Donald Trump and USA democracy!

 At a meeting of the Farnham Conservatives, where the guest speaker was Kevin Richardson, a former Mayor from Chicago.   I told him I supported most of what Donald Trump is doing but I often didn't like the way he express himself!   Thanks to David Moore for organising!

Rt Hon Kemi Badenock MP What a Surprise!

 What a lovely surprise to receive the following yesterday on my birthday!

 Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP

Leader of the Conservative Party

Dear John,

On behalf of the entire Conservative family, I would like to wish you a very Happy Birthday.

I also want to take this moment to thank you for continuing to support our party. Members like you play a critical role and even more so as we renew our party to take us from Opposition back into Government.

But for today John I hope you enjoy your special day.

The Way We Were! Conservative Party Conferences!

 Do you remember what Conservative Party Conferences were like?                                                                      A Trip down Memory Lane.

Reform Party Rule Changes. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly!

 REFORM PARTY ISSUES NEW RULES

Last year the Reform Party introduced a Constitution which was passed by the members of the Party in General Meeting.   The Constitution was 17 pages in length.   Since then the Party Board, on which a majority of the members are appointed by Nigel Farage issued the Rules for the election of Party Board members (just three of them, so they do not form a majority) and the Rules for Branches/Constituency Associations, (22 pages long) without going back to the members for their approval!   Thus the Dictatorship of Nigel Farage and Zia Yusuk who control the Party continues.   This is not the way a democratic political Party works!   Members have no say on policy and organisation is effectively controlled by the Leader who has a majority of his appointments on the Party Board.   Eventually the members will realise this and start to walk away from the Party.   In May 2025 the Party claimed to have over 230,000 members.  According to the Rules for the election of the Party Board this is now 227,000.

The Reform Party are repeating the error which the Conservative Party has made, (the Original Conservative Constitution was 55 pages long, today it is over 150 pages long) creating a vast bureaucratic organisation controlled by the elite.

Not all is bad in the changes which have been introduced by Reform:

Rules for the election of the Party Board

First of all congratulations, the three members of the Party Board are to be elected directly by the ordinary Party members in a nationwide ballot.   This is in stark contrast to the Conservative Party which has no members directly elected to their Party Board by ordinary Party members.

The bad news is that under the rules each candidate must

 1.1.3.  pay a £100 non-refundable application fee and,

 1.1.4. like anyone standing for election for the Party, pass the vetting process.

The vetting process at the moment is very extensive including, we are told, psychiatric testing, so much so that it is said that it will be simplified!

The question is: Who judges the results of the process and are they accountable to the members?

Branch/Constituency Rules

Here the position is mixed.   There are some very good detailed rules which the Conservative Party should look at and incorporate within its own Constitution.   However there are also some rules which strengthen the dictatorial control of the Party by the Party Board and ultimately Nigel Farage and Zia Yusuk!

Rules:

4.13 Branch Officers must sign an NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) and will complete Party-approved GDPR training prior to their confirmation and prior to gaining access to any Party systems.

The wording of the NDA is not given but generally Non Disclosure Agreements are used by very powerful people to stop not so powerful people speaking out.   For transparency the wording of an NDA should be shown so members can judge whether it is reasonable.

4.15 A National or Regional Director may at their sole discretion, replace and/or remove any interim Branch Officer for any reason they consider pertinent.

Nowhere in the Party’s Constitution does it mention National or Regional Director so presumably these have been created  and appointed by the Party Board without reference to the membership so who are they accountable to?

5.7 is a strange requirement and indicates that the Party hierarchy do not trust the members!

National/Regional Directors are not elected, they are appointed, At any time they can come in to a branch and take the position of chair to control meetings.  This is control freakery at its worst!

6.18 If branches call emergency meetings to discuss a problem the National or Regional Director can cancel these meetings at any time.   Once again we see a complete lack of democracy and distrust of ordinary members.

 

ALL SPEAKERS MUST BE APPROVED. Reform don't trust their branches organising speakers, they must be approved now by HQ.   This is extraordinary.   Once again the lack of trust by the hierarchy is highlighted by this clause!

15 Waiver

15.1    The Party Chairman, Vice Chairman, National Directors, and their duly authorised appointees, may at their absolute discretion, revoke, suspend or waive any Branch Rule at any time with or without notice.

This says it all   For the avoidance of any doubt we the Party hierarchy can do what ever we please and the ordinary Party member has no recourse.   This is called dictatorship.   It isn’t democracy!

Conservative Party Democracy Area and Region!

 

Conservative Party Democracy - Area and Region!

On Friday 1st August Stuart Andrew MP sent the following statement to every Conservative Party member: 

Building a thriving and internally democratic Party is important, to ensure that we run our own affairs robustly and transparently.

Hear hear! Does the Party Chairman agree?

 As well as your local Association or Federation we also have elected volunteers covering larger Areas and Regions, who support the work of local activists by targeting campaign support where it is most needed, putting on local conferences and other big events, sharing best practice, and helping resolve contentious matters.

 This is the time of year when the Area and Regional elections take place, and all party members are eligible to stand.

Stuart, it is all very well talking the talk but you do not walk the walk! See below

 If you are interested in standing for one of these roles, either now or in the future, why not get in touch with our senior volunteer team – just email: national.convention@conservatives.com 

 Make sure you let them know which constituency you are from. 

And what will they do about it? Promote you? Appoint you? I wonder what? I set out below the process by which Area and Regional Officers are elected:

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

At the Ward/ Branch AGM to which all Party members within the Ward/Branch are resident one or more representatives are elected to the Executive Council of their Constituency Association.

Party Constitution

6.1.3 [One or more – which number must be defined] elected representatives from each ward, The Association may list the wards in order to vary the number according to the size of the ward. if the ward is covered by a single branch, that branch may elect the representative(s) at its AGM;

 The Executive Council then elects two representatives  to its Area Council

Party Constitution:

Elections to the Area Council

48          The Executive Council of each Association or Federation shall elect the required number of members, in accordance with its Rules, to represent it on its Area Council, in addition to the Chairman of the Association or Federation (who shall be an ex-officio member of the Area Council).

Each Area Council shall comprise

28.2      Two representatives from each Constituency covered by an Association elected by the Executive Council of each Association in accordance with the Rules of the Conservative Party Associations, as contained within Schedule 7. Where the Association is subject to Schedule 7a, two representatives per constituency should be elected by the Executive Council under the same rules that pertain to the election of “Constituency Officers”.

The Area Council then elects the Area Management Executive

Party Constitution:

Area Management Executive

29          Each Area Council shall meet once a year and elect an Area Management Executive (in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 5) which shall act as a co-ordinating body between the Board and Associations with a view to enhancing the performance of Associations in each Area and co-ordinating activities and the efficient management of resources within each Area.

The Area Councils then elect the Regional Officers for the Region of which they are part of. 

Party Constitution:

38          The Regional Officers shall be elected in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 5, by those members of the Area Councils in the region in which they are situated.

So summing up as an ordinary Party member I

Attend my Branch/Ward AGM to elect the members of my Association Executive Council.

My Association Executive Council elect the representatives to the Area Council.

The Area Council elects the Area Management Executive.

The Area Council elects the Regional Officers

This process is known as pyramid democracy.   It was made illegal in the Trade Unions in the 1980s by the Conservative Government because it was too easily manipulated by those in power.

The Area Management Executive and Regional Officers should be elected and accountable to ordinary Party members at an Annual General Meeting to which all Party members in the Area/Region are resident!   That is Democracy!

Ps Stuart, Congratulations on your appointment as Shadow Health Secretary!

Conservative Party - Hope for the future!

 

Speech given to the New Forest Conservative Association 13th June 2025

Good advice from Popular Conservatism about the Conservative Party!

 In a newsletter today Popular Conservatism says:

We consulted the Conservative Party's constitutional guru, John Strafford, who pointed us to this post on his website. 

 John has spent decades of his life campaigning to make the Conservative Party more democratic and whilst we are not telling you how to complete the survey, we do urge you to take a look at John's post before you do. 

Battle For Monte Natale Could the British Army fight it today?

 Speech given to the New Forest Conservative Association on 13 June 2025 questions the capability of today's British army.

Remember Margaret Thatcher

 The following speech was given to the New Forest Conservative Association on 13 June 2025 by John Strafford.   It recalls a speech made by Margaret Thatcher at the Conservative Party Conference in 1968.

Selection of Conservative Party Parliamentary Candidates!

 The following video is an extract from a speech given to the New Forest Conservative Association on 13 June 2025:

What is in a name? Includes a trip down Memory Lane!

 The following speech was made to the New Forest Conservative Association on 13 June 2025:

What is in a name?   Includes a trip down Memory Lane!

Winter Fuel Allowance - a Conservative Answer!

 The following speech was made at the COPOV Forum on 31 May 2025

Margaret Thatcher's vision when she became Leader of the Conservative Party!

 Extracts from Margaret Thatcher's speech at the 1975 Conservative Party conference, shortly after she became the Leader of the Conservative Party.   She didn't wait four years before setting out what was needed!

Why I published Our Fight for Democracy!

 

How the book "Our Fight for Democracy" was published!

 How the book "Our Fight for Democracy" was published! Speech at the New Culture Forum Literary Festival; on 24 May 2025

Thank you to our viewers

 Thank you to all the viewers of this site.   We have now passed 600,000.   Any comments welcome!

Our Electoral Franchise is a mess!

Excellent article by Lord David Frost 9th May 2025.   The Conservative Party should adopt his solutions as policy!

Our Electoral Franchise is a mess

By

 Lord David Frost

Our electoral franchise is a mess. You might think you have to be a British citizen to vote in British elections.

Not a bit of it. Millions can do so. Aussies and Canadians. Nearly half of Africa. All Indians and Pakistanis. In fact, getting on for a third of the entire world’s population can vote here if they can get here.

Most of this is a legacy of British Empire and our sentimentality about the Commonwealth. Any citizen of a Commonwealth country can vote if they are living, working, or studying here. That’s 2.7 billion people. The reverse is very rarely true. Indians coming here to work under our new free trade deal with India get to vote straight away. Brits going to India certainly do not.

Some of it also stems from the British establishment’s chip on its collective shoulder about Ireland, and indeed the Irish establishment’s determination to hang on to some of the benefits of being part of the UK – including letting us defend Irish waters and airspace – despite being an independent country for over a hundred years.

Irish citizens not only get to vote in all British elections. Irish citizens can come here without restriction, work here, live here, and be educated here, including paying UK-level fees at universities.

Brits get similar benefits in Ireland but there are more Irish people in Britain than the way round. It’s Irish citizens who get the benefits of Brexit and those of being in the EU too: truly the best of both worlds.

Even other EU citizens get a pretty good deal. The 6 million Europeans here before the end of 2020, if they stayed, all get to vote in local elections. The Scots and Welsh have gone even further and say that any resident foreigner, whatever nationality and whenever they arrive, can vote in not just the locals but elections to the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments.

What effect does this have? Estimates suggest there were around 2 million Commonwealth citizens in the UK in 2021, most without a British passport. Since then we have had another 2.5 million people net coming to the country, many from Commonwealth Nations. Yes, some will be children or won’t register, but it is plausible to think 2-3 million Commonwealth citizens are, or could be, on the electoral roll. There are also getting on for half a million non-dual citizen Irish. And millions of Europeans could be on the register for everything but national elections. The local election register is 2.4 million bigger than the parliamentary one, which suggests many already are.

Numbers on this scale could easily start to distort electoral outcomes – especially since foreign voters will certainly be concentrated in certain areas.

We already see Labour MPs taking up the Gaza issue, and we now have some Tories arguing India’s case in the brewing conflict with Pakistan. i But how many of those whose votes they are trying to attract are British citizens at all?

Similarly, EU citizens would get the vote in a future Scottish independence referendum or Northern Irish border poll. It’s entirely plausible to think they might not just take a different view to Brits but also affect the outcome.

Add to this the persistent, if scattered, evidence of fraud in postal voting. Add the low level of evidence required to prove your identity at a polling booth. And finally, add to that the voting age issue – 16 for locals in Scotland and Wales but 18 in England. Labour want to solve this by cutting it to 16 for everything – though they may yet have a rethink if they decide it might backfire on them.

It’s all a mess. It is time it was tightened up to bring our elections into line with what most people think and want, with a very simple four point plan.

First, only British citizens should get to vote and stand in British elections – and, by the way, we should be much stricter about who we give citizenship to as well.

Second, you should have to prove your status to get on the electoral register.

Third, you should be required to identify yourself with proper ID at the polling station – and so we should restrict postal voting further too. 

Fourth, all voting rules for all elections should be set nationally. The powers of devolved “governments” to set their own franchise should be revoked.

Of course Labour won’t do this, but opposition parties should commit to it. British democracy shouldn’t be open to people who wander into the country for a couple of years.

It is for people who are born to this country or have chosen to commit themselves to it. It is not just a right but a privilege. Most people think that already. Time to make it like that in real life.

 

A Reminder for those who voted Labour at the General Election

 

LABOUR - What have they done?   They would never have been elected if voters had been told the truth.

▪Highest tax in 70 years 

▪highest electricity costs in the world

▪fake £22 billion black hole

▪ 22.3% pay rise for doctors

▪15% pay rise for train drivers 

▪attempts to join EU by stealth

▪ closed the migrant barge

▪4 more years of hotels for illegals

▪NI tax rises for businesses 

▪£3.4 BILLION on consultants

▪Two tier policing at protests & riots

▪crackdown on free speech

▪No deportations for foreign criminals

▪let prisoners out early 

▪net zero madness spending

▪carbon capture experiment

▪solar factories on green belt 

▪ flawed Non Dom policy

▪VAT on private schools backfired

▪Softer sentences, prisons are full

▪Free clothes for Labour MPs

▪Free tickets for Labour MPs

▪free Pass for Ali for Downing Street

▪Ended British steel production 

▪Stopped oil and gas licenses

▪ refused to use huge new gas field 

▪Spaffed £8.3b on British energy

▪Energy bills went up TWICE

▪Palestine marches out of control 

▪Ended free speech in universities 

▪Starmer fired his chief of staff

▪Starmer fired his energy minister

▪Gave £50 million to Syrian militants

▪stopped the Rwanda deterrent on imigration

▪largest number of illegal migrants ever

▪Didn’t change his ‘special’ pension 

▪Gave away the Chagos Islands

▪lost Rosie Duffield MP

▪revoked land wind farm ban

▪announced Pylons near houses

▪Banned Elon Musk from ‘Investment Summit’

▪ investigated by Electoral Commission 

▪ Lord Ali under investigation

▪Lied to WASPI women

▪Attempting to bring in blasphemy laws

▪highest government borrowing in 34 yrs

▪Banning parents from seeing curriculum 

▪Reviewing blasphemy laws

▪stabbings up

▪No Grooming gang enquiry 

Complete chaos in under 9 months. Imagine the state of the UK after 5 more years.

BBC Impartiality!

Net Zero 

At the Freedom Festival organised by the Margaret Thatcher Centre the question was raised about the way in which the BBC guidelines had stopped debate over the last few years by stating the they would not broadcast criticism of Government action on Net Zero because the science was settled and all the parliamentary parties were in agreement!   Now that Kemi Badenoch has raised the question of the costs of government action in pursuing Net Zero I asked if the BBC would stop pushing out their propaganda and return to a position of impartiality?

Click here to see the response

The Right Kind of Candidate!

  A great weekend at The Freedom Festival at the University of Buckingham organised by the Margaret Thatcher Centre. I raised this question with Mike Rouse of GBPAC. Click to see it