More gossip about Matthew Plummer...
I enjoyed a great lunch and gossip today with the ever lovely Matthew Plummer Matthew Plummer. Over Pad Thai king prawn noodles sitting on a bench in the grounds of Southwark Cathedral he told me how...
View ArticleCanterbury Labour councillor Bernadette Fisher should apologise
I have broad shoulders and I try to take a sanguine view when campaigning gets a bit 'near the knuckle' but I am genuinely appalled and sickened by a tweet which has just been brought to my...
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Summer Raffle Reminders
As there is no NCDS Summer Draw this year, West Kent are running our own - and we have just topped £5,000 in sales in the first three weeks. This is a slight increase on the same date last year - so we...
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Joyce Gadd : 112 not out
We are finally in the process of migrating to VoteSource and are painstakingly cross checking all 2000+ membership records to ensure none have been lost or corrupted. As part of this process we have...
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I know the Church of England was once referred to as the Tory Party at...
Sadly, from time to time, residents and members die - and to avoid causing offence they must be marked as such on our database. I was however surprised to see the following option on VoteSourceSo, if...
View ArticleInternal democracy, transparency and accountability
The fourth and penultimate in my series of articles examining how we might approach rebuilding the voluntary party, along with a summary of the problems as I see them and a few personal thoughts on how...
View ArticleBlowing smoke up our own a*se !
The West Kent Group held the AGM yesterday and as part of the proceedings our Chairman, William Rutherford, asked me to put together the attached presentation highlighting some of the things we have...
View ArticleStrength through Grouping - the fifth and final of my five articles on...
The fifth and final post in my series of articles examining how we might approach rebuilding the voluntary party, along with a summary of the problems as I see them and a few personal thoughts on how...
View ArticleThe future of political activism - personal thoughts
Over the last two weeks I have published on this blog detailed proposals on how we might reshape and reform the Conservative voluntary party. I believe my proposals are relatively simple to implement,...
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Tories, Elvis and Obscenities
We recently offered a day out on our boat with Champagne and canapes for six guests, as an auction prize at a Chatham & Aylesford fund raising event. The lot was so popular we decided to accept the...
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Lotteries, Raffles and Mackinlay - follow the money!
Several years ago one of our local members won £10,000 on the National Conservative Summer Draw. We were delighted for him and waited in hope for a donation, which never came. The following summer I...
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The new West Kent 500 Club
Most Associations once ran a '100 Club' or in some cases a '200 Club', though the majority appear to have "withered on the vine". In West Kent only Tonbridge & Malling's survives but even that's on...
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Tories, Elvis and Obscenities
We recently offered a day out on our boat with Champagne and canapes for six guests, as an auction prize at a Chatham & Aylesford fund raising event. The lot was so popular we decided to accept the...
View ArticleNational Convention Elections
I feel dreadfully sorry for a number of personal friends and colleagues who failed to secure election to the National Convention yesterday, they are wonderful campaigners and party is a better place...
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Shooting my 11 year old fox.
In 2002 I played a small part in the Liberty and Livelihood Campaign and even attended the march through London; it was the first and only time I have ever felt sufficiently angry to march along the...
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What goes around comes around!
A number of West Kent MPs were amused to receive a letter from Jake Berry MP this morning enclosing a copy of his"thank you" card and telling them how important it is for politicians to thank voters...
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National Voluntary Party Review - Kent Area invites discussion and comment
Really pleased to see Kent AME taking a lead on this locally and allowing Associations an opportunity to shape the narrative of this review.
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Inappropriately proportioned millinery!
I am not sure if this is a local issue or something which "irks" others, but I am plagued by people who send emails and cc'd them to everyone under the sun - and even worse are those who need to "reply...
View ArticleLabour leadership contest
I am a great supporter of democratic reform, particularly how we (and other political parties) engage with the community with regard to candidate selection. I have championed Open Primaries and even...
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