ConservativeHome's ToryDiary

How you can bring some festive cheer to our troops overseas

This year's Conservative Future Christmas social action project is seeing activists sending packs of supplies, food and presents to our troops overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan - and all ConservativeHome readers have been invited to get involved.

It's a fantastic way of bringing some festive cheer to the troops serving our country overseas and Anastasia Beaumont-Bott explains here how you can do your bit:

1. Shoe boxes. All packages under 2kg for troops will be sent out free of charge by Royal Mail! Shoe boxes are the perfect size for packing pressies and goodies and to ensure they arrive in time for Christmas, they have to be ready by 5th December for Afghanistan, and by 10th December for Iraq.
2. Goodies, foods, and pressies! This is the fun part. It's time to dig deep and come up with the goods. You know that can of soup in your cupboard that doesn't go out of date until 2012? Yeah, we'll have that for the packs. You know those nice pair of socks you got given for Christmas ages ago but have never worn and are still in the packaging? Yeah, we'll have them too! But you know that chocolate bar? Not so good, it will melt in the mail. Here are some other things you might want to think about including: magazines (though please be aware of what is culturally acceptable in Iraq and Afghanistan), soap, hand cream, biscuits (though not chocolate ones), paperback books, suduko puzzle books, packs of tissues, pic 'n' mix sweets (apparently VERY popular!), diluting juice powder sachets, soup sachets (think cup a soup etc...), deodorants (NOT aerosols though, only roll ons) etc.
   

Let's put patriotism on the Blackpool agenda

Brown's latest attempt to prove his Britishness is revealed in today's Daily Mail:

"Every school and public building in the country will be emblazoned with a new "national motto" under Gordon Brown's drive to encourage patriotism and Britishness... Members of the public will be asked to come up with five or six-word slogans, perhaps based around ideas of fair play or national pride."

We should not be surprised that the party of the pledge card should think that Britishness can be summarised in five or six words.  But the Mail story is another warning to Tories that Labour is determined to play the patriot card at the next General Election.  Do you remember how a massive Union Flag appeared on the huge screen behind Gordon Brown when he was confirmed as Labour leader?

The Conservatives must demonstrate that we are the real and substantial party of patriotism:

• We are the party that opposes further transfers of power to Europe and that will give Britons a vote on the draft EU Treaty.
• I hope that Conservatives will champion the teaching of British history in our schools.  I'd like to see David Walsh's 100 policies idea of compulsory British history at GCSE in our manifesto.
• Liam Fox's commitment to improving the lot of British servicemen and their families should be centre stage in Blackpool.  I'd like to see David Cameron angry about the way Labour has under-resourced our armed forces.
• English votes for English laws and a review of the Barnett formula should also be on the Conference agenda.

I'm sure you'll have other ideas...

A Conservative government would offer 'National (Citizen) Service' to all sixteen year-olds

'Bring back national service!' is one of the favourite calls of traditionalists and the Tory leader is today returning to an idea that he first floated when he was running for the Conservative leadership (see here).  Mr Cameron will travel to Bolton today where he will launch a Green Paper calling for a 'National Citizen Service'.  Olympic medalist and boxer Amir Khan (pictured) will be at the launch.  The scheme has been scaled back somewhat since the leadership contest.  It will be weeks rather than months in length and the idea of compulsory service has also been dropped.  It will have the following key characteristics (according to today's Mail):

• It will be a six week commitment - running during the summer months.
• 650,000 sixteen year-olds will be encouraged to undertake aid work, visit the elderly or undertake military training.
• There will be a cash award for graduates of the Service - 50% of the award will go to the individual volunteer and half to a charity of the individual's choice.
• Employers would be encouraged to take note of an applicant's involvement in the Service in the same way they currently take note of Prince's Trust and Duke of Edinburgh involvement.
• At the end of the course the volunteer will have to make a pledge of allegiance to Britain and explain what they have learnt. 

In the past Mr Cameron has said that he hopes the scheme could be seen as a nationally recognised 'transition to adulthood' or 'rite of passage': "In our society, the closest thing to a rite of passage is probably going out and getting completely hammered on your eighteenth birthday.  I think programmes like this could provide a positive alternative... It could become a recognised 'stamp' of adulthood in Britain."

The cost of funding the Service has not yet been calculated.  A new policy group under Michael Gove's chairmanship will do that work.  The Conservative leader sees National Citizen Service as an essential part of his long-term aim to repair 'Britain's broken society'.  He issued this statement:

"It will mix people from different countries.  North and south, black and white, rich and poor. They will be putting something back into the community.  It will be a way of learning respect for our country and each other just like national service was.  This could really change our country for the better. I feel very passionate about this. It should be a part of every child's experience.  You should go from primary school to secondary school, and then at 16 your citizen service. We cannot afford not to do this."

The Sun welcomes the idea - calling it "imaginative and optimistic".

Will tomorrow be special enough?

90% of respondents to a recent Theos-commissioned survey said they thought Christmas was too commercialised but there seems little, if anything, the government can do about it.

Roger Gale MP - a strong supporter of the Keep Sunday Special campaign - has one way. He is urging a reassessment off the Sunday Trading Laws to account for Christmas Eve falling on Sundays:

"The large stores may be prepared to "bend" the law to extend shopping hours by introducing "browsing time " and "checking out time" but that is simply based upon retail greed and flies in the face of the spirit of the law. We had to re-visit the Act to deal with the days when Christmas Day falls on a weekday and we will have to look again at how to plug what is clearly a loophole in the law."

It would certainly be a great thing if retail workers had more time with their families and friends on Christmas Eve, although it'd mean people like me will have to get a little bit more organised!

Deputy Editor

Cameron: We don't do flags on the front lawn

Later today David Cameron will present the Greatest Briton Award.  According to The Telegraph, contenders include Ellen MacArthur, the yachtswoman and Andrew Flintoff, the Test cricketer, in the sports category; Jamie Oliver in campaigning; and Jonathan Ive, the iPod designer, in creative industries (a very worthy candidate).

The Tory leader will take the opportunity to distance himself from Gordon Brown's recent remarks on Britishness in which the Scottish Chancellor encouraged popular flag-flying.  Mr Cameron will say that understatement and reserve are intrinsic characteristics of being British:

"We don't do flags on the front lawn."

I wonder if Liam Fox has seen Mr Cameron's remarks?  Only last October the new Shadow Defence Secretary was very enthusiastic about flag-waving:

"When I suggested recently that all schools in Britain should fly the Union flag as a symbol of what unites us I was told it was racist. By what possible stretch of the meaning of the word could even the most crazed member of the politically correct brigade regard flying your own flag outside your own schools as racist.  Let us send them a message: this conference will never be ashamed of the Union Flag."

My guess is that Liam hasn't seen the remarks (I've certainly had no contact with him or his staff).  I also wonder how much the shadow cabinet is being involved in all of David Cameron's first 100 days announcements on tax etc.  One member of the shadow cabinet and another senior frontbencher have described the power of the kitchen cabinet around Mr Cameron.  It's no big deal yet as both men (and they are men) are content with the direction of the Cameron leadership.  The power of the kitchen cabinet may yet become a source of concern for less contented MPs, however.