single out the 1980s? Was there no work against racism in the 1960s or 1970s? Did anti-racism work end in 1990?

Donal Blaney: Compassionate conservatism should focus on the elderly

Donal is Chief Executive of the Young Briton's Foundation and a Director at 18 Doughty Street.

In the politically correct and expedient rush to appease Guardianistas, environmental extremists, health fascists and equal opportunities zealots, Conservative Party strategists have forgotten the most important group in society who truly deserve - and would benefit most from - compassionate conservatism: the elderly.

The Daily Mail reports that Ivan Lewis, a health minister, has admitted that the elderly are being starved in care homes and hospitals. The inhumane treatment of the elderly in care homes, and by society at large, is one of the great scandals of recent years.

Despite a decade in power when taxes have risen to punitive levels and government spending has spiraled, Gordon Brown has conspicuously failed to make adequate provision for the elderly who are particularly hard hit by seemingly endless council tax and utility bill increases. And yet little is being said or done by the Conservative Party to focus on this crisis.

Donal Blaney: Work as if it all depends on you – pray as if it all depends on God

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, has explained one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. This is the last in that series, click here for the full archive.

It is said that every team is only as strong as its weakest member. This certainly worked to the advantage of the Conservative government during the 1980s as the Labour front bench was (until the arrival of Blair, Brown and their cohorts) a seriously unimpressive collection of people.

No matter what role you have in an organization, campaign or team, it is essential that you work as if the entire organization, campaign or team depends on you. There can be no thought of leaving it to someone else, assuming something will be done or not giving it your all.

One of the tragedies of the Conservative Party’s recent past is the way in which a generation of activists and politicians began to believe that the Party had a divine right to rule.

Donal Blaney: You cannot beat somebody with nobody

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, explains one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. Morton Blackwell is the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

This week’s Law of the Public Policy Process focuses on a key fact that even the most skilled campaigner must recognize – you cannot beat somebody with nobody.

Gordon Brown is undoubtedly “somebody”. For all his faults, and this week’s Pre-Budget Report shows that he has many, he is undoubtedly a past master at arrogating power to himself and destroying anyone who dares to come into his path.

He has ruthlessly dispatched pretenders to his crown, chief amongst whom are numbered Alan Milburn, Stephen Byers, David Blunkett, Charles Clarke and (ultimately after a decade of internecine warfare) Tony Blair himself. Machiavelli would be proud. It remains to be seen whether John Reid will fall by the wayside as well.

On the Conservative side of the Commons, Brown has also effortlessly dispatched people as diverse as Ken Clarke, Peter Lilley, Michael Portillo, Francis Maude and, to some degree, even George Osborne.

The same concept of a seemingly unbeatable “somebody” is Ken Livingstone. A series of candidates have thus far tried to defeat him (both for the Labour nomination and for the mayoralty itself) but nobody was sufficiently “somebody” to be able to defeat him thus far – worthy though many of those putative opponents may have been.

There is undoubtedly something that cannot readily be identified that marks out a “somebody” in politics or any other walk of life. All too often it is defined as charisma or that ubiquitous “X-Factor”. It doesn’t simply come from being in power. Many people who have “it” (and are consequently a hard-to-beat “somebody”) are not in power at the outset of their journey up the greasy pole.

Some initially have power by association (such as Hillary Clinton or Winston Churchill) whereas others marked themselves out for greatness early on despite not previously having been close to power (Margaret Thatcher prime among them).

Donal Blaney: Promptly report your action to the one who requested it

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, explains one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. Morton Blackwell is the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

Given that politics is very much about the art of communicating ideas, it has often astonished me how bad politicians are at communicating with each other. Misunderstandings frequently arise and all too frequently result in mountains being made out of molehills.

While some disputes are based on matters of principle (such as over Europe during the Thatcher Years) or naked personal ambition (such as between Blair and Brown since 1994), all too often a minor issue will develop into a festering sore, thereby destroying relationships between erstwhile friends when this could all have been avoided if the lines of communication had run smoothly. Email has, of course, a lot to answer for in this regard given that emails meant as humourous by the sender can often come across as terse or inappropriate to the reader.

Donal Blaney: The test of moral ideas is moral results

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, explains one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. Morton Blackwell is the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

“There is much to be said for trying to improve some disadvantaged people's lot. There is nothing to be said for trying to create heaven on earth. When all the objectives of government include the achievement of equality - other than equality before the law - that government poses a threat to liberty.”
- Statecraft, Margaret Thatcher

Maybe I drank too much rum when I was living abroad for the past two years?

Maybe in time I will wake up from this horrible dream, this nightmare, in which the political party that gave us Churchill and Thatcher – the political creed that gave us Reagan and is still adhered to by John Howard and Stephen Harper – have been discarded by David Cameron in what increasingly seems to me to be nothing more than a naked push for power at any price, without any regard for political principle or the true needs of the vast majority of voters.

Donal Blaney: Never miss a political meeting if you think there's the slightest chance you'll wish you'd been there

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, explains one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. Morton Blackwell is the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

It’s often said that life is a series of regrets. For those who are truly interested in politics, one of the most frequent regrets is missing a meeting that others wax lyrical about for weeks (or even years) on end.

I was privileged to hear Enoch Powell speak on two occasions, neither of which was televised or recorded for posterity. Regardless of one’s views of Powell, it cannot be disputed that he was one of the most influential and important political figures of the past fifty years.

I also had the privilege of hearing then Labour leader, John Smith, when I was at university a few weeks before his death. Many of us discussed earnestly whether or not we should attend what was essentially a Labour Students event. We feared being a focal point of abuse and invective and also thought that by boycotting this speaker meeting, we would be making some kind of (still unclear even to this day) statement. Thankfully common sense prevailed, we attended, we entered into banter with John Smith during his remarks and I have a memory that will last a lifetime of attending a speech given by a principled, if misguided, statesman.

By contrast I was unable to attend the 2005 Conservative Party Conference as I was working in the Caribbean. I therefore missed out on seeing in person the leadership hustings that were pivotal in propelling David Cameron into the pole position. Despite seeing Cameron and Davis’ speeches on tape since then, I missed out not only on hearing the speeches given live at the time but also perhaps more importantly I missed out on seeing first hand the fascinating manoeuvring of the rival candidates’ lieutenants and supporters. 

Donal Blaney: Lessons for Britain from the American conservative movement

Taken from Donal's speech at the ConservativeHome Awards

Why is it that at the same time our conservative cousins have been so successful across the wider Anglosphere – most notably in the United States, Australia & Canada – the British Conservative Party has languished in the polls and lost three successive general elections. 

Even when the Republicans lose control of the House and Senate, the Democrats can only seize power by running conservative candidates who back gun ownership, oppose abortion and extol the virtues of lower taxes. 

Rather than focusing on the merits or otherwise of tax cuts, A-Lists, modernization and so on, I want to focus in these remarks on the lessons for British conservatives to learn particularly from the American Conservative Movement.