Parlez~me~'n~Tory

Rightly Wry, Satirically RIGHT

One of my favourite works of art…artist unknown

The state of our country

Well, that was rather incredible to be honest, watching the machinations of ALL sides during those 5 days.

After tonight’s programme my respect, albeit not a high level of respect for Lord Adonis has all but evaporated, he struck me as desperate on every level. Though having met Sir Gus O’Donnell in the past I was, as always rather impressed by his cool headed attitude.

I was in absolute awe of the candid access Nick Robinson had during the 5 days, from the screenshot of David Cameron’s laptop as he telephoned Nick Clegg whilst trying to form the coalition to the admissions of some of the ministers (not always to their benefit).

What came through from the LibDem side was to me that it is clear who doesn’t sit comfortably with the coalition but the vast majority do, at least currently they do, and there are some Labour representatives that don’t even think they did a thing wrong. It is obvious that something had to give and both parties did what was right to get the deal done, to put Britain back on the road to recovery, to stop the rot.

What else came through is that Ed Balls didn’t come across very well at all, that is not just from a Tory point of view, it makes it look very clear as though it was all the fault of Ed. Quite simply it won’t do his leadership bid any good whatsoever.

I am saddened that Gordon did not speak, was not interviewed, you could almost see the tears in Peter Mandelson’s eyes in that photo just before leaving. I do not know why he did not appear but can only assume it was his own choice.

One thing is very certain, politics in Britain has changed forever as a result of these 5 days as has access to the details that we will from now on demand of our media representatives.

Kudos to Nick Robinson for he has done something very special here and for the record Paul Waugh from the Evening Standard, this program was #worththelicencefeealone. We have all been a part of history.

I have just had a conversation around the new Cabinet via Twitter with somebody who suggests that in their own words

I am saddened by the lack of women and or ethnic minorities, more of the same

I was shocked by this claim. This is the first diverse Cabinet in 65 years in terms of spreading the base over more than 1 Political Party.

In addition to that, the Cabinet is made up of 24 posts. Of that, 2 posts (Dave and Nick) are already taken and they are already men so cannot go to any other candidate.

That leaves 22 posts, of that the LD have 4 more posts, the make up of the LD is such that not by any fault other than these candidates have won their seats there are no black or ethnic minority posts.

So, we are left with 18 posts of those 18 posts we have 4 women Cabinet Ministers and the Country’s first Muslim. Was this good enough? Who knows.

What I do know is that this is finally a break and a very welcome one from the Labour ethos whereby somebody gets a job by virtue of being a member of an ethnic minority or by virtue of being the lady in the room. This is the situation whereby a person gets a job by virtue of being the right candidate for the role and if that means it drops or raises the percentage of diversity within the Government then so be it.

….and another thing

Given that Ed Balls is now in a marginal seat can UKIP please promise not to contest the constituency in the next General Election?

Here’s a very quick thought.

Labour could yet come out of this whole fiasco smelling of roses and still save Britain!

If Labour refuse to do a pact with the Liberal Democrats at the same time as the Conservatives refuse to do a pact with them this will put Nick The Arrogant squarely back in his place having missed the only boat they will ever be offered.

Labour have already set the ball rolling to replace their leader, if they allow a Conservative minority Government and assist by voting the Queen’s speech through they can, [almost] legitimately stand for Election in 10 months time on a mandate of CHANGE and FRESH FOCUS.

I personally think if that were the case the Conservatives would still be returned with a working majority and I am ready for that challenge.

Can we count on the Labour Party doing the right thing for the country?

After 13 years in Opposition there are few who wish to see a Conservative Government more than I at this moment. It has been a long and often lonely platform from which to fight back but last Thursday, we did just that, we fought back to not just a level playing field but to a position of advancement within the number of seats.

Yes, the Conservative Party gained a majority but not a working overall majority. There are polls and arguments going on in every Party at every level as to why each Party failed to do better, this should be apparent more in the Lib Dems than any other Party but it is not, at least not just yet.

Labour claim they want AV but only because it favours them. Lib Dems claim they want PR but only because it favours them. We, are content with FPTP but it does not favour us, if we change boundaries and make each constituency the same size then that will favour us. but, we are where we are and it is sadly FPTP that got us in this position.

Now then, the Lib Dems had a crap night on Thursday there are no two ways about it but they had a great morning on Friday because it allows them to hide their dreadful performance at #ge10.

It is now the Lib Dems who hold the card, not much of one but just enough to determine who may or who may not lead the next Government. But all of a sudden Nick Clegg has become rather arrogant.

He is almost holding the British electorate to ransom, pretending to scrutinise what is on offer from both the Conservatives and Labour Parties. He talks of a deal in the coming days, he talks of needing further details yet he talks of doing what is right for the nation.

I want a Conservative Government but I don’t want the David Cameron to sell the Party down the line and I don’t believe he will. What I don’t want is some arrogant jumped up two-bit player getting off telling journalists, MP’s and the electorate that he is taking his time.

Nick, either step up to the mantel, make that statement and right now I don’t care if you go Lab/Lib or Con/Lib, I want a Conservative Government but I don’t want one so badly as to have to bow to you.

It has been a bloody long campaign. I don’t mean the last 6 weeks I mean since Gordon Brown ensured CCHQ put us on the election footing back in 2007.

We have canvassed, canvassed and then canvassed some more, delivered, delivered and then delivered until the letterboxes made our fingers bleeds. Today was always going to be one last final push and what a day it has been.

At every turn of almost every corner within Frome I have seen a Lib Dem foot soldier reminding me why we are going at this constituency so very strong and so very hard, no chance to rest, no desire to rest only a desire to see what is right for this constituency and what is (at least in my opinion) right for this country, a Conservative Government.

I reside in #somertonandfrome the 5th largest constituency in the country some 900 square miles. We are currently represented in Parliament by David Heath (Lib Dem), the problem we have is that he has in the words of many town folk done an “ok” job, not spectacular, not great but just “ok”. Trouble is though, that is all that is needed to allow an incumbent to achieve success in such a tight marginal.

Tonight, or rather at 3am when the count is announced in Yeovil we require a swing of just 0.56% to turn blue. We are only 814 votes behind, again though, we are hampered. The Labour vote in Frome is non-existent and the local candidate has all but ordered his following to vote Lib Dem, so that’s another potential 5000 votes and that would surely throw us back again.

I am very proud of my PPC Annunziata Rees-Mogg and as she can attest I am fiercely loyal but always play with a straight bat, I hate underhandedness, I hate spiteful politics, I despise playground politics (something I hope my twitter following will also attest to).

Annunziata has done a wonderful job on the campaign and in truth she’s got much better legs than David Heath. I know just how much effort this lady has put into her constituency and CCHQ should be very proud of her too and should the results go the right way this lady will make a first rate MP.

I just wish to register my gratitude to the Conservative Party both locally and nationally for a first rate, totally clean and extremely positive campaign in the face of much adversity.

If the country ends up with a hung Parliament it will be just like Suggs and Madness sang, tomorrow’s just another day. However, should the Conservatives gain a working majority then it will be very much a Nina Simone moment

Its a new dawn, its a new day, its a new life for me
yeah, its a new dawn its a new day its a new life for me ooooooooh
AND I’M FEELING GOOD

Whichever colour you have fought for in #ge10 providing you have fought fair you have my appreciation and respect.

Finally, please spare a thought for Nigel Farage and his family and that of the pilot.

This is one activist who will now be sitting with some good Shiraz, a curry and the prospect of an all-nighter in front of the news.

When I rose at 4AM today on the eve of the most important General Election not just in a generation but quite possibly the most important in modern times I was faced with an e-mail which outlines one man’s thoughts on his association with the Conservative Party and how it has been a part of his life since early childhood.

This is not a blog post contributed by some fanatical (can’t see the wood for the trees) grass rootist, this is not an anti-Government or anti-Labour rant, no, this is the genuine, honest account of a hard working, take nothing for nothing British worker who has seen good times and bad times. A contribution by a man who has never earned over £12k in any given year in his entire life, owns his own home, has never sat back and demanded that society owes him or his family anything yet who has everything he needs.

This is a contribution that I am proud to host this morning as I truly believe it shows how so many people on the streets of Britain are thinking and feeling this morning. If you enjoy this contribution (whether you feel you agree or not please consider using one of the “share this” buttons at the foot of the post, if you only use Twitter there is one specifically for that too).

Finally, this contribution is unedited in any way save for one small spelling error as I feel I at least owe that much to the contributing author, my father, Alan Wicks.

My life as a Tory

My introduction to politics came when I was fairly young, my parents (in particular my Mother) were staunch Conservatives, as a result of which, when I was about 10/11 years old I would be found outside the polling station at election time “telling” for the Tories (Although Tories was considered a bit of an insult then when it was really known then as the Conservative and Unionist Party).

I would be “telling” from the opening of the polls, which in those days was much earlier, before heading off to school. After school on Polling Day I would go with my Parents to the Party Committee Rooms at the bottom of our road to help record those voters we knew had voted and chase up those who had still to vote.

These were days when everyone knew very few people who owned a motor vehicle, but those supporters and activists who did own a car would volunteer to drive the elderly and infirm to the polling stations to cast their vote. Although young, I can still remember attending the “Count” at Hornsey Town Hall and cheering the result when our candidate won.

The first Election I can really remember was when Sir David Gammon was up against the Labour Candidate R.A.Pestell, in 1952 when Sir David won with a vote of 36,417 vs 25,643, Out of an electorate of 75,131 there was an 82.6% turnout (unlike the apathy of today) giving Sir David a majority of 17.36% (OK, I do not remember the figures which I have obtained today from the internet, but I do remember him winning).

I can recall him coming into the committee rooms whilst I was there and coming over to speak with me, being the youngest person there.

When Sir David died he was succeeded in his post by his wife Lady Muriel Gammon.

I always voted Conservative for the rest of my life when I voted in a General Election or ByElection, but not always did I manage to get to the polling stations. When Margaret Thatcher became PM I was obviously very happy and expected good things for the future, and in general I was not dissapointed, I agreed with most of her policies but must admit to being disappointed that she was not able to implement all of them.

I still feel that the Principles behind the “Poll tax” was a lot fairer than either the previous “Rates” or current “Council Tax”, something I know will probably upset a lot of people, even fellow Tories, but there again, I am talking about “principles” behind the concept which was not necessarily recognized by everyone.

By the time Tony Blair and New Labour won the right to govern I must admit to being secretely a little relieved because there had been so much infighting within the Tory Party and so much reported sleaze that I felt it was good that they would have a short period to regroup, fully expecting Labour to fail within a couple of years, therefore giving us a chance to regain power.

Blair’s claim of an open government, no sleaze etc sounded good, but it soon become obvious that sleaze is only something that is practiced by the ruling party, at least, it is normally only the ruling party that gets the stick for it, if it is the Opposition party it tends to be overlooked, unless there is a pending election.

Anyway, I was getting more and more frustrated with the way Labour was completely changing our lives, controlling everything we do and making more and more things illegal, without even properly consulting with us that I was absolutely overjoyed when I discovered that my youngest son had applied to CCHQ to become a PPC.

I had never to my knowledge pressurised him in any direction regarding Politics or Religion, I believed my kids should follow their heart and I would support them in their beliefs, even if it differed with my own, it at least meant they were making sensible judgements of their own and not being pressurised into their opinions.

We had never, as far as I can remember had any serious political discussions so I was extremely supportive of his ambitions.

I was disapointed when he was turned down due to the volume of applicants on this occasion, and slightly relieved at the same time when I realised what it could cost him financialy at this particular time in his life, but I know he is determined and he is planning on following his heart and applying again in the future and he will have my 100% support.

I said earlier that I had always voted Tory in major elections, though I must admit on a couple of local elections I have voted Independent rather than follow the party line if I knew the Independent candidate and believed they would be the best person for the job irrespective of my Conservative beliefs.

I have also worked with the Liberals (pre LibDem days) in a local dispute, something I started and they tried to jump in, I was happy for their support, but they certainly did not ask for or gain any voting support from me.

I firmly believe that this country is now in a terrible state and that we desperately need a change for the future and that the Tories are the only Party that can give us this.

OK, I know there is going to be a long period of real Pain in order to recover our position in the world, but there is at last a chance of a light at the end of the tunnel, when Britain can once again be great, we can be proud of our once great nation and we can prosper, our kids will once again be properly educated, our businesses will prosper, bringing employment opportunities to nearly everyone and our streets will be safe to walk once more.

And finally, when we hear someone say “Trust me, I am a politician” we can believe and trust in them.