Jon Ronson On Ambition

I had an interview with Jon Ronson for his documentary ‘Jon Ronson On Ambition’. I really enjoyed it and the final product is here so you can listen in. I come in at 5.30 mins.

“The writer Jon Ronson asks how our driving ambitions shape us. By interviewing several people at different points in their lives, he sees how ambition can break and make people.”

From Left: Jon Ronson, myself, and the producer Simon Jacobs.

An eye-opener for some, an embarrassment for Labour!

As a follow-up to my earlier blog, I thought I would say a few words about the Asylum debate which was held on Tuesday. It was a fascinating and heated debate which brought to light many questions on a misunderstood system. Furthermore, there was the upsetting first hand account of what it is like to be seeking an Asylum in this country from Ellen Bote and Almamy Taal. I would like to congratulate STAR for the organisation of this event and look forward to attending their future events.

The BUCF were there in force to support Jo Barker (PPC for Hall Green and on the Party’s Human Rights Commission). I believe that we did extremely well in the debate and Jo was the only politician on the panel to give solid policy and actually answer the questions the audience asked. She talked in detail of our plans to decrease the period in which Asylum seekers cannot apply for work and increase the legal aid provided. By the sounds of the Liberal Democrat representative we won him over, who welcomed Jo’s comments and the stance of the Conservative Party. Moreover, he did not spell confidence for the Lib Dem’s performance in the approaching General Election, stating that they should “face reality” about a Conservative victory and will be “lucky to increase our seats by more than five”.

As for labour, one word sums up their performance…embarrassing! Not only could the governing party of this country not be bothered to send someone who knows what they are talking about, the person they did send doesn’t even know the difference between Asylum Seekers and Immigrants. It was truly shocking. Throughout the debate Labour emphasised how ill-equipped a Labour Government is to tackle the issues and problems of the current Asylum System. A person who advocates British Jobs for British Workers and argues that Asylum Seekers should be ”grateful” that they are here is not qualified to take part in this debate. And this more importantly highlights how out of touch New Labour has become! 

By the end of it I think even the Labour representative realised how wrong the Labour Government has got it, when it comes to Asylum Seeker Policy stating that he wasn’t “going to sit here and defend it”.

BUCF support Help4Heroes

A huge thank you to everyone at BUCF who helped us raise the sum of £856.67 for the military charity Help4Heroes. It was a great fund-raising effort and the money will not be wasted. Every penny will go to help our military heroes recover from the mental and physical injuries that they suffer while fighting for our freedom.

A quick note on who Help4Heroes are:

Help for Heroes was founded by Bryn and Emma Parry in October 2007 out of a desire to help the wounded Servicemen and women returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. The message of the charity is simple: They are strictly non political and non critical; they simply want to help. H4H believe that anyone who volunteers to serve in time of war, knowing that they may risk all, is a hero. These are ordinary people doing extraordinary things and some of them are living with the consequences of their service for life. H4H may not be able to prevent our soldiers from being wounded, but together theycan help them get better.

Daniel Cole

A soft touch?

Before I start I would like to emphasise that this is my personal opinion and does not represent the views of the Conservative Party, also I would like to apologise for the rant I am about to have.

Now that is done with I can begin, the issue which I am discussing today is Asylum Seekers and Britain’s apparent ’soft touch’ towards them. I think it is staggering how people can claim that Britain is a soft touch on Asylum Seekers. In the preparation of my dissertation (which is on the delicate issue of perceptions of refugees and Asylum seekers in the UK) I have discovered that the majority of people have a misinformed view about Britain’s policy towards Asylum Seekers, arguing that we let too many in and that once here they have a free ride. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I would like to tell many of you out there who may not be aware of the complex policies Britain currently has on Asylum Seekers, in the hope to disprove the ’soft touch’ argument. For example, in 1996 the Asylum and Immigration Act denied certain classes of asylum applicants access to social security and legal aid (surely access to legal aid is a basic human right), this was introduced to remove an incentive for many seeking asylum. Furthermore, the Immigration Act of 2005, now states that anyone who wishes to seek asylum in this country has to get a visa from the country which they are leaving. How outrageous is this? Lets take as an example, an MDC activist from Zimbabwe who needs to leave out of fear for his life, to get an asylum in Britain he would have to get a visa from Robert Mugabe’s Government; the very people that are trying to kill him!

Is it just me or does this sound ridiculous? However, it hasn’t always been like this. Before the turn of the last century Britain was regarded as a place which refugees could easily come to and feel welcome. This is half of the problem, people argue that refugees are a burden, many of these refugees are highly trained and want to work. The law however, limits their ability to do this. For example, in the first year of living in the UK a successful asylum applicant cannot apply for a job (due to further processing in their application). Moreover, they are only eligible for 25% of the benefits which a British unemployed citizen could apply for, this works to around £20 per week. Crime is inevitable under such a system!

To make the situation worse, asylum seekers are never located usually anywhere south of Birmingham. This subsequently means that they are placed in areas of low unemployment and high racial tension resulting in dangerous consequences for our communities. I am not saying that there is not an immigration problem nor a problem with bogus asylum seekers. All of these are real problems and issues which need to be resolved. However, our policies (and this is a national not partisan problem, these often cruel rules span all parties) could be said to have broken basic human rights and denied access to people trying to escape genuine hardship.

The Government would argue that harsher restriction policies are needed to cope with the economic demands of asylum seekers. Why not use them, they want to work, the majority of them came here to give not take. Finally, although the economic burden is a reasonable argument, could it be argued that in preventing economic burden we have in fact betrayed the values previous Britons have fought and died for in Two World Wars and countless other wars? And more importantly can you put a price on someone’s life?

CF Call for Change

Monday 11th January saw the launch of the new Geneva Call Centre in Coleshill, Birmingham with Party Chairman Eric Pickles cutting the ribbon and kick starting the West Midlands new addition to the campaign.

The event was attended by CFers from across the West Midlands, and proved to be another fine example of how CF supports the Party whenever needed.

Members of staff at the call centre delivered great speeches, and we all left feeling greatly enthused about the difference that can be made. CF will continue to assist at the Call Centre right up until the election.

The Man Who Would Be King?

I thought I would share what I believe to be an iconic picture. Prince William’s recent visit to New Zealand and Australia was, for me, the first time I’ve really seen him as a King in waiting. This iconic picture was taken in Australia’s Government House and it catches a pensive Prince William momentarily lost in thought, gazing toward his Grandmother’s vacant throne, no doubt pondering the destiny that awaits him. But beneath all the pomp and the pageantry there remain dark clouds on the blue blood’s horizon. The Republican movement is gathering pace in Australia and it is not entirely radical to suggest that when Her Majesty dies, so too will the British Monarchy’s role in Australia.

The truth is that the individual, the Queen, is held in more regard than the institution, the Monarchy, and without her it is doubtful that it will continue given the current strength of the Republican movement. Having said this much of the Australian press, even the Republican leaning publications, have concluded that Prince William’s visit was a roaring success and a tremendous boost for the Royal Family’s prospects in Australia. So the questions remain; will ”Prince Charmings” offensive be enough to resist the Republican tide? Would his succession to his grandmothers throne prove to be the saving grace for the Monarchy in Australia? Or is this all part of a grand farewell by the Royals to the Australians they hold in such high regard? Only time will tell…

Young Conservatives Uniting in Birmingham

   Last night marked a new age of cooperation between City Branch, one of Birmingham’s leading organisations for young professionals, and BUCF.

   With the election of our incumbent president Sahar Rezazadeh and former president Daniel O’Doherty to the roles of deputy chairs, sitting alongside newly elected chairman of City Branch Jonathan Galbraith at their annual AGM. Furthermore the election of Adam Jenner, BUCF events officer, and Anthony Hopkins, a keen supporter of BUCF, to become City Branch committee members has solidified our bond.

   We look forward to an exciting year of working together for the election.

Adam Jenner,

BUCF Events Officer and City Branch Committee Member.

http://www.citybranch.org.uk

The Politics of Posh

This is a response to an item on tonight’s The One Show (http://bbc.co.uk/i/pymmg/):

Does class still matter? My rational side would argue not, especially as we are born into a background and therefore have no choice over it. However the Labour Party and the media – this time the BBC in the form of Kaye Adams – have made it matter. Is being posh Cameron’s Achilles Heel?

I really don’t see how the Labour Party can indulge in “toff-bashing” when Tony Blair himself was a boarder at Fettes College, also known as “The Eton of the North”. Adams highlighted in this programme that a third of ALL Members of Parliament elected at the last election – not just Tories – were privately educated (and therefore, according to the correspondent, toffs). So why has the Labour Party made being a toff a Tory trait? It makes no sense and is ever so slightly hypocritical, is it not?

So, inevitably, Adams goes on to interview the public – does their supposed “toffishness” weaken the Tories’ position going into the General Election? One lady, very sensibly, stated that it should be the policies that matter. I whole heartedly agree. Others said that it made the Tories seem out of touch.  I obviously understand that those with money don’t feel the pinch as much as most people perhaps but they undoubtedly must realise that there is a credit crunch all the same. As long as their proposed policies fit the issues facing this country at the moment then what is the problem?  One man said that he liked the fact that some people are proud of where they’ve come from and this, to me personally, has always been close to my heart. Why should Cameron be made to feel like he has to shy away from his family, his heritage? Another commentator said that Cameron actively tries to distract from the fact he’s a Sloane Ranger.

A clip is then shown of Gordon Brown when he referred to the Tories’ inheritance tax proposals as being “dreamed up on the playing fields of Eton”. Forgive me for having a rant but why should we have to pay to inherit what our parents worked so hard to achieve? I admit that putting the threshold up to £1million doesn’t make much sense in  a recession but taxing the rich is a bit too Robin Hood for my liking.

Stanley Johnson – father of my favourite mayor (!) – is then interviewed and quite rightly states that generally, the Conservative MPs likely to be elected this year will form an middle to upper-middle class group, just like the Labour MPs elected in 1997.

However the best part of this short item was a quote given by Adrian Chiles at the end; that posh was getting out of the bath to have a wee. By that definition I hope that all of you are indeed posh!

HLAD

N.B. I apologise for the number of rhetorical questions but after many debates about class with my housemates I just don’t know the answers anymore! I’m sure some of you will provide me with some…

Marriage Troubles

Cartoon taken from the London Times.

Throughout the last 70 years of history, there have been many shifts to the global political landscape. Empires have fallen, nation have arisen from the abyss, extremists and moderates have swapped places across the globe. But one piece of this landscape has remained sound and intact; the invisible bridge across the Atlantic to our American cousins; until now. With a combination of a Prime minister with the international standing of a potted plant and a president who is keener to get close to Ahmadinejad, Merkel and Sarkozy; is it perhaps time to file for divorce rather than renew the marriage vows of this ‘special relationship’.

   There were those detractors of President George W Bush who accused him of not knowing where many foreign nations were, but perhaps that mantle belongs to his replacement. It has become increasingly apparent that not only does Obama not know where the UK is, but that perhaps he is also unaware of its very existence. This failing became apparent during his recent visit to West Point military academy (the US equivalent of RMA Sandhurst). Where although talking at great length on the subject of the increased commitment to the Afghanistan conflict of allied nations, he failed to make a single mention of Britain or the fact that we are second largest world power with forces there.

   Perhaps we should not be surprised by these rude snubs of our premier and our nation. Obama has never really been any friend of our nation. During his first week as president, he had a bust of Winston Churchill, given by the UK as a gift of friendship to the US in the dark weeks following September 11^th, removed from the oval office never to be seen in public again.

  No matter how dishy Hilary Clinton finds Milliband the older; will the current situation improve? If the reasons behind this lack of intimacy are hard to deduce; then the solution is neigh impossible. One can only stress for Mr Cameron to demonstrate himself to be the equal of Obama in terms of statesman and showmanship and hopefully his superior when it comes to decision making and global intellect.

Adam Jenner,

BUCF Events Officer

The Blair Rich Project

News has reached my ear that our beloved former Prime Minister Tony Blair has taken on yet ANOTHER high profile job – this time working in an advisory capacity for France’s richest man, Bernard Arnault who’s company LVMH owns the Moet and Krug champagne labels, the Louis Vuitton luxury goods brand, as well as Christian Dior and Hennessy cognac. In an astonishing article, The Times reported in 2008 that Tony Blair has pocketed more than £12 million since leaving Downing Street a figure which will only increase given this latest addition to what is being widely dubbed as the “Blair Rich Project”. Much of Blair’s earnings remain secretive however what we do know is that he receives £84,000 of taxpayers’ money to run a private office and is entitled to an annual pension of £63,468, he has made £5 million in advance from his memoirs, a further £2 million from an advisory role at JPMorgan Chase, £500,000 from Zurich Financial Services and he has an ever increasing property portfolio!

So why does this matter you may ask? Should we really care what a former Prime Minister is earning? In theory no we shouldn’t but I believe that the recent realisation of the extent of the rot that has set in to British political, economic and social life can be traced back to the man that headed and dominated British government for 10 years and his mentality both in and out of office. Anthony “call me Tony” Blair’s loyalty was and clearly remains ”with the highest bidder”. We should not be suprised at this given the fact that New Labour was only made electable once Blair had put Clause IV through the shredder and “prostituted” his party, and later his country, to the bankers and their excesses.

Even veteran Labour MP’s including Ken Purchase have had the common sense to concede that Blair’s fundamental legacy to the country can be summed up as ”’superficial and money-obsessed” glossed over by ”cuddly speeches and heart warming smiles”. In this light it is increasingly a widely accepted view that while in office Blair frequently and flagrantly abused the powers of the Prime Minister to his or his party’s financial advantage and indeed there is some weight to this argument. There are countless examples that show clearly that Labour, particularly under Blair, lacked a moral compass and in many of these examples money was a driving force. Whether it was:

• Exempting personal donors to the Labour party from government legislation – eg F1 and the smoking ban
• Selling the honours of the land in return for donations to the Labour party – dubbed “cash for honors”
• Accepting luxury goods and hospitality for him and his family from wealthy international businessmen – businessmen who would later go on to employ him
• Presiding over an unprecidented taxing, borrowing and spending binge which has achieved paltry improvements to the public services and left the country in the worst position of almost any industrialised nation to face the global economic downturn
• Taking us to war on a lie – something which he has now all but admitted
• Making spin and sleaze an integral and invaluable part of the government machine
• Sending our troops in to two wars ill equipt and ill funded
• Allowing an unprecidented increase in immigration “swamping” communities and leading to a further erosion of British identity
• Fostering the breakdown of society, family and marriage through divisive legislation and the tax/welfare system
• Bringing parliament and politics in to total and utter disrepute by presiding over the worst scandal to grip the Commons in living memory in the form of parliamentary expenses
• Making dodgy deals to “hand over power” as if the office of Prime Minister was their “gift to give”…

Blair, Brown and Labour as a whole have sold the country down the river. I wonder how our Labour counterparts can justify the fact that while the rest of the country (and the world at large) was crashing economically, their former leader was, and still is, experiencing his own little “Blair boom”. I suppose the great irony of it all is that while the personal “Bank of Blair” gets richer with each day that passes, his and his party’s legacy at home is being exposed as more bankrupt than ever. If there is any justice left in Britain, Labour will be severely punished at the polls for their greed and deception and they will have to endure a long overdue return to the political wilderness.

10 Comments on Nick Clegg’s Speech

1) Why didn’t he brush his hair before hand? He looked like a schoolboy.

2) He went to Canary Wharf to rail against the financial sector. Isn’t that just protesting, rather than giving a speech about plans to govern to whole nation. All he needed was a placard.

3) He stood in front of a corporate logo, specifically Thompson Reuters,  a company dealing largely in the financial sector, while telling us how we needed to localise power and change the ‘old style’ of politics. Who has their manifesto launches sponsored anyway?

4) My housemate said “I’m not interested in politics, and even I can find holes in his policies”. So much for including those put off politics by the scandals.

5) It contained more things he wasn’t going to do anymore than ideas he promised to implement. Those he did mention, such as localising power over schools and police forces, appear to have come straight from the Conservatives.

6) The idea of every house, office and school producing their own energy source is frankly ridiculous.

7) He wants the economy to stop relying on the financial sector. Quite how he will replace 14% of GDP is beyond me. We can’t all work installing wind turbines.

8) He’s got rid of the policies everyone knew about, such as removing Tuition Fees, and replaced them with a vague promise to ‘reduce class sizes’.

9) He dodged the only important question, what he would do in the event of a hung parliament. This is the only way he will get close to power and he won’t talk about it.

10) It was a very short speech. Either he thinks we all have short attention spans, and so isn’t “treating us like adults” as he promised, or he doesn’t have very much to say about the economy, the war in Afghanistan, or any of the other pressing issues of the day.

James Wallis

We’ll cut the deficit, not the NHS

 

Today i was fortunate enough to be invited to the West Midlands ‘Cut the deficit, not the NHS’ poster launch with Francis Maude. All across the country various members of the Shadow Cabinet were present in target seats to unveil the poster which can be seen in over a 1000 different sites. More than half a dozen Conservative prospective parliamentary candidates for seats in Birmingham were in attendance as well as candidates from across the region and the media.

I was quite impressed with the actual poster itself and believe that the large image of Cameron, a strong and popular leader will stick in the minds of the electorate. It is difficult to imagine the government doing something similar with the Prime Minister for a number of reasons including how he is seen as weak, incompetent and a liabilty to their campaign. In fact it seems that Labour are undecided about what sort of campaign they want to run and are stuck between targetting their core vote; Gordon Brown’s comments about Eton is an example of this or rely on the swing vote and target the same group which helped them win in 1997. What using the image of Cameron symbolises is that the Conservative Leader is personally committed to protecting and investing in the NHS and it remains his top priority.

Labour were quick to react to this, with the Chancellor stating that a £34 billion hole existed in the Conservative plans. However quite rightly it was described as ‘complete junk from start to finish’ as the dosier includes apparent pledges from the Tories which have not been made. Perhaps we should remember that it is this government responsible for our huge deficit of £178 billion and this government who have crippled the finances of this country . Although the election may not have been formally announced, there is no doubt the pre election point scoring has begun.

Sustainability?!?

Food is the most important component to human life, other than oxygen and water, yet for more than eighty years, Britain has been unable to satisfy her subjects’ appetite. Instead imported food makes up much of the large deficit, and other than under rationing, this arrangement has been adequate if not desirable. However under the direction of the Labour Government, this deficit has reached a record level. The food trade gap has now reached a crippling £15.2 billion. As the Telegraph reports; “Labour has spent more than a decade undermining farming, creating a culture that seemed to regard farmers as intruders in a landscape that should be reserved for birds and tubercular badgers.”

They have attacked those who live in the countryside as ‘Toffs’ and ‘leachers’ and in a failed attempt to prove their anti- affluent credentials, Labour even went so far as to make illegal an industry that many in the country relied on; fox-hunting. Now finally, Defra (the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) have decided to get worried. They are suddenly cautioning the nation that the food situation is a recipe for disaster. They are warning that fuel shortages, international disputes, terrorism and foreign price hikes could all have a devastating impact on Britain’s ability to feed herself! We need to be worried.

But even this ‘wake-up call’ has not convinced the “Government of the People” to help the 3.6 million workers who are employed in the agri-food sector: Defra still advises the public against ‘unsustainable’ local produce and has fought against making honest labelling of food compulsory. It even lobbied against such a step during recent EU negotiations against the wishes of many in the farming industry. Since 2002, some 7,300 dairy farmers have gone out of business and since Labour came to power in 1997, cultivated land has contracted alarmingly. The Labour government have done little to hide the contempt which they feel towards the rural community. They have characterised them as elitist, bloodthirsty and lazy but they forget that it is those who live and work in Britain’s countryside who secure many of our greatest British values. It is they who support our wildlife and it is they who provide us with the food with which we survive.

Under a Conservative government, all would be defended not just those employed by Labour’s bureaucratic superstate; the chocking red-tape would be slashed and if the nation in 2010 elects the Tories to power, maybe they can reverse the devastating, Labour-led decline to our farming industry.

Daniel Cole

Best wishes for the New Year 2010

BUCF would like to wish you all a New Year filled with success, love and happiness as you make the right choices for yourself, for your family, friends and for the country!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas from all at BUCF.

A look back at the term that passed

We started the term by tripling the membership numbers at Fresher’s Fair and since the mass sign up on Fresher’s Week, new members have been getting in touch with the society regularly. We have had at least one new member signing up each week!

When I took on the role of leading the society in May I promised more local engagement and that is exactly what we have been doing this term. This term, record numbers of BUCF activists have been in the streets and on the doorsteps supporting our candidates across the city. It has been great fun, too, spending time with some of the most charismatic politicians in the region including Mike Whitby, Leader of Birmingham City Council as well as our PPCs: Nigel Dawkins in Selly Oak, Deirdre Alden in Edgbaston and Maggie Throup in Solihull.

Furthermore, I promised to ensure that BUCF were getting involved in at least one social action each month and again, that is exactly what we have done. In October, Amil led the Poppy Appeal and raised £1500 by selling poppies in various locations in the city. Daniel organised our November social action and raised more than £800 for Help For Heroes. In December, five BUCF members including Helen, Tim, Amil, Daniel and myself took part in the St Basil’s BIG Sleepout raising awareness and funds for the local charity. I’m sure none of us will forget that night!

However, BUCFs engagement has not been only with the wider community but we have also been taking part in student life through the guild and with other societies on campus. In October, I was invited to speak at the Birmingham University Debating Society and through such activity we are able to raise awareness of the true values of Conservatives and create healthy debate on campus in order to contribute to student democracy and choice.

As well as being a political society, BUCF is renowned for its relentless social events and Adam has ensured that the social side of the society has not slipped away. Throughout the term, he has organised various get-togethers and social events helping to bring members together.

Finally, in order to ensure that members are aware of BUCF happenings and upcoming events, in November we launched the BUCF Monthly Newsletter that goes out to every member as well as our local association, Edgbaston Officers. This was only possible through our mailing list, which Alex set up earlier in the term. Look out for the newsletter and keep up-to-date with your society. If you have not received this in November or this month please get in touch with Alex or myself so we can make sure you are receiving it each month next term.

This term has been a real success for us all here at BUCF. Thank you to everyone who has made this possible. Without you, the members, the society would have lost its purpose and I’d like to ensure that BUCF caters for all our members so please get in touch, get involved and make your mark!

I look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.

Best wishes,

Sahar Rezazadeh

BUCF President 09/10

BUCF Sleepout with St Basils

It wasn’t particularly dry and it certainly wasn’t warm but the December evening in Digbeth was by no means quiet. On the 4^th, members of Birmingham University Conservative Future joined faith groups, book clubs and activists in raising money for the St Basils Charity, which fights against homelessness by providing accommodation and supporting services to those living on the street. As a fundraising event, each member raises money through sponsorship by sleeping outside for a night in the local St Basils Church car park. Each participant is given a cardboard box, a plastic bag and a space in which to ‘camp’ and left to their own devices. The experience in the car park which is definitely not protected from the elements has over the years had a profound effect on all who participate, and this December was no exception. The cold, rain and general discomfort all serve to highlight the challenges that the homeless in Britain face every night, especially during the winter. All members of BUCF who attended experienced something very different to the norm, yet came out with a positive attitude; and having raised a large amount of money for St Basils, let’s hope that next year we can do it again and raise even more.

Daniel Cole

Time for action, but what action?

   With revelations today that Iran intends to increase its uranium enrichment programme at a far greater rate than ever before; one has to wonder how much longer we can rely on empty and ineffectual rhetoric from the UN.

  Last week in the southern Iranian city of Isfahan, leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad proclaimed with a rallying call that Iran “will produce 20% enriched uranium” and “anything it needs” for its nuclear programme. If uranium is enriched to levels of around 90% it results in material suitable for powering a nuclear reactor and creating a nuclear warhead, which it is clear that Iran is secretly trying to do. They already have the launch systems; the Ghadr-110 with a range of 3000km and the Shahab-3 with a 2000km range would place cities such as Mumbai, Dubai, Cairo and Jerusalem in range.

  Ahmadinejad is clearly as frustrated as many in the west over the complicated a weak UN backed deal to outsource its Uranium production to countries with existing and more open nuclear programmes. Mr Ahmadinejad decreed that the UN nuclear watchdog resolution was “illegal” He dictates that although the Iran’s intentions are ‘peaceful’, that there is not a “damn thing” that the western democracies can do to stop him.

   Yes there are sanctions; these can be seen as modern day equivalents of 1930’s style appeasement. They seem useable only when a regime is distasteful and cruel, yet far too scary to do anything real to. Iranian imports to the UK fall below £80m and exports are some of the lowest in the region, having nosedived after the 1979 revolt. There is very little affect this will have on the Iranian economy and indeed if anything, will do damage to our own.

  So what now? With experience gained from military operations and deployment in neighbouring Iraq and Afghanistan, one gets the impression that any military engagement with Iran would be near suicidal even for the advanced western governments and allies. Every day British, American and other allied troops encounter Iranian developed, manufactured, and provided weaponry and explosives in the shape of the IEDs.

  The lack of honour of the Iranian regimes military and heavy mobs was clearly visible in the so called election and resulting fallout earlier this year leaving scores dead and countless more ravaged by the barbaric and inhuman method employed in crowd dispersal and protester control.

  This is not a regime which can be easily attacked or stopped. The extremities of the Iranian foreign ministries can be seen in their pet projects, Hezbollah and the Iraqi insurgency are terrifying to the eyes of those who live in civilised and free nations.

   Furthermore, at this time there is the smallest flicker of hope. The smallest flame for democracy and reform in Iran, deep in the student uprisings; there is a small group who are not marching merely against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but instead marching for freedom and democracy. They wish for a destruction of the entire regime and the removal of the system which Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini put in place some 30 years ago. They are strong in numbers and seem to exemplify the kind of spirit that can change governments. It is unfortunate however that those who figurehead the movement seem to be in favour of only gradual reform and indeed seem likely to lead and Iran not that dissimilar from the one we see before us today.

    With these factors in mind, it is even harder to come to a decision or “action”. The optimal choice event seems to be, to do nothing and hope that there is another revolution before they can construct a workable nuclear warhead. But such hope would mean gambling everything. This is not the cold war, there is no mutually assured destruction in place and after the Obama administration withdrew funding for the strategic defence initiative (SDI) there is not even a way to stop Iranian ballistic missiles entering western airspace. If nothing has been achieved in the next 18 months then we may be looking at the greatest threat to global peace in 70 years time when Hitler invaded Poland. “The only difference being that the Nazis embarked upon a global conflict and then started developing nuclear weapons. The current Iranian regime seems to be developing the nuclear weapons first”.

Oh and happy holidays,

Adam Jenner,

BUCF Events officer

Family Values

It’s that time of year again! A time for getting together and celebrating with one’s family. I have just been on the phone to Mum so that we could order Dad’s present: Who’s Who 2010. This is my father’s favourite book and not because he’s in it – he isn’t at all narcissistic – but because he’s fascinated by people. He’s definitely passed that trait on!

Waterstone’s describes this iconic book as “the internationally respected and renowned source book of information on people of influence and interest in every area of public life”, and this makes me so proud of my Dad. To come from Newport in South Wales and end up in a book listing the most influential people in the country is surely some feat. (N.B. I don’t mean any disrespect to Newport. I just think that my dad really has achieved some great things in life, especially if you consider his humble roots.)

In all areas of my life I strive to follow in my father’s footsteps  except, of course, being a man – not really my scene (!). When I was younger I always said that I wanted to have an entry in Who’s Who instead of merely being referred to as “1 d.” in Dad’s entry – that’s “1 daughter” for those of you unfamiliar with the book. Those of you who know me fairly well will know that I want to go into the teaching profession so my dreams of being mentioned in the book are looking less likely, unless I one day become headmistress of a famous school…

But on Friday, during the Big Sleepout, our very own Tim Hasker gave me some inspiration. He may have been sleep-deprived but hopefully he meant what he said. He told me that he could envisage me in politics. Can I see it in myself? Possibly – I can never rule it out because I’m passionate about this country and care deeply about current affairs. That’s what we ask of politicians, right? I also try to be hard-working and honest in everything I do, the latter being a character trait that many politicians seem to have lost touch with.

So, will I follow in my father’s footsteps to become an influential figure in this country? As in all things, que sera sera…

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and enjoy the holidays with family and friends.

Happy Anniversary!

 

Today marks four years since David Cameron was elected as leader of the Conservative party and his last as Leader of the Opposition. His task was to succeed where his predecessors had failed and turn the Tories into a party which the electorate could consider as a serious alternative to the government. Cameron has transformed the Conservatives into a party seen as viable oppostion and for the first time since 1987 we now head into a General Election as favourites.

Since 2005 Cameron has changed the party both physically and ideologically. The traditional torch emblem was replaced with the image of the tree to represent ’strenght, endurance, renewal and growth’. From moving further to the right under William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith, Cameron has progressively aligned the party back to the centre right with emphasis being placed on traditional values such as the family and its importance. During his time as leader he has also showed a committment to ensuring that the party is now much more representative than it has been in the past and as a result we now have many more women and ethnic minority candidates being selected as prospective parliamentary candidates in marginal seats.

Cameron has reiterated his support for the NHS and the Union, reminding us that we are in fact The Conservative and UNIONIST party and we will be contesting the election in all four nations. He has not been afraid to put forward bold and radical proposals whether that be on tax reform or the welfare system. The party have shown how it is us who have the policies required for change, unlike Labour who after 12 years of underachievement and failure have simply run out of ideas. The famous maxim that Labour have done it again and it is up to the the Tories to clean up their mess has shown to be true once more and i firmly believe that Cameron can provide the strong and effective leadership Britain has been crying out for.

BUCF have never had so many members as they have now nor as many activists across the City as they do today.  Across the country there is now an air of excitement amongst people from broad backgrounds at the prospect of removing one of the most incompetent governments in history, and replacing them with the Conservatives. There is no doubt that David Cameron is responsible for this new found enthusiasm and this has been evident that within the last four years we have more councillors, more activists and receive more funding than before. We came first in the European elections in Wales, made breakthroughs in the North which no one could have imagined and have gained crushing victories over Labour in by elections in Crewe and Nantwich and Norwich North. All this has come under Cameron’s leadership and come the general election the electorate will have the opportunity to have their say and as Cameron has said  ‘we will fight- Britain will win!’.

Should a university education be a right or a privilege?

Helen Davies has again kindly contributed to the BUCF blog with a post on higher education.

This is a tricky one and I’m expecting a lot of debate on this one… Leaving aside definitions of rights and privileges, this is an overview of my opinions on this topic:

As we all know, a university education is expensive. We can take out loans and overdrafts and be awarded scholarships and grants to help cover the costs but, in my experience, we will still usually end up in debt by graduation. Expensive things are usually seen to be something of a privilege but with more employers asking for a degree as the first hoop to jump through in order to get on the career ladder is it fair for university education to be seen as such?

Of course not – university should be a way for people for people to broaden their horizons and create opportunities for themselves. Surely we can all see that if anyone wants to do a degree they should be able to. University opens up a whole new world of possibilities – career options, relationships – as it should for all of us.

Personally, I love the student life – learning in an environment such as this has been an absolute joy and I’ve made friends for life here. Do we as a society not have a duty to provide such an experience for anyone who wishes to get involved?

Today, Birmingham is playing host to a NUS Takeover in order to protest against potentially higher tuition fees. If these fees are allowed to increase then higher education will become even more elitist than it perhaps already is.

Maybe there is a more complex point – I think it is a privilege to have the right to study for a degree…

World AIDS Day 2009

View David Cameron’s World AIDS Day message here.

Good news for Mr Cameron?

Taken from the Daily Telegraph’s: “Tory surge in the north will panic Labour,” 27th November 2009:

The first detailed survey of 32 northern Labour constituencies showed that Tory support in these seats was greater than the party has recorded nationally.

This is the principle of the Tory strategy: to focus efforts on the 150 or so target seats that would decide an election in which the Conservatives had to beat all records just to secure a majority of one.

If these results were spread evenly across the country, David Cameron would fall two seats short of an overall majority. But election results are not even: winning these marginals with 42 or 43 per cent would put Mr Cameron on course for power.

The survey of seats across Lancashire, Yorkshire and Humberside showed that while the party scored 39 per cent nationally, it achieved an average of 42 per cent to Labour’s 36 per cent across those 32 marginals.

When respondents were told they lived in a battleground constituency, support for the Conservatives climbed another point to 43 per cent, with Labour down one to 35.

It is tempting to conclude that in the seats that matter, voters are even more determined to give Labour a kicking. Mr Brown might look for comfort in the fact that, in the marginals, Labour scores well above 30 per cent, whereas nationally, it has been stalled in the death-zone of the mid-twenties for months.

He will doubtless focus on evidence elsewhere in the poll that Tory policies showed little sign of winning over the electorate. However, YouGov’s evidence of a Tory surge in battleground seats will sow panic in Labour ranks. Part of the fightback pursued by Downing Street in recent days was the claim that the Conservatives were getting nowhere outside their southern heartlands.

But there are awkward questions for Mr Cameron in the detail. The poll found that voters believed Mr Brown did not understand their everyday problems, by a margin of two to one. Unfortunately for Mr Cameron, they thought broadly the same of him.

The challenge facing the Conservatives becomes apparent on questions of policy. The poll in the marginal seats found that on major issues such as crime, health, and education, barely a quarter of voters thought the Tories would improve things.

Overall, voters were hardly thrilled by the idea of a Conservative government. Asked what would be the best result for Britain at the next general election, 31 per cent of those in the marginals said a Conservative government, while others were evenly divided between a Labour government or a coalition of some sort.

The good news for Mr Cameron is that he is doing better in the North and in marginals than we gave him credit for, but he has not yet escaped from the threat of a hung parliament.

The future’s bright, the future’s blue…

Helen Davies’ second guest contribution to the BUCF blog discusses modern methods of communication as the key to persuasion.

Just has a ring to it doesn’t it? Blue is cool, calm and collected. Blue is relaxed without being foolish. Blue reminds you of summer days, the sea and looking up to the sky. A red future would spell danger and we certainly need no more of that.

But the challenge is to make everyone’s favourite colour blue. Complacency could lead to disaster so we need to prepare to fight for what we know this country needs – a shakeup! Confidence without arrogance is what we need.  We must engage the public before the Election. So many people have lost faith in politics and democracy – this is a tragedy. What is even more worrying is that many members of “Generation Y” – my peers – never have cared and don’t see how the result next year will affect them at all. British troops have for many years fought for democracy in other parts of the world and yet many Britons themselves seem to be losing sight of what have the power to vote actually means.

Televised debates? Yes please. Politicians using social networking sites? Yes please. Political podcasts? Definitely. The way forward, in my opinion, is communication. If you asked the average 18 year old who their MP is I reckon the majority would respond with a “don’t know” or, even worse, a “don’t care”. This has got to change! The young people of today are the taxpayers of tomorrow. We have to persuade them to care and to make change happen. Communication technology has leaped forward over the last 10-15 years and we need to exploit the “new media” to reach people who think politics doesn’t affect them.

I’m certainly up for the challenge of engaging and listening to the public and persuading voters to pick the right colour.

The Mummy Returns

Margaret Thatcher came home today when she was invited back to 10 Downing Street to unveil her much delayed official portrait by Richard Stone. Gordon Brown greeted the Iron Lady warmly at the door of Number 10  however a less than sympathetic commentator labelled the meeting as “handbag meets douchebag!”. Inside Number 10 Gordon Brown made a very warm speech paying tribute to Lady Thatcher and her time as Prime Minister. “You were a great leader and I want to thank you for the great service you gave to our country,” he said to the 60 assembled guests. Lady Thatcher now takes her rightful place as one of only 3 Prime Ministers of the 20th century to have individual paintings on permanent display in the state rooms, the other 2 being David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill. Margaret Thatcher truly is an icon of our time and it seems with each day that passes history becomes a little kinder to her and her formidable legacy.

BUCF is paying its own tribute to the Glory Days of Margaret Thatcher tonight with the much anticipated “BUCF goes back to the 80’s” event, full details of which can be found on our Facebook group.