Conservatives in North East Scotland Region will be hosting a One Day Conference on Saturday 29th October.
The 2011 North East Scotland one day Conservative Conference will be in Banchory. This conference will feature a leadership sand will be covered and live tweeted by Tory Hoose, If you are a party member and would like to attend, contact SCCO,
Conservatives in West of Scotland Region are holding their annual One Day Conference on Saturday 22nd October.
The 2011 West of Scotland one day Conservative Conference will be held in Eastwood. This event will feature one of the leadership hustings, and will be covered by Tory Hoose. If you are a party member and are interested in going, contact SCCO for more details.
Conservatives in Highland and Island Region are holding a conference, which will include the first of the leadership hustings.
The 2011 Highlands and Islands Conservative Conference, a one day event will be held on Saturday 24th September in the Inverness. If you are a Party member and would like to go, get in touch with SCCO for more details.
Changing the name of the Scottish Conservatives, the great idea of Murdo Fraser, has generated a hell of a lot of press coverage for the Scottish Tories. While all publicity is good publicity (to an extent) not all idea’s are good ones.
Firstly it has been trumpeted as some radical new idea. Simply put it is not. It is an idea that is so old it has got a 7 foot beard and false teeth. For the last 14 years the idea has done the rounds, often pushed by Tim Montgomery of Conservative home-someone outside of Scottish politics and out of touch with its nuances. It has been debated and discussed endlessly, and ultimately discredited as plain daft. Even as recently as the Sanderson Commission ,it was talked about, and thrown back into the padded cell to play with the SNP’s ‘Penny for Scotland’ and (London run) Labour’s 2011 Holyrood Campaign. This idea is not new, not radical and not practical for many reasons.
Firstly, there is the assumption that everyone who is currently a Tory will come with us. They won’t. Many members like being Conservative and Unionists. Many of them vote Tory but dedicate their hearts to UKIP. Many will flock to other right wing alternatives; like UKIP and The Scottish Unionists. Some may decide to start their own party. Some will just lose faith and give up their interest in politics. A great exercise in splitting the support we do have. Plus of course all that money that will be lost when we lose donors to other parties, as well as reduced income from the smaller membership.
Then we have to look at the costs involved. Everything that says conservative has to be binned. All the posters, signs, headed paper and hundreds of campaign items like balloons, pens etc. Are these expenses that can be afforded when we have elections to fight and campaigns to lead? And of course all of these on the back of that reduced income from losing supporters and donors.
Oh and of course the massive helping hand name change plans would be to the SNP. Already they are revelling in the notion that the Tories could want to be independent from the rest of the UK party, and marry that with other ideas like fiscal autonomy and you are lining up a few easy goals for the SNP. Actually it would look like you had not only started scoring own goals but started shooting your own team and its supporters.
Even Murdo has realised this, and back pedalled so fast he is in danger of developing a saddle sore. First we were going to disband totally and start from scratch, now his suggestions seem to be just changing the name. Okay that may limit the damage of a change but hang on, is a real name any change at all? A new name will ditch all that Tory baggage? What just like changing to Consignia help the post office? Or how changing to Conservatives in the 1830’s stopped us being called Tories? And indeed he appears to have given it all so little thought, that he has not even come up with a new name!
But he thinks we can attract new support with a new identity? Well it is going to take more than that, it is not just the name that the public don’t like-it is the message, the ideas that we are out of touch. A new name won’t change that. We need to connect with the public, we need to become the centre-right they want us to be and earn their respect. Putting on a new name badge and trying to hoodwink them won’t wash, they will see through it as a cynical exercise in deception.
The Scottish Conservatives have only been that since 1965-having previously been Scottish Unionists, Liberal Unionists and National Liberals. Murdo has looked back at this past and found what he thinks is the future. He hopes to turn back the clock. But anyone who has witnessed the decline in Scottish Tory support should know that it’s looking back to much that has led us here. We need to start looking where we are going, we need to look to the future-and we can’t do that by jumping in Murdo’s Delorean and heading to 1955- Scotland has moved on since then, and it’s time we joined the 21st Century.
Orkney Consertives have launched a new website ahead of next years Council elections.
http://www.orkneyconservatives.com/
Scottish Conservatives have been working very hard up in Orkney, and have made solid progress in developing their organisation. We wish them well with they new online venture, and look forward to hearing from them very soon!
As the leadership election heats up, Tory Hoose will keep you up to date with the very latest developments. If you want to question Ruth, Murdo or Jackson make sure you go along to one of the following leadership hustings.
We will update you with any other dates when we know of them. These hustings are only open to Scottish Conservative members. More information is available from Scottish Conservative Central Office, where you can also apply to become a party members.
Jackson Carlaw MSP
Experienced. Assured. Unionist.
A strong Scotland in a great Britain
Time for a change on alcohol.
Right to be sceptical, wrong to continue dogmatic opposition
Jackson Carlaw MSP has said that he now believes that while the Scottish Conservatives were right to be sceptical about alcohol minimum pricing they would be wrong to continue strident, dogmatic opposition to the SNP government’s plans.
If elected Leader he will advocate supporting the SNP proposals subject to the agreement of government to both a ‘sunset clause’ as previously offered by Nicola Sturgeon and active participation by alcohol producers and retailers in new abstinence programmes. He will argue for additional voluntary financial contributions from the industry, arising from new ‘windfall profits’.
Speaking in the debate on the Government’s Legislative Programme tomorrow Thursday September 8th, Jackson will say
“Like others I believe that we were right to be sceptical about alcohol minimum pricing in the last Parliament. Regrettably, as the Bill reached its conclusion the debate seemed to lose sight of the issues involved and become more strident and partisan.”
“Before and during the election in May I spoke to Accident & Emergency consultants, to nurses, to the police and to voters. They were united in their bewilderment at the attitude adopted by opposition parties.”
“It is certainly true that there is no definitive evidence that such a policy will make the crucial difference required. My colleagues are right to continue to make this point and to call for further evidence. But it is also true that sceptics once argued that there was no evidence that council house tenants would wish to take advantage of Conservative right to buy legislation in the 1980s. We all know now that those sceptics were wrong.”
“So I agree with Iain Duncan Smith who has publicly backed alcohol minimum pricing. I believe that we should respect the united and clear view of the whole health community, the police and even more importantly, the support that exists within the wider Scottish public and back the government’s minimum pricing policy – with two conditions.”
“Firstly, that the Bill contains the ‘sunset clause’ previously offered by Nicola Sturgeon. Secondly, that the government work with the alcohol manufacturers and retailers to ensure that the ‘windfall profits’ arising are not exclusively absorbed but that we take the opportunity to secure vital new funding for abstinence programmes.”
“Scottish Conservatives need to work with public attitudes. We need to win back the support of those in our cities and urban communities who more than most, suffer the consequences of alcohol addiction and excess’.”
Yes ladies and Gents, most of the Tory Hoose editorial team will be attending the EGM on the Scottish Conservative constitution on saturday 10th September. Where we will be live blogging the developments as they happen.
If you are a party member attending, please come over and say-most of us don’t bite.
If you would like to submit an article for tory hoose- just drop us an email to [email protected], or even just ask one of our team at any of the big Scottish Conservative events- we will aim to cover them all!
For too many years, the Scottish Conservatives have found their campaigns disjointed and with horrid lurch between elections starting and stopping. A major factor in this has been the disparity between constituencies at Holyrood and Westminster campaigns. This results in area’s switching between being target seats, to being neglected. This disjointed campaigning has been one factor in the Tories lack of progress at constituency level, and has become an irritating distraction for associations and volunteers. But there is an alternative.
Conservatives have made solid progress at local government level, and there is a key link between success at local government and winning constituencies on election night. The Lib Dem’s have had a history of translating local government success into electoral prizes in Westminster and by-elections. The SNP has also shown that a strong local government base provides a great spring board to wider success.
Centrally the party has become too occupied with a handful of target seats at elections, highlighting where the opposition parties should target anti-tory resources. This also results in vast swathes of Scotland with almost no campaigning, where candidates and associations are left floundering with limited resources which is both disheartening and damaging to the party-especially in regional list votes in Holyrood elections.
It seems logical that the party should restructure around local government boundaries. This would reduce the number of constituency associations down to 32, concentrating resources and allowing a more streamlined and dynamic campaign machine.
By pooling of funding and campaign resources in this way it would allow more professional agents to be employed and more party offices could be opened. The result of this would be to create a situation where campaigns can be better coordinated and managed. Resources can be focused on making progress across Scotland, where even Glasgow elects Conservatives at local government level. This would mean area’s with limited resources would be able to target their winnable areas, and build up a stronger base for making progress at Holyrood and Westminster.
Yes constituencies do cross local boundaries at Holyrood elections, but this would still result in fewer seats being shared between associations than the current structure which can currently result in seats split between up to 4 associations. It would allow a greater link between the association exec to the area’s the are campaigning, and result no area having no active association to support candidates.
Local government success is key to the party’s Scottish comeback, hard working conservative councillors are the most effective way shift perceptions of the party. It makes sense that the party should have a structure to reflect this, one that encourages progress rather than stifles it.
A defence of the Union and a pledge to halt the slide towards independence will be at the heart of his appeal to Party members. Underpinning this will be his demand for an early referendum, to be held before any further discussions on the possible transfer of additional responsibility to the Scottish Parliament beyond the Scotland Act. Added to this, he has made a radical call for a new Act of Constitutional Settlement after any referendum to secure the future of the Union.
Jackson Carlaw MSP said that over 30 years of involvement in all areas of the Party gave him the unrivalled experience to lead both a fundamental reform of the Party organisation and a recovery of Scottish Conservative electoral fortunes.
Jackson said, “I am hugely looking forward to the next two months of campaigning. After 30 years involvement at all levels, I believe I have the necessary experience to lead the Scottish Conservatives.”
“For too long there has been a belief that by constantly conceding to the separatist SNP agenda, we can somehow appease nationalism. This policy has ultimately led to an SNP majority government and the very real threat of separation.”
“I want to secure a strong Scotland in a great Britain and so the future of the Union will be the heart and soul of my campaign and at the very centre of my appeal to Party members.”
“Rather than negotiate over Alex Salmond’s ever burgeoning list of demands, I want to ask the people of Scotland the really big question – ‘Do you want to renew Scotland’s partnership with the United Kingdom or separate from it?’ Thereafter, I want to end the prospect of Scotland enduring a series of ‘neverendum referendums’ by enacting a new Act of Constitutional Settlement which would secure the future of the Union while setting out a process within which future discussions on legislative responsibility can be conducted and resolved.”
“Building on my experience of the party, I will bring all my energy and understanding to the urgent implementation of the long overdue reforms recommended by Lord Sanderson’s commission. As we reinvigorate the party, my leadership will ensure Scottish Conservatism is more inclusive and that members are at the heart of the drive to create an election winning organisation with election winning policies.”
“During the months and years ahead, I will open opportunities to the many younger talented Scots attracted to the Party. Together, we will prepare for the challenges which will face Scotland in the generation ahead.”
“Time is no longer on our side – we need to pick ourselves up, broaden our appeal, strengthen our organisation and fight to secure the future of the United Kingdom.”
