UCLU Conservative Society

In the run up to the General Election it will be all hands on deck to make sure that the public know who their local Conservative Candidate is, their policies and why they should vote for them.  Apart from leaflet dropping and door-to-door canvassing a good way to reach your voters is through video adverts on television and a strong poster campaign.

Take for example the lastest Conservative Campaigns; ‘I’ve never voted Conservative before…’ and ‘We can’t go on like this…’. For this a series of posters and videos have been created like this one telling us about Danielle and why at the next General Election she will be voting Conservative:

In the time running up to the next Election I will be blogging about serious poster and video campaigns  as well as a few that have been tampered with to make them more amusing. The serious ones to see how each party has been campaigning and the funny ones to, hopefully, make you smile during the stressful election and exam period.

Members!

Ms Cash has got in contact with the society asking for our help to obtain the Westminster North Constituency. To find out more, please see her facebook group:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=7809647666&ref=ts

Also, please could all members wishing to go on the Brussels trip this June please hand in the lump sum of £150 asap (cheques payable to ‘UCL UNION’) to Emma, Brian, or Iain, or into the Conservative Soc pigeon hole, CSC, 2nd floor Bloomsbury building. Our original deadline was Fri 19th, which was extended, so as time is moving on we need them in quickly so we can get the best deal accomodation and travel wise.

Many thanks,

Emma, Brian, Iain

If you are stuck for something to do, rest assured that there is always something Conservative for you even if, in Reading Week, we at UCL Conservatives are taking it easy.

For the campaigning-inclined, you can always go down to GENEVA at CCHQ (as they need volunteers)! Particular highlights include their usual Monday food/wine fuelled night of hitting the phones and Tuesday night, when Andrew Bingham, Conservative PPC for High Peak, will be addressing all those present. Usual details apply, 6th floor of Millbank Tower (30 Millbank), say you’re a UCL Conservative at the door to be let through!

Otherwise, you can choose to canvass for Jo Johnson, PPC for Orpington, and brother of our Mayor Boris! Further details here

On the other hand, if you want something more light-hearted, come down to Bloomsbury Bowling on Tuesday evening to find out Can Tories Bowl?!. If you aren’t equipped with Facebook, here is the essential details, as said by my fellow committee member, Brian:

“The plan is to meet at ULU Duck n Dive for 7.30 pm where we will have the opportunity to lubricate our oesophagus with a range of beverages and line our stomachs with an assortment of cusine.

Hello Chaps! I shall be booking the lanes in advance from my own pocket, therefore either attend or not attend. Put might attend if you just want to come for food/drinks. Number need to be confirmed by 12.00 Monday xxxx”

Anyway, so all that said, have a pleasant Reading week and see you all soon!

Asa

General Secretary ‘09/’10

Dear Members,

Firstly, thanks to all who came to our Port and Policy event last night, and to CUCA for coming along! I think all will agree it was a rip roaring evening of debate and frivolities.

Secondly, I am forwarding this message on to you, as our help is needed!

‘Jo Johnson, PPC for Orpington will be running a telephone canvassing session next month in Covent Garden. It will run from the week of 15th Feb until 18th Feb, 6:00pm – 9:00pm.

We are currently running low on volunteers which is why we need the help of UCL Conservatives, so I hoping you could help out?

Let’s help Jo win in Orpington.’

So if anyone has some spare time during the reading week coming up, please do contact the following email address einy.shah@yahoo.com .

For more info see
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=290371514765&ref=mf

Best,

Emma

ps. All who have received their hoodies/rugby tops, please pass the money on to Iain or I ASAP!

Rugby tops:women’s-£20, Men’s-£21, Hoodies:£14

On a clear Sunday morning, before the official start of this year’s Conservative Conference, assorted activists from across Britain came to Manchester University’s Renold Building to attend the half-day training event run jointly by Conservative Future and the Young Britons’ Foundation.

The morning started with an address from CF Chairman, Michael Rock as he set out the day’s agenda, giving examples of good presentation in front of the cameras, like Daniel Hannan’s speech against Gordon Brown and some not so successful media appearances, like Gordon Brown’s own foray into the on-line world when talking about MPs’ expenses.

Later on, after a further address on how to “frame your message“, one of the conference’s special guest speakers, the blogger Tory Bear, arrived to talk about the uses of on-line media. The talk, sprinkled throughout with anecdotes from TB’s blogging experience, was frank, entertaining and informative. When it moved to the Q&A session, some audience members became a bit competitive in the race to ask the “best question” and win official Tory Bear merchandise….

The main event of the day, after more talks on political campaigning, was the afternoon’s “TV and media training“. For this session, attendees were invited to go in front of the camera to practise answering questions for a “vox-pop” interview. Each recorded interview was replayed on a big screen, with practical advice being offered about how to improve – ranging from tips on posture, how to effectively tackle questions and even, in a few cases, dress!

The interviewer in these scenarios ranged in aggressiveness from being light and casual to adopting a more Paxmanesque ‘assault’ in order to test our ability to handle interviews without being rattled. I was cross-examined over how the Conservatives would improve the rail networks after my admission to arriving that morning on the train and on the Conservatives’ NHS policy; whereas one member of this society’s committee had to deal with an interrogation that began on the unsubstantiated rumour about Gordon Brown taking painkillers and culminated in the interviewer curtly demanding “What drugs do you take?”

The day ended with a party at Manchester’s trendy Font Bar, which had a lively atmosphere and the festivities went on into the late hours of the night…. but unfortunately I had to leave early to catch a return train to London!

UCL may have broken up for the summer but that does not mean that UCL Conservative Society takes a break too.  As the new Web Officer it is my job to keep the blog up dated with the latest Society news, which includes news about campigns and campign events.

Today I receieved the following email from Richmond Conservatives about their Canvassing Workshop tomorrow. This event is for all those who all those who are interested in the campaigning side of politics or those who feel they would benefit from hearing a few pointers about canvassing and campaigning. If you are interesting in attending this event then reply using the details below:

In the past Richmond Conservatives have hosted some great events and this promises to be another.