Why UKIP Fruitcakes are Baking a Recipe for Success

One of David Cameron’s biggest mistakes during his honeymoon period as leader of the Conservative Party was to casually dismiss the UK Independence Party as “fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists,” back in 2006. I’d like to think that this was a blunder from a leader who lacked experience, but fast forward a few years to 2012 and his handpicked party Chairman Sayeeda Warsi was trying to link them to the British National Party. These grubby attacks are not only offensive and untrue, they drive activists away from the Conservative Party and into the hands of our opponents.

During routine canvassing sessions, I’ve lost count of the number of traditional Conservative voters I’ve met over the last few months who are now looking to vote UKIP. The Cameron-Warsi solution to this problem was to smear and dismiss these defections – they are wrong, we are right and that’s that. This bizarre situation seems to only inflame the problem rather than remedy it. As Simon Richards from the Freedom Association pointed out, “It’s like the bosses of Tesco trying to regain lost market share by hurling abuse and insults at people choosing to shop elsewhere.”

At Conservative Party conference this year, my colleagues at the Parliament Street think tank decided to meet this challenge head on by organising a debate on whether UKIP is a threat to the Conservative Party, inviting a high profile defector to make the case. The panel consisted of three Conservatives against one UKIP representative in Alexandra Swann debating in front of a Conservative audience. The party formally banned her from attending at the last minute, leaving every member of the panel disgusted, all of whom said she should have been allowed to come and speak.

Another reason for UKIP’s fast rise in the polls is the clarity of its messaging. Whilst David Cameron waffles on endlessly about complex issues such as the Big Society, gay marriage, House of Lords reform and elected Police Commissioners, UKIP is talking about Europe, immigration and accountability. With this slick and easy to understand messaging, Nigel Farage is delivering a message that unfortunately resonates with a fair portion of Conservative voters.

If the Conservatives seriously want to achieve a majority at the next election, then we need to recognise and take action on this issues that are driving our supporters to other parties. We cannot afford to casually dismiss defections with slurs and smears, it’s up to us to make a case for why they should support us and get the Conservative Party back on track.

How Hope Turned to Nope

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Barack Obama was supposed to change America and change the world, by now America should have been on the slow road to recovery, Guantanamo Bay was supposed to have been closed and public debt reduced and employment bouncing back. But the ludicrous myths and legends pushed by Democrats and the President himself, coupled with a strategy to re-build the economy on borrowing, borrowing and more borrowing has left America looking economically weak and in desperate need of an intervention.

Perhaps even more relevant for us Brits is the sheer disrespect Obama has shown our country. Whether it was referencing the non-existent company British Petroleum, returning the Churchill Bust or handing our previous Prime Minister DVDs of American films, that wouldn’t play on UK machines, Mr Obama has treated us with an eye-watering level of contempt, a shocking record given the sacrifices we have made for our cousins in times gone by.

Obama treated Britain badly because he neither cares nor values our history or what in turn we think of him. Four years ago he rode into the Whitehouse on a banner of hope and change, an almost certain victory even before the votes had been counted. This landslide took him to new levels of arrogance and complacency, so noticeable during the first Presidential debate, for which he had clearly not bothered to prepare.

If he wins, Obama will be serving a second term facing the harsh reality that he isn’t quite as popular as he once was. Maybe then he’ll look around him and realise that loyalty counts, and that he should celebrate and not insult the Special Relationship or the American people anymore.

Parliament Street Moves in the Right Direction

After the official launch party earlier in the year and a variety of mini-events on foreign policy, this year’s Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham provided the perfect platform for fast growing right-wing think tank Parliament Street to make its mark. Thousands of pounds of upfront investment, alongside thousands of working hours on research, development and press relations meant that the group fired up delegates with a whole host of exciting debates, discussions and networking drinks.

Our first event was a breakfast debate on the often avoided, but necessary question, is UKIP a threat to the Conservative Party? Our headline speaker was Alexandra Swann, who was subsequently banned from attending just hours before the debate, leading to press coverage in The Spectator and The Guardian. Nevertheless, despite this unfortunate intervention, our three Conservative speakers made clear and valid points around the dangers posed by UKIP and next steps the party needs to take to tackle them.

Our evening event included a drinks reception with leading candidate Shaun Bailey, who expressed his support for Parliament Street, its work and its members. Amusingly, the drinks event attracted well-over the 80 people expected to attend, leading to one of the committee members being blocked out for 10 minutes by health and safety officers due to overcrowding.

Parliament Street will debate the issues that matter to the centre-right, but more importantly it will unite the centre right. The committee already has a wealth of events and fresh research in the pipeline, get involved, work with us and make a difference.

Follow Parliament Street on Twitter

 

Birmingham is David Cameron’s Last Chance

There’s an autumn chill in the air, my bags are packed, I have our security passes on the coffee table so I don’t forget them, and once again it’s time for Conservative Party conference, taking place in Birmingham.

I know the city well, I grew up on the outskirts, so that meant living in a road and going to a school where someone, somewhere nearby earned a living directly or indirectly from the Rover car group when I was growing up. This was before BMW pulled out, triggering a wave of redundancies, followed by the asset strippers who sucked the business dry, leaving it for dead in 2005. Happy memories of summer jobs during my University years in the many factories and industrial estates scattered around the city will remain with me forever, I met and worked with some great people.

In recent months though, friends in Birmingham tell me things are really beginning to get tough. An electrician I know, who was studying for his apprentice course tests during our A-level years told me he has been laid off and doesn’t know whether this will be or three weeks or for longer. He has a wife, he has rent to pay.

It’s when you hear genuinely upsetting stories like this that you realise how sickeningly out of touch the Government currently is. I still recall shaking with anger a few months back when I turned on the radio earlier in the year, only to hear the airwaves flooded with issues such as Lords Reform and elected Police commissioners, all issues particularly relevant to David Cameron and his posh pals, but bafflingly irrelevant to the rest of us.

Lords Reform is a wonderful middle class debate, it’s something I would have spent a lot of time on during my years at Exeter University debating society – but I’m in the real world now, and so is the electorate. In all my years of campaigning, I have never once – EVER – heard anyone ask about this issue on the doorstep.

There was a time when the Conservative Party stood for aspiration, hard work and helping those who play by the rules to get on in life. But in recent years we have descended into a party obsessed with trivial issues, so irrelevant to hardworking people it makes me want to throw up.

I’ve always campaigned hard for the party, in the rain, wind and the snow. I’ve knocked doors with the flu, once with Tonsillitis and many times with horrific bouts of hay fever.  I have done so, because I believe Conservative policies can help improve people’s lives. Carry on talking about irrelevant issues like Lords Reform and campaigning for the Conservative Party won’t be worth getting out of bed for.

UKIP Target the Youth Vote

This afternoon UKIP secured the formal defection of Skegness Conservative Councillor Robin Hunter-Clarke.  The announcement is the latest in a long line of young faces joining the increasingly confident movement that is improving its appeal with youngsters across the UK.

 

Much credit for this strategy has to go for rather likeable leader Nigel Farage, who oozes energy in an irresistible cocktail of charm and intelligence. Once upon a time, the Conservatives were able to easily typecast UKIP as anti-European fruitcakes, obsessed with a single issue, with nothing further to bring to the table. 

However, this rather astute brand expansion exercise will make it increasingly difficult for the Conservatives to pin the tail on the donkey. Rewind back a few years and UKIP were not a serious threat, fast forward to the next election and they could well be.

Will Samsung’s ad make the Apple rot?

Revenge is a dish served best cold, and Samsung clearly likes it ice old. Apple, world renowned for its cult following of loyal fans lining the streets for the latest product launch is finally coming under heavy attack over its latest product, the iPhone 5. The attack ad follows Apple’s landmark patent lawsuit victory against Samsung in the US, cementing Apple as one of the most aggressive intellectual property litigators of all time.

One of the most effective ways to attack an opponent is to turn their strengths into weaknesses, and Samsung’s advert does just that. 

By turning the huge lines of eager Apple lovers into geeky and confused followers, blindly loyal to the brand whilst missing out on superior technology, Samsung will begin to chip away at the image of one of Apple’s most visual media assets, its army of fans.

When all else fails roll out the secret tapes

So the election warfare between Obama and Romney is reaching boiling point. Firstly, a leaked fundraising tape reveals that Romney believes half the electorate depend on the state. Then just 24 hours later, another secret tape emerges revealing that Obama wants wealth distribution. 

These mini ‘scandals’ are of course fuelled by social media, with the secretly snapped footage going viral within a mere matter of hours. Nobody expects a clean election in the US, where negative attack ads targeting character on honesty dominate the political agenda. 

But Obama and Romney should stick to debating hard policy instead of getting caught up in covertly recorded blunders that are big news today, but easily forgotten tomorrow.