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Following the European election results last night Michael Rock, National Chairman of Conservative Future, has written about the BNP’s success. Part of the article includes:
“It is patently obvious that the BNP are racist but that doesn’t mean all the votes they receive come from racists; their message of protectionism, of support for a larger state, of restricting free trade is a classic mixture of left-wing politics. Not only have Labour let down the country with their mishandling of the economy, their sustained attack on our freedom and constitutional vandalism, they have let the left wing down by not fighting the BNP on political grounds.
“We should all fight the BNP but Labour have to wake up; the BNP are left wing and are taking Labour votes.”
You can read the full piece here:
http://www.conservativefuture.com/2009/06/08/bnp-left-wing-labour-votes/
Michael Rock has written about the BNP being left wing before: http://www.conservativefuture.com/2009/02/01/fight-left-wing-bnp/
TYC’s View: Labour, and the Left collectively, bear full responsibility for electing the BNP last night. They ought to be utterly ashamed of their ineptitude over the past 12 years which has directly fostered extremism. This country deserves an apology – we recommend it comes in the form of a General Election, the only way which we can begin to wash this stain from our national character.
Michael Rock has taken party in the Policy Beats series for Demos: Young Leaders, the first of their new Policy Beats series.
With faith in politicians seemingly at a low ebb, they look to the future and three leaders from the ‘young’ wings of the main parties – Michael Rock from Conservative Future, Elaine Bagshaw from Liberal Youth and Richard Angel from Young Labour. Why did they put their faith in their respective parties?
Michael Rock, Conservative Future National Chairman, has appeared twice in two days on the BBC News Channel to discuss the continuing fall-out of the MP’s expenses scandal. We’ve not video as yet, but we do have the audio from both appearances – have a listen below:
14th May
Michael was on a panel discussion with Chuka Umunna, Labour PPC for Streatham, and Alex Mortimer, a Lib Dem blogger, talking about the expenses scandal and its effects on politics.
15th May
Conservative Future has launched a dedicated Youtube channel: Conservative Future TV.
This channel will promote the work that Conservative Future members do up and down the country, from campaigning to social events.
Michael Rock, National Chairman of Conservative Future, has posted the first video today, explaining the channel.
Start watching Conservative Future TV here:
On Wednesday the Young Britons’ Foundation hosted it’s annual Freedom Rally in the House of Commons. Over just four hours no less than 16 speakers from all walks of the British conservative movement addressed young activists. It was notable how many fresh faces there were – evidently YBF is reaching out further and further (are you involved with them yet?). Here follows a brief summary of what you missed.
The Rally began with Douglas Carswell MP, one of the finest Parliamentarians of his generation and co-author of The Plan: Twelve Months to Renew Britain, lamenting the unrelenting decline in liberty on these shores:
“The failure of the revolution of 1776 was that it took place on the wrong side of the Atlantic.”
European election candidate Councillor Jean-Paul Floru took up the liberty mantle from Carswell, urging the audience to remember that power derives from the people, and is not the property of governments, whom by their nature are transitory.
“Freedom is Britishness of mind”
“Politicians are only the temporary custodians of sovereignty, they are not the owners: we are!”
Another of the Conservative Party’s soundest stars, Michael Gove MP, warned us to treat the rise and spread of Islamofascism as seriously we did Nazism and Communism. Like those twin evils of the 20th Century, Islamofascism must be fought, and defeated. They were the gauntlets thrown down to our parents’ generation, this one is ours.
“There is no greater cause in politics than defending freedom.”
“When the State grows human freedom diminishes and wealth disappears.”
Dr Eamonn Butler of the Adam Smith Institute defended capitalism against the nonsense accusations that the current financial climate is proof that it has failed, and also marked the increasing spread of the database and surveillance state under Labour.
“We are home to a quarter of the world’s surveillance cameras”
Veteran Parliamentarian Ann Widdecombe asked us to think ahead and demand action on the perilous state of pension provision in this country. As youthful activists pensions might seem a far-off irrelevance to us, she said, but we need to take action now if we are to safeguard our comfort in old age.
“This Prime Minister carried out a raid on pension funds that made Robert Maxwell look like a rank amateur”
PPC Conor Burns was clearly disgusted by the protests the previous day in Luton, in which a small minority vocally denounced home-coming troops as “terrorists” and “butchers”, but saved most of his righteous fury for what Labour has wrought at home.
“You have a right to be very very angry with that this government has done to your country…you have a right to rise up and demand more.”
Major James Cleverly, (C), London Assembley Member for Bromley, gave us a realistic appraisal of life in City Hall, the victories of the Conservative administration to date in cut waste and building success; and also of the mountains yet to be climbed.
“I cut my teeth as a conservative activist in Lewisham.”
Peter Whittle of the New Culture Forum discussed the nature of the seemingly innate bias within the creative arts, urging conservatives not just to think of careers in politics, but in media too, if we are to win the culture war.
“I quite often want to smash in the television when I watch the BBC these days.”
“You [the youth] are the cultural future.”
Mark Wallace, Campaign Director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance explained his organisations surging growth in the seemingly eternal battle against the grossly wasteful spending of our taxes by all tiers of government, from council to European.
“Your council tax has doubled in the past decade, yet what do you see in return?”
Author James Delingpole gave what it was suggested had been “a fairly combative speech”, clearly too Libertarian for some attendees, and music to the ears of others. But this is exactly the majesty of events such as YBF’s Freedom Rally – to expose activists to conservative movement ideas which they will never otherwise hear. Simply sitting around agreeing with each other is not merely unproductive, it’s actively hurtful to our cause.
“I think Compassionate Conservatism is almost worse than socialism.”
“I’m relying on you people to save our country, because otherwise we are fucked.”
Conservative Party Chairman Eric Pickles MP provided the riposte to Delingpole, and had, as one might expect, some harsh words for Gordon Brown.
“Mr Brown has truly ruined this country, and in many ways the task before us is greater than Churchill’s after World War Two.”
Presenter and blogger Iain Dale reminded the audience that politics is/can be enjoyable as well as noble!
“You can have so much fun in an election campaign.”
The peerless John Redwood MP again led the charge against the attacks Labour has made upon liberty and democracy in this country over its 12 year reign of terror.
“We want the government to be a good servant rather than a bad boss.”
Greg Hands MP began to draw the event towards its close, reminicisng about his experiences and advising aspiring politicians to follow his route and do something in the private sector for a good decade before turning to politics.
“I managed to miss the entirety of the John Major years.”
Conservative Future National Chairman Michael Rock was the penultimate speaker, highlighting the ‘politicization’ of the youth movement, as opposed to being purely a leafletting too for the Party.
“It’s almost a patriotic duty to oppose ID cards.”
Co-editor of ConservativeHome.com Jonathan Isaby concluded the Rally.
“The government is tearing itself apart at the moment…it really is waiting to be put out of its misery.”
Congratulations to Michael Rock, one year on from his successful campaign which saw him elected Conservative Future National Chairman, along with the incumbent National Management Executive.
The year has seen much progress within Conservative Future, from the hotly debated reforms, to the creation of Regional Chairmen, and the regionalisation of campaigning, instead of the old, impractical practice of bussing activists at the crack of dawn up and down the country to flood one ’special’ seat.
Conservative Future has also fought several successful by-elections such as Crewe and Nantwich, Henley and Haltemprice and Howden.
But here at TYC we still maintain that the most important long-term initiative from the current executive has been the Student Life Tours, organised by Student Life chairman Patrick Sullivan.
These tours saw centre-right, pro-freedom organisations such as the TaxPayers’ Alliance, Freedom Association, NO2ID, plus MEPs, bloggers and more visiting campuses up and down the country. We believe that conservatism is a broad church, and its strength lies in its constituent organisations who unite around a single doctrine: freedom. Exposing students to fresh thinking on liberty can only serve to further our ultimate cause.
Patrick, we hope there’s a second round of tours in the works!
TYC took part in several of the stops on the 2008 tour and you can read our coverage here.
Every Wednesday on Victoria Derbyshire’s Radio Five Live show they have a PMQ’s panel made up of activists from the two and a half major Parties. They chat before and after Prime Minister’s Questions.
This week Conservative Future National Chairman Michael Rock was on and you can listen to both parts below:
Before PMQs 11th February 2009:
After PMQs 11th February 2009:
Lately the Young Britons’ Foundation has been interviewing – and interviewed.
Conservative Future National Chairman Michael Rock has given a brief interview to YBF, as has Will Bickford-Smith, chairman of Nottingham University CF.
Both gave some sound responses.
Rock calls on Cameron to institute tax cuts; and we’re pleased to hear Will’s answer to this question:
If you could repeal a law, which would it be?
EU Human Rights Act- I think each state should have their own Bill of Rights.
Later, though, the tables were turned on Blaney, YBF’s Chief Executive, who was given a lengthy yet brief interview by Total Politics. Blaney hits the nail on the head here:
Complete this sentence: The thing I hate about politics is…
The way the BBC distorts debate and that Brits lack the opinionated discourse of our American cousins.
So true.
Excuse the old news, but TYC must have been having far too much fun at conference to have let this little gem slip under the radar. On the final full day on conference the Guardian ran a brief interview with CF National Chairman Michael Rock entitled “Rock papers over crackpots of Conservative Future’s past” to coincide with CF’s 10th anniversary.
No doubt Rock takes some comfort from the article insofar as it describes him as a “twentysomething”, rather than “raddled and receding” as the Financial Times did a few months ago! Whilst only a superficial profile it’s markedly more positive than the FT was. And certainly the image of playing paper scissors rock with Lady Thatcher is amusingly in character.
More seriously, it does highlight just how far CF can take an activist, noting “the organisation is a conveyor belt to the party. Last year’s chairman is now one of those PPCs and one of deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft’s right-hand women is also a former CF chairman.”
Read it in full here.
Conservative Party Conference was a busy time for activists, but amongst the training and debates a little time was found to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Conservative Future, the Party’s youth wing.
It was during the reign of William Hague that CF was founded, replacing and unifying the various youth wings of the Party that hitherto existed. Hague returned, flanked by current National Chairman Michael Rock and first National Chairman Donal Blaney, plus other past chairmen, to address the party, celebrating all the successes of Britain’s largest political youth organisation.
