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And we're off !
We are packing 25,000 envelopes today and a further 25,000 tomorrow - here is the first morning team working in Paddock Wood. We've already had "Andrew on his knees scrubbing" jokes, we've revisited...
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But what do you actually do....?
Many years ago local councils had Committee Chairmen, who had specific responsibilities. I remember there was a Housing Committee Chairman, an Education Committee Chairman, a Planning Committee...
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Dishonourable behaviour
I have just read a very moving and thoughtful blog by a former Greenwich Borough Councillor, Nigel Fletcher - who lost his seat in the London-wide pro Labour swing on 22 May this year. Well worth a...
View ArticleA week of positive thinking!
A week ago Sally Roberts invited me via Facebook to participate in the "Seven Day Positive Challenge"; one of those Social Media Round Robins. I normally ignore such things, but I like Sally and I was...
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BBQ Wars
Two of our branches, with a history of inter-Association rivalry, have booked competing barbecues on the same day. This has resulted in a bit of a frenzy. Each branch claims they had booked theirs...
View ArticlePyrrhic victories don't form governments
Regular readers will know that I am passionate about bringing new blood and fresh thinking into our organisation. This, of course, includes doing anything I can to launch a Conservative Future (CF)...
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National Excellence Awards...
There was a frisson of excitement around West Kent today as each of our five Chairmen received in the post an invitation to attend the National Excellence Awards. An accompanying letter informed them...
View ArticleDrink labelling and minimum pricing - we should educate, not legislate
As a Libertarian I tend to eschew any form of government social activism, especially the imposition of 'bureaucratic do-goodery' on matters of personal choice.I recoiled from the nanny statism of...
View ArticleDon't knock on too many doors!
Discussion with an angry member about our recent by-election loss. Angry member: We delivered too many leaflets and knocked on too many doors. Me: "We delivered the same number of leaflets as the...
View ArticleIt's not about me, and it's not about you.....
Over the past year I have spent quite a lot of time visiting other Associations to help with training and best practice. One of the things which has struck me is how Associations, even those in close...
View ArticleDon't worry Royal Mail - we are only a customer
As you can imagine, with five Associations, 2,000 members, 200 councillors and five MPs, the West Kent Campaign HQ is a reasonable-sized customer of Royal Mail. I estimate we spend over £25,000 a year...
View ArticleBBC satire neither condemns the BBC nor excuses Janice Atkinson
I usually agree with Iain Dale but cannot agree with his earlier blog on the Janice atkinson / BBC affair (HERE).Little Britain is not to everyone's taste, but it is a form of satire. Whilst programmes...
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Lashings of fun at Maidstone & The Weald
Great fund raiser and a super afternoon out. Let me know if you would like to attend.
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More Tea with Tom
Jon and Matt model the latest Tea with Tom posters - going up in and around the village of East Peckham today. These events are proving very popular and a super way to meet large numbers of people. We...
View ArticleA window into the soul of Britain's second city.
One of the most common complaints from long standing members is "Party Conference is too expensive now it's moved away from the seaside towns".I have blogged previously about the delights of the...
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The subversive Andrew Kennedy
En route to work this morning I received a text followed by a phone call from two Parliamentary staffers to say "your Blog has been blocked by the Parliamentary servers." One even kindly sent me a...
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À la recherche du votes perdu
À la recherche du votes perduI would like to thank Director of Paperclips, Jon Botten, for nicely capturing the mood with the above clandestine photograph taken earlier this evening. We were out (the...
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Top Trumps in just two weeks time!
Two weeks tonight (gosh it's come around quickly!) around 200 members and guests will be packed into Maidstone's newly refurbished Hazlitt Theatre for our eagerly anticipated "An Evening with Baroness...
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Battle scars
Lunch today with a colleague, and time spent showing each other our battle scars following fierce encounters with voters and activists. He trumped my tales with his encounter with a Frosty Faced...
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Leather hats, lycra and chalk stripe suits.
I have recently given up my car and bought a bicycle. The primary purpose is so I can cycle to and from our local railway station each day and catch the train to work. The station is two miles from...
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