Campaign for Conservative Democracy

Stop Press

COPOV next meeting - 4th July 2009 - Colbury Hall, Hampshire

Our Fight for Democracy

Our Fight for Democracy explores the history of our democracy and uses it to inform an assessment of the present.   John Strafford charts the history of democracy from the 6th century to the 21st century.   He analyses the weaknesses of our democracy today and suggests ways in which it can be improved.   At a time when our political system faces moral bankruptcy this book is a much needed contribution to the debate on what can be done to restore the people's trust.

Destruction of the Tory Party

A large number of safe Conservative seats will soon be choosing their Parliamentary candidates.   I hear that Central Office are proposing that the candidates will be selected in open primaries with every elector in the constituency having a postal vote.   This is madness.   On top of the proposal that the Candidates List is now open to anybody, even if they are not members of the Conservative Party, we are seeing the destruction of the Party.

Ordinary Party members cannot understand why members of the Labour Party should be choosing the Conservative Party candidate.   They also cannot understand why someone who does not believe in basic Conservative philosophy should be a Conservative Candidate.   There is resentment building up in the grass roots of the Party.   What is the point of being a member if anyone can select the candidates of the Party.   What has been lost sight of is that party politics is tribal.   Someone with no allegiance, no commitment to the tribe, has no loyalty.   What will happen is that Party membership will continue its inexorable decline.   Does this matter?   In the short term - No.    The Tory Party will form the biggest Party after the General Election and will almost certainly form the Government.   It will then have to take some very unpopular measures to get the economy straight.   Within a year it will be highly unpopular.   It is at times like these when a strong voluntary party comes into its own, giving you that core support that is essential to carry out your program.   That support will not be there.   It will consist of Councillors, whose anger will be rising as they lose their seats as a result of the unpopularity of the Government.   The Tory Party as such will cease to exist.

For some years there have been those in Central Office who would like the voluntary Party disappear.   They want to see American style politics in the United Kingdom.   Their blueprint is the Republican Party, which does not have members, it has supporters who come together at an election.   The difference is that they then get paid for their help.   This is why the last Presidential election cost $4 billion.   It will not work in the UK.    We do not like money in politics.

What is the answer?   It is very simple but has so far been unacceptable to the Party hierarchy.   Reverse the decline in Party membership.   How do you do that?   Make the Party a democratic organisation.   David Cameron wants to give power to the people.   He could show his credentials for a start by giving power to ordinary Party members.    Will he?   We shall see, but if he doesn't watch the Tory Party go into a slow decline.

Gordon's Dilemma

21st June

MP's Expenses

Concern is being expressed with the Conservative Parliamentary Party about unequal treatment of MPs over their use of expenses.   This saga will not be resolved until there is a list published by the Scrutiny Committee of every Conservative MP showing what action is being taken if any action is required.   There is now sufficient information published in the public domain to give a provisional judgement on MPs.    If the Party does not publish a list we will do so, basing it on the criteria we set out our below on the 7th June, using our own judgement.   It will also show those MPs who have acted honourably throughout this crisis.   It is time they were also named so they are not tarred with the same brush as the dishonourable ones.  

How to behave!

Yesterday, 20th June, Dominic Grieve MP for Beaconsfield, held a public meeting to discuss his expenses and electoral reform.    Over 170 constituents turned up.   He gave everyone present a schedule of the expenses he has claimed and then went through them line by line explaining the expenses.   So thorough was this presentation that when he finished nobody had any questions about his expenses.   The meeting went on to discuss electoral reform.   The meeting was excellently chaired by Earl Howe who was charming but firm in his conduct of the meeting.   This was a brilliant example for all Conservative MPs.   Well done.

Candidates

We are hearing disturbing things about the selection of Parliamentary candidates.    Will we repeat the same mistakes we made in 2005 by parachuting candidates into seats and imposing them on the Constituency Associations?   There is some resentment about opening up the list to anyone, even if they are not members of the Tory Party.   That resentment also applies to Open Primaries where anybody can participate even if they are members of the Labour Party.   What is the point of being a member of the Conservative Party if a member of another Party can choose our candidates?   Rumours abound that the Shadow Cabinet have been asked to put forward five names each of potential candidates.   Will this give them priority treatment?   The Chairman of the Candidates Committee should be elected by and answerable to Party members.   We cannot go on like this.   David Cameron talks about giving power to the people.   He could set an example by giving power to Party members.   One other question.   Why are we having to wait until September for selection meetings to take place?   The quicker candidates are in position the better they will become known to their electorate.

14th June

First Past the Post

This week David Cameron firmly supported First Past the Post as the electoral system for the House of Commons.   More precisely, he went on to say we must keep the constituency link.   You can do this with the Single Transferable Vote or with the Three Member Seat or even the Alternative Vote so all is not lost.    Ironically if the Conservative Party had used First Past the Post for the Conservative Party Leadership Election the Leader today would be David Davis and not David Cameron.   If you remember the votes on the first ballot were as follow:

David Davis                         62

David Cameron                    56

Liam Fox                             42

Ken Clarke                          38

Ken Clarke and Liam Fox were eliminated and in the second and third rounds.    David Cameron went on to win.

European Elections

Which region of the United Kingdom had the highest turnout in the European Election?   Answer - Northern Ireland, which has consistently had the highest turnout in every European election which we have had.   It is the only part of the United Kingdom that uses the Single Transferable Vote method of election rather than the List system used everywhere else.   This means that in Northern Ireland the electors can vote for individuals rather than parties.   It is extraordinary that we have two different methods of voting for the same Parliament.   This must be changed.   The turnout in Northern Ireland was 42.8% compared to 35% in the rest of the U.K.

Tony's Lavender List

We hear that part of the deal between Tony and Gordon was that Tony's friends would be rewarded in the next Queen's Birthday Honours List.   Pass the sick bag Alice.   Update: It didn't happen, but that only leaves one more honours list before the next General Election.   Will it happen then?

7th June

Referendum on the Electoral System

Last week we called for a referendum on the electoral system to be held on the same day as the General Election.   On Any Questions this week Caroline Spellman said it was Conservative policy to have referendums and when pushed she agreed to having a referendum on the electoral system on the day of the General Election.   Is this now Conservative policy?    Incidentally Caroline Spellman is so much better in her new position.    She should never have been moved in the first place!

MPs Expenses

Now that the police have shown a reluctance to prosecute MPs over their expenses it is incumbent on the House of Commons to take action.   The level of offences and the punishments need to be graded.    The House of Commons has so far shown no inclination to do this so we set out our suggestions below.   Not every category is included so if you have any further categories let us know, together with appropriate penalties.

Any monies incorrectly claimed should be repaid.   In addition the following should be applied:

Expulsion

Where an MP has claimed money, which is not a reimbursement of money paid out by the MP, they should be expelled from the House of Commons. e.g.   monies claimed for a non-existent mortgage, or a mortgage that has been paid off.

Suspension without pay

Where an MP has spent money on a second home and then sold it at a profit more than once in five years they should be suspended without pay.   The length of the suspension depending on the severity of the case.

Where an MP has sold a second home at a profit but has told the Inland Revenue that is is the main residence to avoid Capital Gains Tax.

Suspension

Where expenses have been claimed over £5,000 but have not been wholly and necessarily incurred in the performance of parliamentary duties the MP should be suspended from the House of Commons - the length of the suspension depending on the severity of the case. e.g payment of costs of gardening.

Severe Reprimand

Where expenses over £1,000 have been claimed but have not been wholly and necessarily incurred in the performance of parliamentary duties the MP should receive a severe reprimand.  e.g. purchase of a duck house for £1,600.

Reprimand

Where expenses under £1,000 have been claimed but have not been wholly and necessarily incurred in the performance of parliamentary duties then the MP should be reprimanded. e.g purchase of dog food.

31st May

Referendum

We need to have a referendum at the same time as the General Election on whether the people want to change our electoral system.   The people should be asked to rank in order of preference the following:

First past the post

Alternative vote

Three member seats

Single transferable vote

Phantom MEPs!

18 "ghost MEPs" to cash in on £6!m. Due to the fact that the Lisbon Treaty has not been ratified, 18 MEPs elected in June's European elections will receive normal MEPs' salaries despite the fact that they will not be able to take up full political office for at least two years. The Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty means that after June's election 736 instead of 754 MEPs will take office. However, 18 further MEPs will be elected under the Lisbon rules, despite the fact that the Lisbon Treaty is yet to be ratified.

 Amid confusion over when and how they will take up their seats, the European Parliament has decided to give the MEPs only "observer" status from next year. These 'observer members' will receive a normal MEPs' salary, and collectively account for a £6m bill, including their salary, assistant and office allowances, as well as tax-free allowances on a daily basis. (Telegraph, 22 May; Mail, 24 May)

MEP's Expenses

We need to also focus on the scandal of the expenses of MEPs.    We are in the process of cleaning up Westminster.   Let us not forget to clean up Brussels at the same time.

  Newsnight

View the Chairman of COPOV on Newsnight arguing for the expulsion of MPs rather than just allowing them to stand down at the next election.

Recall

24th May

Action from the House of Commons

An increasing number of MPs caught up in the expenses scandal have announced that they will no longer be standing at the next General Election.   Very cosy for them.   With the General Election possibly twelve months away they will pick up £100,000 plus in salaries and expenses plus their termination bonuses of about another £100,000.   Nice work if you can get it.    What needs to happen is for the House of Commons to expel these MPs immediately and force a by-election in their constituencies.   There are at least two precedents for this action.   I show an extract from my forthcoming book "Our Fight for Democracy":

                In December 1930, Thomas Jones, Labour MP for Pontypridd, gave his wife Margaret and their twelve year old daughter two House of Commons vouchers that had been issued to him for his exclusive use for rail journeys between his constituency and Westminster.   They were stopped by ticket inspectors, who decided to prosecute Jones.   He was forced to resign from Parliament, and the following day he and his wife Margaret were fined £2 and ordered to pay costs at Marylebone Magistrates Court or face prison.  

 The last Member of Parliament to be expelled from the House of Commons was the Labour MP Gary Allighan in 1947.   Not only an MP he was also a journalist and wrote an article for the World Press News “exposing” the means lobby correspondents were using to obtain leaks and inside information.   The technique was to ply MPs with drinks until they collapsed and leaked stories to journalists for rewards or favours.   A motion was tabled to the Privileges Committee to discharge Allighan for contempt.   Allighan was accused of leaking stories himself.   The Privileges Report, censuring the MP severely, said Allighan had aggravated his contempt by trying to cast suspicion on other MPs beside himself.

                On 30^th October 1947, with the Privileges Report on the table, the Commons voted to expel Gary Allighan.   Allighan, had wrongly accused fellow MPs of accepting money for disclosing to the press the proceedings of private party meetings.    It turned out that this was precisely what he had done himself.   

                The Leader of the House recommended that he be reprimanded and suspended without pay, but the Conservative MP, Quentin Hogg, moved an amendment calling for his expulsion.    It was passed.   At this time there was also also concern about outside bodies, such as trade unions, attempting to instruct an MP so the House passed a resolution restating its principles:

                 “It is inconsistent with the dignity of the House, with the duty of a member to his constituency, and with the maintenance of the privilege of freedom of speech, for any member of the House to enter into any contractual agreement with an outside body, controlling or limiting the member’s complete independence and freedom of action in Parliament or stipulating that he shall act in any way as the representative of such outside body in regard to any matters to be transacted in Parliament; the duty of a member being to his constituency and to the country as a whole, rather than to any particular section thereof.”

                What a contrast in the standards of Parliament that these cases illustrate compared to the standards applied today.

 A Short Guide to Deselection

The following article appeared on conservativehome.com this week:

A Short Guide To Deselection

by

 John E. Strafford

(Chairman, Beaconsfield Constituency Conservative Association 1985-1990)

Just before the 1997 General Election Tim Smith MP was readopted as the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Beaconsfield.   Five days later he resigned.  What lessons can be learned?

After the adoption meeting a group of members were unhappy at the decision to readopt Tim Smith due to his admitted involvement in the “Cash for questions affair”.   They decided they wanted a new candidate.   (This was not a light decision and was only taken after serious consideration.)  

Constituency Association Officers are quite rightly, instinctively loyal to their Member of Parliament.   They are usually friends, so cannot be relied upon to be at the forefront of a reselection campaign.

What is critical is that the campaign has to have momentum and be seen to have momentum to the point where reselection appears inevitable.   How is this achieved?

The threat is to call a Special General Meeting at which a motion of no confidence in the sitting MP will be tabled. (It is essential to know the rules by which this can be done.   Get a copy from the Association office.)   It is important to stress here the threat that if a meeting is not called the electors will decide the issue and throw out the MP, whereas a new candidate would more likely be elected.

You then need a list of those members who want a reselection and are prepared to go public in their demand for this.   Once the campaign is launched you need at least three of them to go public each day - the more senior the members the better.   This gives a fresh impetus, every day, to the campaign.

Get the media on board – radio, TV, national press, - in Beaconsfield we got The Times and the Daily Mirror – and most of all the local press.   It is essential that you have several people that will talk to the media.   Unless you can give other names than yourself the media will lose interest.

Increase the pressure on the Officers of the Association by getting your supporters to telephone them.   You will be surprised how after a few calls the Officers become convinced that the whole Association is up in arms.

Put the phone on the hook for calls from Central Office.    Party members do not like interference from Central Office.   This is the member’s decision about who is to represent them at Westminster.

In Beaconsfield, after five days of intensive campaigning the pressure on the Officers and on the MP became so great the MP honourably resigned.

Beaconsfield selected Dominic Grieve as their candidate.   He went on to win the election.   It has proved to be a wise choice.

17th May

Democracy

Another week, more revelations about the way our MPs have behaved.   We are now in a serious democratic crisis.    If the people cannot trust the MPs to handle their personal affairs where they impinge on the public, why should they trust them to handle public issues.    The main requirement from an MP is high moral standing and good judgement.    In both cases our MPs have been found wanting.   This issue goes far beyond just expenses.   Our whole democratic system is broken.   To get the trust of the people we have to do a number of things.   First of all we need to sort out the mess on expenses.   The key to this is accountability, so the steps required to bring accountability are as follows:

• Total transparency showing all the receipts for payments made to MPs.   This also include showing second home addresses.   If MPs have a security problem that is a matter for the police to deal with.

• Every Constituency Association should hold a General Meeting of members by 31st July and at that meeting there should be a motion to re-adopt the sitting MP.   If the motion is lost the MP should be de-selected.   This act brings accountability to the Party members, but this is not enough for those MPs that do not have the support of members will continue to stay in Parliament until the next General Election.   This is not acceptable.    They should resign forthwith.

• Legislation should be introduced immediately so that if 10% of the electors in a constituency sign a petition calling for a by-election the MP is recalled from Parliament and a by-election is held within one month.    This makes the MP accountable to their electors.   It is no longer acceptable that an MP should only be accountable once every five years at a General Election.

For the longer term it is now essential that our political parties are made democratic.   The cosy oligarchies which control the parties have to be brought to an end.   This will bring accountability into the parties at a National level.

The other long term measure must be to set up a Constitutional convention to create a fair democracy in this country.    It is long overdue and now it has become critical.

Hear a discussion on these issues on The World Tonight programme of 15th May

Referendum

The Conservative Party should promise the people a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty when they get into power regardless as to whether it has been ratified or not.

A new Populous poll for the Times has found overwhelming support for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, even in a situation where it has already been ratified by Ireland and the rest of the EU.  82% of people agreed with the statement, "If Ireland and other countries ratify the Lisbon Treaty on the future of the European Union, Britain should hold its own referendum on the issue", with 52% strongly agreeing and only 14% disagreeing. 92% of Conservative voters, 76% of Labour voters and 85% of Liberal Democrats voters agreed that Britain should have a referendum on the Treaty. (Times, 13 May)

10th May

Parliament's Moral Bankruptcy

Over the years COPOV has warned that the issue of MP's expenses was a scandal waiting to happen.   This week it did.    Whenever I raised the issue I was told that only a tiny minority of MPs were guilty.   The great majority were honourable people.   Now we know, it is the other way round, a minority are honourable, but the culture of the majority see Parliament as a get rich quick scheme.   Under their own rules expenses should only be claimed by MPs if they have been "wholly and necessarily incurred" in the performance of their duties.   It is quite clear that this has not happened.   So what should be done?

First of all criminal prosecutions should be brought for fraud against all those MPs that have abused the system.

Secondly The Head of the Fees Office that paid them out should be dismissed for failing to perform their duty.

Next, the Inland Revenue should examine all the expenses and those that have not been properly incurred should be taxed as remuneration.   Where Capital Gains have been made they should be taxed.    Where second homes have been manipulated in order to claim expenses the MPs should be charged with tax evasion and charged, with penalties imposed.

Next, the rule recently brought in to hide MPs addresses should be scrapped.   It is clear that this rule would make it much more difficult to see where MPs were manipulating their second homes.

Finally any expenses that do not meet the criteria of "wholly and necessarily incurred" should be recovered.

This week it has become clear that our political system is morally bankrupt.   Parliament should be dissolved and a General Election called.   Immediately after the General Election there should be a Constitutional Convention to devise a new, fair Constitution, where every vote counts.   Whilst that Convention is sitting legislation should be brought in allowing the recall of an MP from Parliament.   If five per cent of the electorate (polled over a period of one month) in an MP's Constituency demand the recall of the MP there should be a by-election called within two months.   It is time MPs were accountable to the people.   Democracy demands nothing less.

One final point, the rottenness in our political system starts in the political parties.   They should be made democratic organisations where the ultimate control rests with their members.    We must see an end to the cosy oligarchies that now control our major parties.   Much needs to be done to clean up the whole stinking mess.

3rd May

Ulster Unionists

I am hearing some disturbing reports regarding the joint working party of the Ulster Unionists and the Conservative Party.   The disgraceful treatment of the Northern Ireland Conservative's Deputy Chairman, Jeffrey Peel increases my concern.   There has been a denial of natural justice which must be remedied.   Watch this space!

Iraq War

With the withdrawal of British troops this week a ceremony was held at which the names of all the British troops who have been killed in Iraq was read out.   It was very moving, but marred by old fashioned class distinction.   The officers had their rank, surname and initial read out; the other ranks had their rank and surname read out.   Couldn't they have been treated the same?   They all gave their lives for their country.

Ireland's Example

To reduce the costs incurred by the political system the Irish government decided to reduce the number of Secretaries of State from 20 to 15.    On 22nd April the 20 Secretaries of State therefore presented their resignation to Prime Minister Brian Cowen who then appointed 15 "new" ones.   In addition to this measure the remuneration of Ministers and Secretaries of State, MPs and the chairman of Parliament was reduced, travel expenses were reduced by 25%, other expenditure was reduced by 10% and the spending regime is now more transparent.    Why don't we do the same?

Gordon Resign!

Sign the petition asking for Gordon Brown's resignation.

If you'd like to tell your friends about this petition, its permanent web address is: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/please-go/

April 26th

***** Star of the Week***** - David Cameron MP

For  the best speech from a Party Leader that I have ever heard.   Speaking at the Spring Forum, his speech was sober, serious, no tub thumping, but set out where we were and what the Conservative Party had to do.   This was the speech of a Prime Minister in waiting.   It was a privilege to hear it.

John Redwood reveals Labour's contempt for parliamentary scrutiny

In Support of my argument that Parliament meets too little and is forced to pass things without proper debate I have been sent the following figures for the Commons: 1947-97 timetable motions curtailing debate on a Bill (under 3 a year.    1997-2007 438 timetable motions (44 a year)

From John Redwood's blog.

Note: Parliament has just given itself an extra week's summer holiday this year!   Pass the sick bag Alice!

April 19th

George Orwell's 1984

George Orwell starts his book "1984" in April 1984.   On this 25th anniversary we show below an updated report on 1984:

• The "Ministry of Truth" which of course was set up to tell lies is now called "The Cabinet Office".

• We had a spectacular success with the Iraq War when everybody believed our lies.

• Our policy of continuous war looks like it will be achieved with the war in Afghanistan.   This war has so far gone on for eight  years and soon will be longer than the First and the Second World wars put together.   Of course with continuous war we keep our defence industries in full production.

• Telescreens are now called CCTV cameras.   The United Kingdom ( we still have this name, but we are trying to get it subsumed into the European Union) has 20% of the world's CCTV cameras including 800 between Victoria Station and Parliament Square.   We are perfecting the technique of issuing instructions through the cameras.   This is being trailed in Middlesborough.

• The Inner Party of privileged oligarchs is now called "The Political Class".    We continue with our sole objective of pursuing power in order to exercise power.

• Our Newsspeak language is developing.   We are adding words such as "collateral damage".

• Doublethink is also making progress.   Our political system is now accepted as democratic but of course it isn't.

• Freedom of speech is now a thought crime, as is liberty and justice.   We have had some spectacular successes in these fields.

• Our policy of keeping the Proles happy with a continuous supply of football and pornography is highly successful.

So Big Brother I hope you will be satisfied with our progress.   We will keep you informed!

Winston Brown

April 12th

MPs Expenses

For years we have said that MP's expenses were a scandal waiting to happen, but whenever it was raised we were told that only a tiny minority were involved.   Indeed this is the answer from every commentator and every MP.   Now we know different.   It has become clear that the House of Commons is morally bankrupt.   The people have been taken for a ride.   Its motto is "How much can I get away with?".    As was pointed out this week on the "Today" programme the Commons only sits for 165 days a year so how can a second residence near the House be justified as the main residence if costs allowed can only be incurred in carrying out parliamentary duties?

One question I would like to have answered is this: When our MPs  cease to be MPs will they return all the goods they have purchased with taxpayer's money?   After all,they will not then need them to carry out their parliamentary duties.

Kettling

During the demonstrations in London during the G20 meeting, the police used a technique known as kettling.    What happens is that the crowd is herded together and held for 4-5 hours without any body being able to leave.   Whatever happened to Habeas Corpus?    It is a disgrace.   If a person, unmasked so they are identified and not carrying an offensive weapon wishes to leave to pursue their lawful business what policeman has the right to stop them?   The police are out of control and should be told that this practice should cease forthwith.   Liberty has to be defended.

In addition to the above it should be a disciplinary offence for any policeman to obscure his or her number and swift action should be taken if this offence is committed.   Finally, the ridiculous offence of photographing a policeman should be repealed.   This legislation is the latest pernicious assault on our liberties.     

Fact

There are more Councillors over the age of seventy that there are Councillors under the age of forty-five.

April 5th

A Question of Accountability

When are those politicians who got us into the present economic mess going to be held accountable and why should we believe that the ones that got us into the mess are capable of getting us out of it?

Congratulations

To Eric Pickles for having the courage to acknowledge that he was wrong on MP's expenses and now believes that they must be reformed and reduced.

Don Porter

After nine years on the Party Board, Don Porter retires as Chairman of the National Convention at its next meeting.    This week he gave an interview to conservativehome.com We publish an extract from the interview below:

Changing the leader's mind on the A-List

One issue which he found himself addressing during his chairmanship was that of the infamous priority list - or so-called "A-List" - of parliamentary candidates, where the party leadership decided that Conservative associations in the safest seats would only be able to select a candidate from a favoured one hundred or so. This provoked a hostile reaction from a large number of activists, as Don explains:

"I was getting messages from all around the country saying 'This is not working as well as it should’, ‘This is the centre dictating too much’ and I was also picking up huge numbers of comments from competent white male candidates, many of whom asked me for a cup of coffee, carefully to put their case to me... Over a period of months I picked up all these messages and then I asked someone who I have enormous respect for, John Strafford, if he would come back to me with a report of what he thought should happen. John came back to me, I had other people feeding in to me, I spoke to [1922 Committee Chairman] Sir Michael Spicer and eventually I walked into David Cameron’s office with a 12-slide PowerPoint presentation and I gently, quietly and hopefully professionally put the case to him."

His case was that huge progress had been made on selecting more female candidates, but that in order to address the widespread concerns of activists and candidates not on the A-List, associations should be free to select from the entire candidates' list (albeit with the proviso of a minimum of half the interviewees being women at all stages in the process).

"My point there was that we needed these key players feeling on side and feeling at least that they had a fair chance... I put the proposal to David, which we worked on together and effectively. He went away, thought about it, said he was very grateful for the evidence that was presented in a very calm, professional way and we did then provide associations with option of looking at the whole list... It completely took the sting out of the situation."  

First Past The Post

One of the myths of First Past the Post is that a Strong Government with a working majority can be replaced by a strong opposition with a working majority.   False.   This has happened only once in the last hundred years and that was in 1970.   In view of this the most likely outcome of the next General Election is a hung parliament.

March 29th

Stuart Wheeler

Stuart Wheeler announced this week that he is to donate £100,000 to UKIP.   He says he wishes to remain a member of the Conservative Party.   This is not possible.   Rule three of the Paty's constitution states quite clearly that "Membership of the Conservative Party is not compatible with Membership of or association with any other registered political party".   Donating money to another political party is clearly an association with that party.

This is all rather sad.    Stuart has donated large sums to the Conservative Party and has made many attempts to defend democracy in this country.   He must be expelled from the Party but hopefully after the European elections he can be invited to return.    Central Office needs to take action now.

***Star of the Week*** - Daniel Hannan MEP - for a superb speech to the European Parliament attacking Gordon Brown and Labour's economic policies.   Dan then put the three minute speech on You Tube where it was a huge success recording two million hits and rising.   Now why hasn't a Conservative MP delivered a similar speech in Westminster?

Wally of the Week - Eric Pickles MP - for an abysmal performance on Question Time.    Eric, when you are in a hole stop digging.   The Party Chairman should concentrate on the organisation of the Party.   Political presentation should be left to others.   Once again we have a Chairman who is concentrating on the wrong thing.   The sooner we have a Party Chairman elected by the members and accountable to the members the better we will be.   When will our MPs understand the anger of the people about their expenses?   They may be sticking to the rules, but morally they have no case.   It is time we had a totally independent body to supervise and audit MP's expenses and set the rules for them.

22nd March

European Parliament Election

Fundamentally, the European Union is an undemocratic organisation.    In a normal representative democracy individuals stand for election as part of a political party.   The party publishes a manifesto showing what it would do in government.   After the election the party with the largest number of seats in parliament forms a government.    The government passes legislation in accordance with its manifesto and governs the country through the civil service.   After five years there is another election and if the electors disapprove of the way the country has been governed they throw out the government and a new one is elected.   The new government can change or reverse any laws passed by the previous government.

How does the European Union fit into this template for democracy?    It doesn’t.

First of all the political parties do not form a government in the European Union.   The main arm of government is the European Commission whose members are appointed by the member states.   

Secondly, it is the unelected European Commission which proposes legislation.

Thirdly, as the European Parliament cannot propose new legislation, the political parties that are standing in the election cannot say in their manifesto what they would do in government, because they will not be in government.   Legislation proposed by the Commission has to be accepted by the Parliament, which has only limited powers to change it.   Legislation, once passed, is very difficult to reverse as it becomes known as the aquis communautaire (law, which all member states must comply with.)

 When another election is called the electorate cannot throw out the government, because it did not elect it in the first place.

So, if a Party cannot say in its manifesto how it will govern, if elected, and if it cannot say what laws it will pass or will reverse, what can it say?  This week I put the this question to two candidates for the European Parliament.   The first one, a Conservative, said "What a good question" but didn't answer it.   The second candidate, Labour, said that they would put in their manifesto what they were campaigning for.   So now we know, on June 4th all we will be doing is electing a bunch of lobbyists.

Why Vote

Why do people vote?   Is it:

    to protest,

    to judge the powerful,

    to say thank you,

    to express fear,

    to hope,

    to demonstrate idealism,

    to obtain personal benefit,

    to confirm your political identity,

    to show you belong to a political tribe,

    to show you are an adult,

    to express shear cussedness?

 It may be some or none of these things, but in voting we are expressing a view and collectively we create the wisdom of the crowds in determining our future, but only if those votes count.

Naughty Fiona

This week Fiona Hodgson sent out an email asking for support for her election as a Vice President of the National Convention.    We support her and hope she succeeds.   However her email went out on a standard Conservative Womens Organisation template and at the bottom is the usual:

Promoted by Alan Mabbutt on behalf of the Conservative Party, both at 30 Millbank, London, SW1P 4DP

Now, Fiona it may be Alan Mabbutt supports you, but you should not be sending out emails on CWO templates when you are campaigning in a personal capacity.

Euro Subsidies
Every cow in Europe receives 2 Euros a day in subsidy.    Half of Africa's population live on less than 1 Euro a day.   Its a crazy world we live in.

15th March

Shambles

Ballot papers have been sent out to members of the National Convention asking them to vote on changes to the Party Constitution including the discredited vote for more members of the Parliamentary Party to sit on the Party Board.   Just one snag, no date has been given for the return of the ballots.   One Area Chairman has told members that the ballots have to be returned by April 6th.    A Regional Chairman has said "as soon as possible".   The establishment are telephoning everybody to try to get them to vote as it looks as though there will be a low turnout and will not get the necessary 50%.   What a shambles.   First of all to have a ballot without a debate is a disgraceful way of proceeding.   Secondly, not to give a date for the return of ballots would surely make the whole exercise invalid in any democratic organisation.   Once again we have had a clear demonstration that the Party's Constitution needs a complete overhaul.   It is no longer fit for purpose.

Did You Know (1)

The United States of America has 745 military bases in 137 countries.   I wonder how many will survive the credit crunch?

Did you Know (2)

The top 500 dollar billionaires own half the entire wealth in the World.

Voting in the European Parliament

Each electronic vote costs 400 Euros and takes 30 seconds longer than a vote by hands.   Pressure is put on MEPs to vote by hand a) to save money, b) to speed things up, c) although there is a greater error with voting by hand they say it does not matter because the surpluses cancel out the minuses!   Oh, yes, one more thing when MEPs vote electronically we know how they vote, when it is by hand we do not.   All nice and cosy for the MEPs.

Ulster Unionists

Watch this space for further developments.

March 8th

Northern Ireland

What is happening to the merger between the Conservative Party and the Ulster Unionists?   It is starting to get messy.

Repeal of Legislation Act

When the Conservative Party gets back into power it intends to bring in a Repeal of Legislation Act.   What Acts would you like to repeal?   Let me know on johnstrafford@btinternet.com   We could start with scrapping the smoking ban and letting individuals decide for themselves whether they want to go into a pub that allows smoking.

Nuclear Submarines

Last week a British Nuclear submarine collided with a French Nuclear submarine.   If they cannot even detect each other it doesn't give you much confidence that if one of their missiles goes off it will hit the right place, does it?

The Surveillance Society

If you walk from Victoria Station to Parliament Square you will pass 800 CCTV cameras.   Who is watching you?

All Party Groups

In the last week the following All Party Groups have met at Westminster:

Slimming World

Weight Watchers

Motorcycling

Obesity

Beer

Flag

Archive

Rural Services

Primary Headache Disorders

Sex Equality

And Many Others

If our Parliamentarians spend so much time with all these groups is it any wonder they are not in the chamber?

March 1st

Convention on Modern Liberty

This was an excellent Convention.    1,700 people attended the London event.   It was sold out.    I was delighted at the Conservative presence.   David Davis MP was the main speaker at the end of the convention and he received a lot of applause.    Other speakers included Dominic Grieve MP, Edward Garnier MP, Douglas Carswell MP.   The Conservative Party is now leading the fight to protect our freedom and liberty.   Billy Bragg, a life long socialist, even paid a compliment to David Davis.   In the morning session I had the unusual experience of getting three rounds of applause whilst asking one question.   The question was:

Do we need a written constitution to defend our liberties and freedoms (applause) from being destroyed by transient politicians elected by a rotten political system (applause) which gave us a government with a majority in the House of Commons of 65 when only 22% of the electorate voted for it. (sustained applause)

Froth, Pure Froth

Sir Graham Bright is a candidate for election as the Chairman of the National Convention.   He sets out his aims.   They are typical of candidates.   All froth and no substance.   When will we get a candidate that makes some specific pledges to do something to enhance the position of the voluntary party?   The following is taken from Graham's website.   You will note that at the end he says "Comments closed".   So thats it then!

Comments Closed

An Open Letter to Gordon Brown

From:

e - m a i l - S t e v e n @ k a t i r a i . c o m

? Banking Supervision: You transferred responsibility for banking supervision to the Financial Services Authority from the Bank of England so directly laying the seeds of the current banking crisis.

? Banking Crisis: The initial response to the Northern Rock crisis was so slow as to be glacial and ultimately led to the damage done to the

so severe.

? Criminal Negligence: The entire UK banking crisis has been caused by a lack of supervision under the regulatory regime set up by you, any

? Vanity: You have used the banking crisis to attempt to advance your personal standing and political career at the expense of the nation.

? Lack of Judgment: You have made three serious errors of judgment in your appointment of advisers on the current financial crisis.

1. Your choice of banker to compile a report on ideas for improving public health was Sir Derek Wanless. a Northern Rock director when

it imploded in 2007.

2. You appointed Sir James Crosby, the former HBOS CEO, to the board of the FSA who then had to resign after becoming embroiled in the

row over failings of risk management at HBOS.

3. It now also appears that Glen Moreno will be forced out of his job, as chairman of UK Financial Investments Ltd, the company set up to

? You Fantasize: By clinging to the idea that, thanks to your genius British citizens are far better placed than competitors to handle this crisis. The following two facts demonstrate that this is a fantasy:-

1. The Office for National Statistics' revelation that while the number of foreign workers getting jobs in the UK continues to grow (up by

2. According to Business Monitor International, a research company specialising in country risk, "Britain is facing an unprecedented fall in

its economic world ranking… from 12th place in 2007 to 21st in 2010". "Despite enjoying 11 years of growth between 1997 and

? Public spending: Your 2000 Spending Review presaged a major expansion of government spending, without any significant benefit to

? You have colluded in hiding the full extent of public borrowing by using PFI initiatives to hide the borrowings off balance sheet. PFI is the most

astounding but unbelievable.

? Public sector Employment: The office for national Statistics shows Public sector employment was 5,846,000 (20.4 per cent of all in

? Growth: An OECD report shows UK economic growth averaged 2.7% between 1997 and 2006, lower than in any other English speaking country.

? Gold sales: Between 1999 and 2002 you sold 60% of the UK's gold reserves at $275 an ounce, close to a 20-year low, a disastrous foray into

international asset management.

? Your spectrum auctions gathered £22.5 billion for the government which caused a severe recession in the telecoms development industry

? Your East Coast Mainline franchise auction led directly to the demise of GNER, an excellent company, which was replaced by National Express who offer East Coast mainline users a significantly poorer service. Your duty was not only to maximise revenues, you also had a duty to the shareholders, employees and customers which you completely failed.

? Anti-poverty: The Centre for Policy Studies found that the poorest fifth of households, which accounted for 6.8% of all taxes in 1996–7,

period.

? Tax: According to the OECD UK taxation has increased from a 39.3% share of gross domestic product in 1997 to 42.4% in 2006, going to a

? You pledged to not increase the basic or higher rates of income tax however in all but your final budget, you only increased the tax

? You abolished the 10% tax band so that you could reduce the basic rate from 22% to 20%, to make it look like you were decreasing taxes.

? Pensions: Your changes in 1997 in the way corporation tax is collected, directly led to the taxation of dividends on stock investments held

? This act alone has single handedly damaged the pension of every person with a pension in the UK but also saddled UK corporations with

? Falsehoods: You used the Laura Spence Affair to beat up Oxford and Cambridge about their admissions procedures, Lord Jenkins, then

? Inappropriate links: Given the finding that the government did not carry a proper public consultation on the use of nuclear power in its

? The father-in-law of your closest adviser Ed Balls, Tony Cooper (father of the Labour minister Yvette Cooper) has close links with the nuclear

industry. Cooper was described as an "articulate, persuasive and wellinformed advocate of nuclear power over the last ten years" by the

? IraqWar: You supported British involvement in the Iraq War against the wishes of the UK population and helped to justify that involvement by publishing false intelligence. This war has directly increased the odds of terrorist attacks on British subjects and the financial cost has had a

significantly detrimental effect on the British economy.

? Military Covenant: You have not adhered to the 'military covenant', leading to a significant decline in the moral of the armed forces due to

injury.

? The 15% VAT Rate: introduced to counter the effects of recession demonstrated a total naivety and breathtaking stupidity. Far from

? No one should benefit from failure: You have on numerous occasions stated that no one should benefit from failure, however your tenure as chancellor was universally recognised as a failure, but you were rewarded with the Premiership and had the gall to accept.

? There will be no more Boom & Bust: In your hubris you made a statement that was patently untrue, and counter to any economic

that you were unfit for office.

? The UK is in a better position than any other developed country: this again is completely untrue, we have more than double the debt per

head of population than any other country in Europe.

? Public Services: You have destroyed Public Services by a raft of inappropriate targets, which have led to resources being wasted by the

attempts to meet those targets.

? Surveillance society: You have presided over and led to the creation of a surveillance society in which any perceived wrongdoing is used as a

Steven Katirai

You could not make it up!

Fitness centre for MEPs to cost 9.2m euros. The European Parliament is planning to spend 9.2 million euros refurbishing its fitness centre for MEPs and staff, including an aquagym and a 'chill out' room.   Gerard Onesta, a French Green MEP and Vice President of the Parliament insisted that the new gym would have "nothing to do with luxury" and that the facilities would save money by cutting staff absenteeism by up to 30 per cent.