Jeremy Middleton reports back on a "united and determined" National Conservative Convention meeting in Manchester

Jeremy Middleton is chairman of the National Conservaitve Convention. Here he reports on yesterday's NCC meeting at th Manchester conference.

The message from the National Convention meeting on the Sunday before conference was clear and simple. We face an immense task to wrest power from the Labour party… but we are determined to do it.

The National Convention consists of the 850 most senior volunteers and is, in effect, the parliament of the voluntary party. Motions were debated and passed approving plans to mount a campaign to get more people involved with the party, committing the National Convention officers to developing a renewed programme of training for volunteers, and to reviving the profile of the Policy Forum as a voice for the voluntary party.

The Voluntary Party also needs to have the best possible organisation, and at the Convention I published a new directory of the “National Volunteer Team”. The number of volunteers helping the party at a national level has increased across the summer so that we now have 75 senior volunteers working on jobs for the party nationally. This team means that the Voluntary Party gets more done, and gives the volunteers a greater voice at the heart of the party.

Convention members were taken through the General Election strategy by Stephen Gilbert, the party's Head of Field Campaigning. Stephen emphasised the size of the challenge - as the party needs the biggest electoral swing achieved by any opposition party since 1931. This is a sobering prospect, but those who heard him set out the political strategy were left feeling confident that our campaign is in the best possible hands.

Convention members were also delighted to hear from David Cameron and the Party Chairman, Eric Pickles. David promised that at the conference this week we would be addressing the country, not ourselves. We will be setting out a programme for government and showcasing a team that was ready for the very serious challenges the country faces. Unlike the Labour party, we will not duck the tough decisions that our country needs to take.

Eric paid tribute to the work of the volunteers, and highlighted the excellent support received from across the country in the successful Norwich North by-election. Eric took questions across a range of topics, giving straight answers in his typically direct and open style.

Members of the Convention were left in no doubt that we face a tough battle, and that no one can afford to be complacent. The work of the Voluntary Party will be pivotal if we are to achieve our goal of a Conservative government. However based on the mood of the Convention yesterday, the leadership of the Voluntary Party are determined to focus on the important things that will bring us success - unity, loyalty, and a single-minded focus on campaigning to win.

Jeremy Middleton: Building a sustainable and influential voluntary party is my main priority as the new chairman of the National Conservative Convention

Jeremy Middleton was elected chairman of the National Conservative Convention at the party's spring conference in Cheltenham at the end of last month. He succeeds Don Porter as the most senior volunteer in the party and here he sets out the agenda which he and his fellow grassroots members of the Party Board are aiming to pursue over the coming year.

This is a very exciting time to become Chairman of the National Conservative Convention.

Don Porter was an outstanding Chairman. Under his leadership our Party has become more united and more professional than at any time in our recent history.  After nine years on the Board, we owe Don a debt of thanks for his hard work, his loyalty and his leadership.

Now we need to build on what Don achieved to make sure that the Party is in the best possible shape for the General Election... and beyond. Above all, we need to build a voluntary party that is sustainable long term, has credibility and influence, and is supported by a strong, professional organisation.

I am pleased to say that we have a strong, new National Convention Officer team, consisting of a new President, Emma Pidding, and three Vice Presidents, Charles Barwell, Fiona Hodgson and Paul Swaddle. 

They join George Kynoch (Deputy Chairman of the Scottish Conservative Party), Catrin Edwards (Chairman of the Welsh Conservatives) and Merrick Cockell (Chairman of the Conservative Councillors Association), as the volunteer team on the Board of the Conservative Party.

The new team are currently fully focused on the campaign 2009 elections next month.  However, I can tell you that the key priorities for the team include:

1. Attracting more supporters
2. Improving our training and support for the Voluntary Party
3. Developing our national mutual aid capability
4. Regenerating a policy forum
5. Improving Conference and National Convention meetings
6. Getting involved to help with Merlin

The National Officers will be leading initiatives that will strengthen our Party and to be most successful they will need support from other volunteers, and so we plan to establish a National Volunteer Advisory Council.

The National Officers will be asking talented Volunteers who are willing to help the Party develop ideas and help implement them to join this team. Plans for this will be announced after the June elections.

The team also wants to reach out to attract more supporters and to build understanding of the role of the National Convention amongst activists. Therefore, as my colleagues and I develop initiatives aimed at strengthening the Party organisation, we will hope to explain these to the readers of ConservativeHome, as well as using our normal communication channels to members of the National Conservative Convention.

I hope that this will help us do our jobs, help the Party and be of interest to ConservativeHome readers.