UCLU Conservative Society

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

UCL Conservative Society are organising a group trip to visit Brussels, the home of the European Parliament, waffles, pralines, and much much more.

Join us on a fun-filled few days of frivolities!

We will be visiting the European Parliament on the 23rd, and will meet Conservative MEP for London, Syed Kamall, who has kindly agreed to take us around.

For more info please see: http://www.syedkamall.com/

We will be staying in the centre of town (details to follow) and therefore will have prime choice of activities!

Further itinery details will follow, but ideas include:

Sightseeing around central Brussels
Group dinners at chic Brussels eateries
Chocolate factory tour
Partying Tory Style and generally having a post-end-of-term-whale-of-a-time.

DETAILS:

Date:

Tuesday 22nd- Thursday 24th June. (End of term-Friday 11th June)

Approximate (VERY student friendly!) price:

£150 per person Eurostar travel and hotel accomodation.
(Advised to bring own spending money for lunch/dinner/going out etc).

WE WILL BE RECEIVING A SUBSTANTIAL SUBSIDY PER PERSON BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ON THE PROVISO THAT WE HAVE 20 PEOPLE COMING. EACH PERSON WILL BE REIMBURSED ROUGHLY £87 AFTER THE TRIP! (This makes the trip substantially cheaper than the ‘norm’)!

Everyone must bring their European Health card-application forms are apparently available from Post Office if you dont have one already.

Eurostar provide cheap travel insurance for those interested.
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So please confirm if you are wishing to join us ASAP! We aim to book the hotel and trains soon so we get the best prices possible by FRIDAY 19th JUNE (end of reading week) and will need your confirmation via payment in lump sum.

Exact pricings will follow very soon, so keep a beady eye on this page!

When we do this, cheques to be made to ‘UCL UNION’ please, and given to Brian, Iain or Emma, or put into the UCL Conservative society pigeon hole, CSC, 2nd Floor, UCL Union Bloomsbury building.
Watch this space or http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#!/event.php?eid=319434935803

Hey everyone,

As the title suggests, please bring your money in cash or cheques to ‘UCL Union’ along to this coming (Wednesday 3rd Feb) Port and Policy event, to collect your garment!

They are all looking very swish, I must say.

See you soon!

Emma

Vice President 09/10

UCL Conservative Society would like to officially welcome Jonathan Canty and Will Hall to the Committee. Jonathan is our new First Year Rep and Will takes on the role of Caerulean Editor, but I shall let them tell you a little more about themselves.

‘Hi, I’m Jonathan, and I’ve just been made First Year Representative for the Society in 2009/10. I’m currently studying Politics and East European Studies (BA) at UCL. A proud Scouse Tory, I herald from the northern cultural metropolis that is Liverpool, and have been active in the Conservative Party there for the last couple of years, helping the party build up its support base there.

Politically I’m perhaps best described as a One Nation social conservative with a strong belief in the free market and small government- the best actors for social reform in my view. I guess this can be summed up by the statement on the back of the party’s membership card- “By trusting people, we help individuals grow stronger; by sharing responsibility, we help society grow stronger.”

Naturally, coming from the football capital of the world, I’m a massive Everton FC fan, ensuring a rare combination in the city of being a true Blue politically and in a football sense! I share our leader’s fantastic music taste, and absolutely adore music from the punk/post-punk era of the late 70’s, early 80’s- The Jam, The Clash and The Smiths are a particular delight.’

“Hi everyone! My name is Will and I am the new Editor of our dear paper, The Caerulean. At Uni I am a First Year ESPS student currently specialising in Public Law and Italian. On Friday afternoons I work for a Shadow Cabinet member and I also sit on a fundraising committee. When I am not extolling the idea of trusting people to run their own lives I can be found sailing, rowing or (far more likely) in the Union Bar. Article submissions are very much encouraged! The paper should be a forum for you – the society members – to air your views. To that end please do get writing…”

Please let me know if you are wishing to purchase a hoody or rugby top but haven’t ordered yet. I aim to order by Friday (8th Jan), so any last requests are needed ASAP.

Please see the ‘memorabilia’ page for more info on prices and photos. The hoodies and rugby tops come in blue or white with the Conservative tree logo and the society name on the front in discreet embroidery. For the back of the garment, your name/writing is optional.

Keep an eye on the website for upcoming events, and I hope to see you all soon on Tuesdays for another exciting term!

Kind Regards,

Emma Double
Vice President 09/10

Last night, Shane Greer, the leading Conservative blogger, was the special guest speaker at our wine reception. With our meeting taking place in the stylish confines of the Engineering Building’s Executive Suite, Shane gave an insightful talk on politics, new media and campaigning.

Using his experience as a blogger and activist, he spoke authoritatively on how on-line media was influencing politics (citing examples like the Twitter backlash against Jan Moir and Carter Ruck’s attempted injunction against the Guardian). He told us how on-line media was making mainstream media more accountable, as well as allowing greater interactivity (such as with the website www.myconservatives.com facilitating grassroots movements and campaigns).

However he didn’t just indulge in digital evangelism, as he acknowledged that the mainstream media was not going to be wiped out soon by the rising popularity of on-line bloggers like Guido Fawkes. Shane then went on to speak passionately about the benefits of campaigning “on the doorstep“, explaining how the physical connection matters and makes campaigning (even by telephone) a better way to persuade and reach voters than through the Internet.

As the speech came to a close, the audience were eager to ask questions. Shane deftly handled the questions – like revealing, when asked about his political journey, that he had only got interested in politics a few years ago and offering, on the one hand, advice to fledging bloggers and on the other, a critique of Labour’s centralising approach to online media (with particular criticism reserved for Labour’s “Twitter tsar” and her declaration that “Labour doesn’t need the Sun – we’ve got Twitter!“)
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Overall it was a great event (some audience members could be spotted busy at their notebooks as Shane spoke), with a nice turnout too. Our next event is the Westminster Pub Crawl, on Tuesday November 17th (after Reading Week) at 19.30. (Details on Facebook here)

Conservative Party Chairman and MP for Brentwood and Ongar, Eric Pickles was the speaker at our event last night. He managed to keep up entertained with tales of his experiences in the party, the effects and importance of schemes like the Social Action projects and how it is important that we win the next election rather than just having Labour lose it.

After the speech there was some time left for a wide range of questions from the audience on issues ranging from the EU, When will the next General election be? To, what is your favourite biscuit? This event saw an excellent turn out for members not just from UCL but also from other London Universities too.

Last night also was the first chance to see a real life mock up of our Society Hoodie (pictured below on Vice President Emma Double)

and a close up of the logo:

After much discussion there are a few changes that people would like to be made to the final version of the hoodie. For example looking into whether the hoodie could be available in blue with white logo/writing (for those concerned about the practicality of white) and if the logo could be made slightly smaller with the green of the Tory Tree to be made lighter and bolder to closer match the party logo. This idea is still a work in progress so if you have any further views, comments and/or suggestions leave them in the comments box or talk to Emma at our next event where Shane Greer will be speaking to us on Tuesday November 3rd 7:30.

Hello All,

Just a quick note to say that UCL Conservative hoodies and rugby shirts will be available to order shortly. The design will be in white, with the Conservative Party’s green and blue ’tree’ logo on the right hand side of the hoodie, with ’UCLU’ and the society’s name surrounding it. The back of the hoodie can have blue writing emblazoned across it, if requested (ie. name/committee position for committee members, etc). I shall post an image shortly once I have received the mockup version from the company, Image Scotland, which is a reputable university clothing company that UCL societies have a longstanding relationship with.

As a rough estimate, the hoodies will be around £14 (including writing on the back), women’s rugby shirts around £19.61, and men’s £20.50. This may change slightly as the UCL logo has had to be specially commissoned, as we have not had society hoodies before. In comparison to the venerable yet slighty outdated/gender specific tie, I personally think this is a step into the future for the Conservative society, and therefore would encourage you all hastily to order one once I get the order form up and running. Hopefully this will be in a week or so’s time, so do come to me with requests at the meetings on Tuesdays.

…speaking of which (!)….

Our third event of the term is approaching fast! Eric Pickles, Conservative Party Chairman and MP for Brentwood and Ongar is coming to talk tomorrow- Tuesday 27th, 7.3opm, in the updated location of the GAVIN DE BEERS LECTURE THEATRE (Anatomy Building, accessible from Gower St). It’s set to be a great talk, so do come along and support us. And to those to whom this has particular importance, of course more drinks shall be available!

Hope to see you tomorrow!

Emma

Vice President 2009/10

Earlier in the year UCL Conservative Society asked you to vote for us in the Total Politics Top Political Blogs competition and we are pleased to announce that we can in 80th place. Yay! It may seem like quite a low ranking but we were in competition with blogs that have a much higher fan base like Iain Dale’s Diary, Conservative Home and Dizzy Thinks, given that we are a University blog I think that is is a brilliant result. The full list can be seen by clicking here.

This also means that we will be listed in the book ‘Total Politics Guide to Blogging’ and can now proudly display this badge on our site:

As Website Officer I would like to thank all those who voted for our blog in this competition. Let’s see if we can move up the ranks next year!

While we are on the subject of rankings it is worth mentioning that the Times Higher Education Top 200 World Universities list came out earlier this week with UCL placed 4th best in the world and 2nd best in the country (Full list can be seen here). Double Yay! Definetely two things to come and celebrate with us at our welcome event on Tuesday 7:30 pm in the Wilkins Garden Room!