Nominations for Next Generation

The eighth category in the Conservative Movement Awards 2007.

Your nominations and citations are sought for a promising star or leader of the future. Someone who is in their twenties or younger and already making waves...

Click here to scroll down all of the categories that have been opened up so far.

Comments

[Nick Webb]

I’d like to nominate Anastasia Beaumont-Bott for this award. I have backed her for the CF election, but foget about that for a second, what she has achieved this year is what matters for this nomination. Many people within the age bracket have done a lot to promote the party, often through CF. Anastasia though went beyond the structures already in place and formed LGBTory.

At the conference:
http://anastasiabeaumontbott.blogspot.com/2007/10/conference-lgbtory-and-stuff.html

Prior to conference:
http://anastasiabeaumontbott.blogspot.com/2007/09/lgbtory-related-update.html

Credit for being the only party at Pride Scotia:
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/comment.cfm?id=1208152007

At Pride Scotia:
http://anastasiabeaumontbott.blogspot.com/2007/06/lgbtory-great-success.html

About LGBTory:
http://lgbtory.blogspot.com/2007/08/lgbtory-introduction.html

Working within the existing structure to boost the party is hard work and deserves to be recognised. However, identifying a gap in the party’s message and working with self motivation on a project to fill it is exceptional.

[Paul Oakley]

Tim Aker of the Taxpayers' Alliance. In his early 20s and grassroots co-ordinator, he's already made a mark in spreading the word amongst activists.

[Paul Seery]

COMMENT OVERWRITTEN BY THE EDITOR.

[Mark Clarke]

I see a lot of young people in my role within CF. I would nominate the following star seven people:

Anne-Marie Bray
Anne-Marie was the area Chairman for Worcestershire. When she took over there was one small CF branch there. We now have functioning branches in all our target seats. Anne-Marie works tireless on on the ground organising events and bringing new people in. She always has an excellent balance between campaigning, social action and socialising

Shane Greer
Shane Greer has got the Young Briton’s Foundation working at full pelt again under Donal Blaney’s watchful eye. They are training 100s of Conservative activists in the vital skills they need to defeat the Left. They won’t make a lot of waves but when you see YBF graduates winning council seats or parliamentary seats in 5 to 10 years time, a part of the reason will be the professionalism that YBF gave them.

Clare Hilley
Clare is a one woman wonder. She runs an outstanding branch down in Croydon - having previously done the same with Lancaster. She always supports campaigning around the country with her branch. But what makes Clare exceptional is her fundraising and her ability to present a positive face for the Party in a way which brings new people in. She organises a CF ball every year in Croydon. This is regularly attended by 80 to 100 people and brings significant funds to her Association. Fundraising small amounts of money from lots of people is our future life blood and Clare excels at this better than any other young person that I know. In addition her spell on Castaway did her and the Conservative Party proud. Witness to this is that several of her fellow castaway members are now active members of Conservative Future – recruited by Clare and strong campaigners in their own right.

Christian May
Christian took over Exeter CF when it had 70 members. The following year he had grown it to 180. This year they have signed up over 250. They campaign extensively and won the University ward in the local elections for the first time which they worked very hard and took by only one vote. Their relations with the local Association are so good that the open primary for this target seat was held on campus. Christian's has also set up a functioning and excellent committee for Devon and Cornwall (he is a Cornwall man himself). They have even secured £500 sponsorship to get them started.

Matthew Richardson
Matt has revolutionised CF campaigning. He has arranged 11 campaign days all over the country. CF have from the centre organised the delivery of over 200,000 leaflets. PPCs are constantly on the phone wanting our help – because they know that help makes a huge difference. We were at the centre of General Election planning because the Party had great confidence in CF’s ability to deliver on the campaigning front. Matt has achieved this.

Claire Palmer
12 months ago there were 9 CF branches in our top 150 target seats. Now there are 43. Some of those CF has centrally created. But mostly CF centrally has merely supported and offered advice. The vast majority of this unsung work has been done by my Deputy Chairman, Claire Palmer. She is constantly talking to young people around the country mentoring them and always responding to them. If you are someone running a CF branch in a marginal seat then the chances are that you have had good advice and help from Claire Palmer at some stage.

Paul Seery
Paul joined us from the Liberal Democrats a few months ago. It only a few months he has personally delivered around 90,000 leaflets in many different constituencies. You can’t win without boots on the ground putting leaflets through doors. It’s not glamorous – but it get people elected.

[Editor]

Thank you Mark, Thank you Nick. The detail of those nominations are ideally what we want for all nominations.

[David Walker]

I think this is a bad idea in the midst of a CF election (I know it isn't imminent but all the runners and riders are preparing their campaigns).

I would also be wary of any recommendation from Mark Clarke. Any action of his has one thing in mind and that is his pursuit of personal advancement to the detriment of anything else. I'm sorry to say it but since he was selected for Tooting his Chairmanship of CF has been non-exsistent...just look at his blog!

[Paul Oakley]

What, we have to make an effort with our nominations? Tchoch!

Okay. Tim Aker is the youngest member of the TPA team and as grassroots organiser has been responsible for council tax protests in a number of local areas. He has taken the message to the people across many constituencies and is setting up branches country-wide. As at the 2005 election, the TPA was seen as a fringe group. Tim has helped it to become mainstream and has been instrumental in airing the argument for a flat tax.

[Paul 'The Machine' Seery]

Editor, that comment that was posted under my name is not me and I would like it removed.

[Editor]

I have overwritten it Paul.

[Tom's mate]

Tom Clougherty of the Adam Smith Institute for his excellent comments on the ASI blog. He will go far.

[Wild]

Harry Cole... What a legend already!

[Nathan Cavin]

I would like to nominate Nick Webb. When he took over as Area Chairman in Bristol & Glos it was a small branch, and a year on he has the foundations in place with a strong membership and branch chairmans working underneath him, two in Bristol and one in Gloucester. This is also working in tandem with the active participation in the Universities situated in the area. Social Action Projects, social events and canvassing are organised regularly, and Nick has organised many events with various guest speakers, as well as a successful 'Question Time' event recently.

Nick has written about the set up here: http://conservativefuture2007.blogspot.com/2007/11/nick-webb-sharing-ideas.html

He has certainly put in great efforts to establish CF in the area and i feel he deserves recognition for this.

[Donal Blaney]

I wholeheartedly endorse the nomination of Shane Greer. He has been instrumental in taking the Young Britons' Foundation forward to the next level this year. He has also shown great skill as a presenter on 18 Doughty Street, a guest on various real political television programmes and as a blogger. He has a bright future ahead of him in the conservative movement.

[Mark Clarke]

Nick has indeed been a very good Area Chairman. I would put Anne-Marie Bray and Christian May slightly higher. But for sure Nick has done excellent things in Gloucestershire from a very low base.

[Ronan]

Shane Greer from the Young Britons' Foundation, 18 Doughty Street and ShaneGreer.com. Despite only becoming active in politics at the start of this year he has become a key figure in British politics, especially amongst young conservatives. Moreover his frequent appearances on Sky News etc have shown him to be a capable media performer who is able to represent the Conservative Party in a way
that connects with people at every level of society.

[Nick Webb]

>Nick has indeed been a very good Area >Chairman. I would put Anne-Marie Bray and >Christian May slightly higher. But for >sure Nick has done excellent things in >Gloucestershire from a very low base.

Thank you..... ummmmm I think! That's a better backhand than Tim Henman ever managed.

[David Walker]

I think that Mark Clarke is trying to get some poor soul to offer him up as a nomination! Good luck!

You've got your PPC position and have tried your hardest to run CF into the ground so how about you back off now Clarke? We will never have a good youth organisation in the party if people like Mark Clarke continue to use it as a career leg-up.

[Paul 'The Machine' Seery]

Thank you editor for over-writing the comment. It must have been a Liberal Democrat that posted that message. There are some that still have it in for me.

Getting back to the topic I would like to thank Mark for including me in his seven nominees for the award. However I need to correct him on the delivery figure. It is actually over 80,000 but what I will add is that in only 6 months since joining the Conservative Party I have:
*Campaigned in 9 campaign seats,
*Helped out at CCHQ for this year's freshers.
*Attended all days of the Ealing Southall by-election.
*Have become a key campaigner for Mark Clarke in Tooting. Since helping out Mark and the local party in Tooting they have been able to run numerous campaigns and deliver over 300,000 pieces of literature.

While writing this post I would like to take the opportunity to nominate Peter Smallwood for the award. The reason being that I have worked with Peter on a couple of occasions now and have been impressed by the committeement that he has shown. Also he was instrumental in helping me make the switch from the Liberal Democrats to the Conservatives back in June.

[Paul 'The Machine' Seery]

Thank you editor for over-writing the comment. It must have been a Liberal Democrat that posted that message. There are some that still have it in for me.

Getting back to the topic I would like to thank Mark for including me in his seven nominees for the award. However I need to correct him on the delivery figure. It is actually over 80,000 but what I will add is that in only 6 months since joining the Conservative Party I have:
*Campaigned in 9 seats.
*Helped out at CCHQ for this year's freshers fairs.
*Attended all days of the Ealing Southall by-election.
*Have become a key campaigner for Mark Clarke in Tooting. Since helping out Mark and the local party in Tooting they have been able to run numerous campaigns and deliver over 300,000 pieces of literature.

While writing this post I would like to take the opportunity to nominate Peter Smallwood for the award. The reason being that I have worked with Peter on a couple of occasions now and have been impressed by the committeement that he has shown. Also he was instrumental in helping me make the switch from the Liberal Democrats to the Conservatives back in June.

[Paul Oakley]

Ed - I'm grateful for Paul Seery's post as I didn't realise we could also nominate ourselves. Can I do likewise or am I too old at 39?

[Paul 'The Machine' Seery]

I was not nominating myself, but rather adding to Mark Clarke's post that he made about me. If you read my post carefully you would realise that I nominated Peter Smallwood for the award.

[Christian May]

I was going to wait a little longer before nominating Mark Clarke, as I did not want it to appear as if I were merely reciprocating. However, given the attacks on him that have already been posted I feel compelled to offer my thoughts.

I wish to nominate Mark Clarke for the 'Next Generation' award. When I took over Exeter CF 18 months ago, I felt a little daunted about the task I had undertaken. Mark rang me out of the blue and introduced himself - offering advice and support. From then on Mark became a great friend of Exeter CF, attending our balls, arranging events for us in London and offering continuing support as the branch grew and grew to its current position. It was also mark that helped me establish the role of Devon and Cornwall Area Chairman, and for this I am truly grateful.

To this day, Mark keeps in touch with progress of CF in Devon and Cornwall and continues to travel down here and show his support. If it wasn't for Mark's commitment to establishing new branches (and helping to revitalise old ones), CF in my area - indeed, on my campus - would not be the same. For those reasons, I nominate him.

[Justin Hinchcliffe]

I'd like to nominate Andrew Boff for working tirelessly for the Conservative cause in Hackney. Anybody going to second that?

[Kaye Shearer]

I would also like to nominate Shane Greer and can only echo the comments above (however having listened to Shane talk at the Adam Smith Institute I would also draw attention to his ability as a public speaker). It's thanks to people like Shane that the Party is finally beginning to realise that it's not enough to have the right ideas, we also have to be able to sell them as well.

[Samantha Hunt]

I’d second Nathan’s nomination of Nick Webb. It’s not only his hard work which needs to be recognised here. His personality allows for an easy transition into the world of CF and his efforts to keep people interested and involved are second to none. It is for this reason that Bristol & Glos. CF has grown, and is continuing to grow, at such pace.

[Justin Hinchcliffe]

This is in danger of being taken over by over-enthusiastic CF people - who, mainly, get slaughtered at parties and deliver 12 leaflets the following day with a massive hangover. Let's note - and appreciate - the work of people over 30 (and, no, that does not include me!).

Justin (26)

[Christian May]

Mr. Hinchcliffe,

I think that is an unfair and inaccurate statement. People here are nominating those that they feel deserve recognition...you shouldn't write them off.

[Alister J. Cooling]

I think, within the list provided here, there are definitely some names worthy of note, some names are there for strategic reasons and some, lets be honest here, are there as a thank you with no real chance of winning.

Like any nomination process, one has to try and take out personal bias (never going to happen) and vote for the person/persons who fit the criteria.

The criteria for this nomination is this

"Your nominations and citations are sought for a promising star or leader of the future. Someone who is in their twenties or younger and already making waves"

There are some good names in the list above, some i've had the pleasure and some I'm hoping to meet at a later date, but I have three names in my mind that would be difficult for me to choose from, two of which are on this wall.

In no particular order, my first thought has to be Tim Aker.
A well rounded chap who is definitely making waves within the party and doing marvellous things for the Tories and TPA.

Next, Anastasia Beaumont-Bott. I've only had the pleasure once, but I was blown away by her tenacity and belief in what she wants to do. I truly believe her vision for LGBTory is something that we, as a party, should get behind to dispell the national myth of the Tories of old.

Finally, Mark Wallace. He is doing a remarkable job and constantly going beyond 'the call of duty' to get his point across.
He's also a top bloke.

There is another name that hasn't been mentioned but is definitely someone we should be watching for the future. This chap is someone who is a large part of all of us having this site ticking over and keeping it updated and always seeking out new people to post blogs. Yes, Sam Coates is another top bloke.

Thanks

[Traditional Tory]

From then on Mark became a great friend of Exeter CF, attending our balls...

I thought the YCs gave up calling their discos 'balls' in my time, but perhaps the term has different connotations these days.

I was a member of the YC National Advisory Committee when the party had a youth organisation worth bragging about, and from what I have seen of its successor group I have considerable sympathy (for once) with Justin's view.

[David Walker]

http://markclarke.blogspot.com/

That is a good indication of how much work has been done my Mark Clarke since he got his grubby little mits on the Tooting candidature.

Correlate the last date of posting and the date of his Tooting selection. Coincidence? I think not. He is exactly the type of person we don't need representing the party to the outside world.

He is now trying to fix the elections this year in favour of his mates and it is quite frankly disgusting. He should be ashamed. Keep out of it Clarke.

[Alister J. Cooling]

Am I wrong in thinking that its not necessarily a good thing to be attacking our own party members in open forums.
We may dislike people but surely we, as a party, should show a united front and not succumb to party in fighting for all to see.
Its taken time but we are gaining a positive party portrayal at the moment and stuff thats going on, not just here, is in my honest opinion detrimental to us all.

If you have issue with members, shouldn't our CF meetings be the place for this, away from the public view, and in that we, we truly want our voices heard, be done at other conservative events, rather than on Conservative Home where political bloggers from other parties are reading this and waiting for the perfect time to drop this into a wider forum.

Granted, i'm still very naive when it comes to politics, but really there is, it seems to me, a time and place for so called back biting and this, i'm sure, is neither.

Sorry about the rant

[Paul 'The Machine' Seery]

David, I am angry and dissapointed by your bitter attack on Mark Clarke. He has not only been a very good chairman of Conservative Future, but parliamentary candidate for Tooting.

Since becomming chair of Conservative Future. Mark has overseen a youth organisation that has its membership, launched many branches across England, the launching CF branches in 43 target seats, a new staff member at CCHQ and the introduction of a CF website.

As the parliamentary candidate for Tooting he has campaigned on a wide variety of issues in Tooting. This has included campaigning on the Northern Line, Tax, Crime, the eviornment and many other issues. He has also managed to achieve the highest amount of Defs and Props in a target seat as well.

The reason why he has not been able to update his blog is that he has been busy on the things that he has do as both a chair of a major organisation and a parliamentary candidate.

In terms of the upcoming CF election, the timetable has more to do with the fact that member of staff had to be put in place in the autumn. This was the reason why the election was delayed.

On a personal level he has been a great friend and one of the members in the party that alot of others can look up too.

[Caroline Hunt]

A good CF activist is not necessarily the same thing as "a promising star or leader of the future". In my mind the best people ro run CF are true volunteer activists, people who can organise and facilitate. People who work and get things done. These are not people I'd nominate and tip as people to one day be leader of our party. The sooner career politicians stop running CF the better. They should be the future campaign co-ordinators of our party that our running Conservative Future.

But in the spirit of nominating someone in CF who has contributed the most this year - it has to be Matthew Richardson for running the most successful season of campaign days Conservative Future has ever seen. Thanks to him 300,000 leaflets have been delivered. Attendance at campaign days has averaged 50 people an event. He's worked consistently and delivered better than any CF exec member I can remember.

[Andy Strang]

Can I unnominate someone? Anyone who posts online as Paul "The Machine" Seery is clearly not right in the head. If that self same person then goes on to detail every bloody leaflet they have ever delivered then the freak alarm is flashing pretty fast.
The actual stars of the future are the people who do their bit for the party and keep their head down rather than asking for a pat on the back and faint praise at every turn.

[Andy Strang]

Alastair Cooling has only had the pleasure of Anastasia Beaumont-Bott once, but he was blown away. That's my kind of Tory party!

[Deputy Editor]

A good CF activist is not necessarily the same thing as "a promising star or leader of the future".

Just to say, that's been a guiding principle in the shortlisting process. It's not just about recognising the hours people have put in to campaigning etc.