ConservativeHome's ToryDiary

The Conservatives and big donors

Iain Dale has had a bit of a go at Stuart Wheeler today, accusing him of being an attention-seeker for reportedly (and let's see the truth of it) threatening to vote UKIP in next June's European elections if the Tories don't beef up their Euroscepticism.  A few observations:

• If Mr Wheeler is threatening to support UKIP that's very disappointing but we should never forget Mr Wheeler's generosity to the party in the past.  His £5m gift in 2001 was manna for the party at the time.  A few people like Mr Wheeler, Lord Ashcroft and John Paul Getty kept the party going in very difficult times.  In the long-term it might have been better for the party if it had been then forced to go to small retail donors but that's another question.
• It's wrong to simply dismiss Stuart Wheeler as an attention-seeker.  He has ruled out a personal reward for his donations to the party (eg a peerage) unlike most.  His beliefs in Euroscepticism - manifested in his recent (unsuccessful) legal action - and opposition to waterboarding and other aggressive interrogation techniques appear to stem from high principle.
• Big donors have been too influential at times - ConHome has worried, in the past, about the influence of Lord Ashcroft and Mr Wheeler - but times are changing.  The party's funding base is now a lot more diverse with many more businesses giving to the party.  120 donors are apparently giving £50,000pa. At 52% in the polls David Cameron is not so vulnerable to an unhappy big donor walking away.  That's healthy.
• What isn't so healthy is if the huge opinion poll leads discourage the party from the serious policy innovation that Britain's problems need.  That's why it would be good to see more traditional Tory donors diverting a good portion of their generosity to conservative movement organisations.  Mr Wheeler has a good record of doing just this.  Too many big, centre right donors give nearly all their money to the Tory Party.  It's vital that more give to groups like the Centre for Social Justice, Ben Rogers' Human Rights group and The Freedom Association.  These groups provide the ideas and nurture the talent for the long-term success of the conservative cause.

Scoop of the year: Jonathan Oliver

Jonathan Oliver has been awarded Scoop of the Year for his work in exposing the Labour funding scandal involving David Abrahams et al. This is the final award to be accounced from this year's ConservativeHome Movement Awards.

Then at the Mail on Sunday, another notable story of Oliver's was finding out that Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor had sacked his press officer for being gay. He was hired as political editor of the Sunday Times at the end of 2007.

The other shortlisted scoopers were the Evening Standard's Andrew Gilligan for exposing Mayor Livingstone over the financial support given to Lee Jasper's organisations (and various other scoops since this survey), and David Hencke's investigation that revealed that Labour spent £1m on preparations for the election that never was.

* More than 8000 people voted on the 2008 ConservativeHome Movement Awards. The previous award announced was book of the year, which went to Peter Oborne's The Triumph of the Political Class.

Best Book: Peter Oborne's book The Triumph of the Political Class

Peter Oborne's acclaimed The Triumph of the Political Class was voted by readers of ConservativeHome as their best book for 2007/08.

Building on The Rise of Political Lying, it is a devastating critique of the British political establishment as an isolated and self-interested elite that has little real experience outside of politics and is more interested in political branding and tactics than policy substance or ideology.

You can order it online here.  You can read an excerpt here.

The other two worthy books shortlisted for this award were Wasting Police Time by the blogger PC David Copperfield, and Scared To Death by Christopher Booker and Richard North.

* More than 8000 people voted on the 2008 ConservativeHome Movement Awards. The previous award announced was writer of the year, which went to Fraser Nelson.

Fraser Nelson, ConservativeHome Writer of the Year, on David Cameron as Prime Minister of England

Another great column by Fraser Nelson in this week's Spectator and this seems to be a good time to announce that The Spectator's Political Editor is the Writer of the Year according to the more than 8,000 people who voted in ConservativeHome's 2007/08 movement awards.  Fraser beat The Telegraph's Jeff Randall and ConservativeHome's very own Graeme Archer.

Fraser's focus this week is the success with which Alex Salmond is progressing his plans for Scotland to become independent.  He paints a picture of a small Conservative majority that passes English votes for English laws and then focuses on passing laws that are only focused on England because on those issues David Cameron would have a much larger majority as Prime Minister of England than as Prime Minister of the UK.

"What would put rocket boosters under the issue," continues Fraser Nelson, "would be reform of England’s financial ties with Scotland. Government figures show a £13 billion annual subsidy from England to Scotland."  In the recent ConservativeHome survey of Tory members we asked: What should the next Conservative Government do with the Barnett formula that sees some transfer of taxpayers' money from England to Scotland?

Your answers were clear:

• Only 7% wanted it left as it is.
• 37% wanted to reduce the transfer.
• 49% wanted it eliminated.

The Tories, ahead in the polls, may not want to touch the issue but its potentially as potent as inheritance tax.  Voters respond best to action against unjust taxes.  By promising to phase out even half of the subsidy the Tories could say that they'll use the proceeds to pay for lower taxes on poorer workers - correcting, say, the injustice of the abolition of the 10p tax band.

PlayPolitical: English Democrats' London broadcast

Campaigner of the Year: MigrationWatch

Today we reveal the latest winner of the 2007/08 conservative movement awards - as voted for by more than 8,000 readers.  The winner of the Campaigner of the Year is MigrationWatch.  Runners up were the TaxPayers' Alliance and No2ID.

Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of MigrationWatch, sent us this statement:

"As a voluntary organisation, we are much encouraged to receive this vote of confidence from your members.   It is perhaps no accident that it coincides with some recent hostility from certain sections of the press as will be apparent from our web site."

MigrationWatch do not have quite the press exposure of the TaxPayers' Alliance but the issue of immigration often scores higher in polls of most important issues to voters.  Most parties are now looking to implement tougher migration policies.  No party is offering serious tax relief.  In the years ahead the work of the TaxPayers' Alliance is going to be very important.

New Media: Guido's Gordon the bogeyman video

The winner of the new media award is Guido Fawkes' video of Gordon Brown, then still Chancellor, apparently picking his nose while sat next to Tony Blair at PMQs.  If you've never seen it - hundreds of thousands have - here it is:

The video beat the Conservatives Abroad website and its targeting of ex-pat voters and the Tax Pacman game launched by the Conservatives at last year's Party Conference.

More than 8,000 people took part in the vote to choose between the shortlisted entries in each category.  We've been announcing winners on an almost daily basis.  Yesterday's winner of the internationalist award was Ben Rogers of the Conservative Party's Human Rights Commission.

Internationalist: Ben Rogers

Ben Rogers has won the Internationalist Award, "for tirelessly campaigning on human rights issues, notably Burma which he has visited over twenty times".

Through his work with Christian Solidarity Worldwide and other organisations, Ben is a prominent human rights advocate. As a Conservative candidate in Durham in 2005 he surprised many left-leaning voters with his clear compassion and commitment to human dignity and freedom around the world. There aren't enough Conservatives in this field.

Click here for an archive of Ben's articles on ConservativeHome.

The nomination also recognised the ongoing work of the Conservative Party's Human Rights Commission, of which he was the founding Deputy Chairman (the Chairman is Stephen Crabb MP).

The other shortlisted nominees were Linda Whetstone of the International Policy Network for continuing the work of her late father, Sir Anthony Fisher, in helping spread freedom around the world through the active creation of a global network of think-tanks, and Philippa Broom for her work in the Conservative Party's international office, forging strong links with sister parties around the world.

* More than 8000 people voted on the 2008 ConservativeHome Movement Awards. The previous award announced was Culture Warrior, which went to Jeremy Clarkson and the Top Gear team. 

Culture Warrior: Jeremy Clarkson & Top Gear

Jeremy Clarkson and the Top Gear team have won the Culture Warrior vote for "defying the BBC monoculture". This is what Michael Gove had to say about Top Gear a few months ago:

"Over the years, something amazing happened. Not only did Top Gear become addictive viewing, it did so by doing something I don’t think any BBC programme (apart from possibly The Moral Maze) has ever done: by moving to the Right.

Thanks to Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond, the programme has become a celebration of individual freedom, capitalist excess and private-sector innovation. It is also laced with laddish distrust of political correctness, nannying and Ken Livingstone-style finger-wagging. Some viewers might find its sensibility just a bit too juvenile, even public-schoolish, with the presenters mobbing each other up and addressing each other by their surnames. But I find it totally absorbing."

The other shortlisted nominees were Peter Whittle for establishing the New Culture Forum and presenting Culture Clash, and Douglas Murray for leadership of the new Centre for Social Cohesion.

* More than 8000 people voted on the 2008 ConservativeHome Movement Awards. The previous award announced was One To Watch, which went to James Forsyth.

One To Watch: James Forsyth

James Forsyth has won the vote for One to Watch, nominated for his "perceptive writing on foreign affairs and for overseeing the launch of The Spectator's Coffee House blog".

He is in his late twenties but you won't find many people in Westminster who can match his knowledge of US politics, demonstrated well by his in-depth postings on The Spectator's US election-focused Americano blog. As Iain Dale has noted the Coffee House came into its own yesterday with its coverage of the Budget, and it continues to be one of the best blogs in the UK written by journalists. James matches his talent with an extremely high rate of work. We hope he takes a holiday this year!

The other shortlisted nominees for this category were Shaun Bailey ("for being a new kind of Conservative candidate with real understanding of poor communities"), and Ben Rogers and the Party’s Human Rights Commission that he is Deputy Chairman of for raising awareness of international human rights issues.

* More than 8000 people voted on the 2008 ConservativeHome Movement Awards. The previous award announced was Local Hero, which went to Stephen Greenhalgh.

Local Hero of the Year: Stephen Greenhalgh

The Leader of Hammersmith & Fulham Council, Stephen Greenhalgh, has won a vote of thousands of Conservatives on Local Hero of Year 07/08.

His colleague Mark Loveday who was one of the people to nominate Stephen:

• After taking control of Hammersmith last year for the first time in a generation, the local Conservatives immediately put Conservative principles into practice.
• A 3% Council Tax cut in the first year (the biggest in the country by far) and a stated intention to cut again next year. On ConHome people discuss the theory of lifting the burden of taxation - in Hammersmith this is already happening.
• Service standards improved from a three star to a maximum four star official rating.
• Cracking down on crime with the only New York-style 24 hour Council funded police teams in the UK in our town centres.

Hammersmith Conservatives managed to cut Council Tax by another 3% this year whilst retaining good quality service provision, as their celebratory YouTube video showed!

The other two people shortlisted for this award were Cllr Peter Golds OBE for his service to the Conservative Party in London, and Zac Goldsmith for his referendum campaign against a Sainsburys superstore.

* More than 8000 people voted on the ConservativeHome Movement Awards. The previous award announced was Parliamentarian of the Year, which went to Michael Fallon.

Michael Fallon is your Parliamentarian of the Year

Over the next week or so we'll be announcing the winners of ConservativeHome's 2007/08 Awards.  More than 8,000 people voted online to choose winners in a broad range of categories.

Winner of the Parliamentarian of the Year is Michael Fallon MP.  Mr Fallon beat other shortlisted MPs Nadine Dorries and Philip Hollobone.

A member of the Treasury Select Committtee Mr Fallon has been a vigorous critic of the Government's handling of the Northern Rock crisis and of the arrangements for supervision of the financial system instituted by Gordon Brown shortly after he became Chancellor.

Mr Fallon has also argued strongly for the Conservatives to take a stronger line on the growth of public spending.  He backed ConservativeHome's campaign for greater expenditure restraint from the day it was launched.  He has also used our pages to question the wisdom of Tory and Labour approaches to the taxation of non-doms.  The importance of breaking free from Labour's spending plans becomes more clear with every passing day.  The FT's Jean Eaglesham and The Spectator's Fraser Nelson are both concluding that tax relief may not be possible at all in the first parliament of a Tory government if the leadership continues to accept current restraints.

The thousands of conservatives who voted for Mr Fallon are not the only ones to notice his talents.  Benedict Brogan, Political Editor of the Daily Mail, has wondered why he isn't in the shadow cabinet:

"Pound for pound [Michael Fallon is] one of the most effective operators on the Tory benches? He offers a consistently robust Thatcherite critique of Labour's economic failings. As vice-chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, where he plays a nifty bad cop to John McFall's good cop, he has repeatedly skewered Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling, most recently on Northern Rock. Mr Fallon is a canny media operator who manages to generate more coverage than half the Shadow Cabinet. He must rank alongside David Davis and Chris Grayling as one of the biggest sources of Tory trouble for Labour."

Your chance to decide the winners of ConservativeHome.com's 2007/08 Conservative Movement Awards

Please click here to vote in the eleven categories.

If you wish to advertise the voting to others, on your blog or in a mailing list to supporters, please use this long internet address:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=mlZ7qhCXsDM3oQcCZtoK7A_3d_3d

The shortlists were based on nominations provided by readers and then refined by the editors and informed figures of the conservative movement. The new Next Generation category has been merged into One to Watch, and we've added Scoop of the Year to recognise investigative journalists.

The nominees and categories are listed below:

Nominations for Internationalist

The twelfth category in the Conservative Movement Awards 2007.

Your nominations and citations are sought for a person devoted to improving the world around them, be they a an international human rights activist, thought-leader, academic...

Nominations for Local Hero

The eleventh category in the Conservative Movement Awards 2007.

Your nominations and citations are sought for a hard-working local councillor, activist or social entrepreneur who is devoted to the community around them...

We are also a bit short of nominations for New Media and Best Book...

Nominations for New Media

The tenth category in the Conservative Movement Awards 2007.

Your nominations and citations are sought for the best use of the internet and other evolving and emerging technologies in promoting conservatism...

Nominations for Culture Warrior

The ninth category in the Conservative Movement Awards 2007.

Your nominations and citations are sought for someone who is flying the flag for conservatism in the culture wars, perhaps as a successful player in the left-liberal dominated arts or as a campaigner against cultural orthodoxies such as political correctness...

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.

Nominations for National Campaign

The seventh category in the Conservative Movement Awards 2007.

Your nominations and citations are sought for the best effort at achieving a sustainable change in public opinion or public policy. It could be either a campaign that has already achieved its goals or an ongoing one...

Nominations for Innovative Policy

The sixth category in the Conservative Movement Awards 2007.

Your nominations and citations are sought for the most innovative policy idea, whether set out in a thinktank's paper or announced as a party policy...

Nominations for One to Watch

The fifth category in the Conservative Movement Awards 2007.

Your nominations and citations are sought for the organisation or individual that may not have reached the top of their field yet, but are well on their way to getting there...

PS The more powerful a citation you provide the more likely that your nominee will get to the shortlist.

Nominations for Best Writer

The fourth category in the Conservative Movement Awards 2007.

Your nominations and citations are sought for the columnist, journalist, politician or blogger (book authors were covered by yesterday's thread) who has made the biggest impression on you this year...

Nominations for Best Book

The third category in the Conservative Movement Awards 2007.

Your nominations and citations are sought for the book that you believe has made the best contribution to the political debate this year...

Nominations for Outstanding Parliamentarian

The second category in the Conservative Movement Awards 2007.

Your nominations and citations are sought for the Member of Parliament, the European Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, the London Assembly, heck, even Northern Ireland's Assembly, who you believe deserves recognition for their efforts this year. Having a high profile isn't necessarily a factor.

Last year's winner in this category was Richard Bacon MP.

The more backing for your proposal the better.  Some of yesterday's nominees for Lifetime Achievement were a bit threadbare.

Nominations for Lifetime Achievement

The first category in the Conservative Movement Awards 2007/08.

Your nominations and citations are sought for this award recognising the exceptional, and perhaps unsung, achievements of someone who has contributed significantly to the conservative movement over many years.

Conservative Movement Awards 2007/08

This time last year ConservativeHome held its inaugural Conservative Movement Awards evening. It was a very enjoyable occasion and we hope to build on it with this year's (2007/08) awards.

We have a dozen awards this year, some of which are different from last year's (who really wants to get an Unlikely Ally award?), and will roll out one nomination each day, starting at noon:

1. Lifetime Achievement
2. Outstanding Politician
3. Best Book
4. Best Writer
5. One To Watch
6. Innovative Policy
7. National Campaign
8. Next Generation
9. Culture Warrior
10. New Media
11. Local Hero
12. Internationalist

Please leave a comment on the respective post or email us with something like this:

Nomination: ConservativeHome.com

Citation: For providing an insightful daily commentary on the Conservative Party's personalities, tactics and strategy and for reminding conservatives that conservatism is bigger than the Tory party.

For obvious reasons you can't nominate us for anything. We're also restricting the awards to domestic nominees.

Once you've had time to nominate winners for each category, a panel comprised of the ConservativeHome Editors, and some distinguished others (TBA), will draw up shortlists of three and the shortlists will be put to an online vote. We will then announce the winners at a get-together in Westminster (sorry, northerners!). Date still to be confirmed but it will be early in the new year.

Last year's shortlists and winners have been copied below...