Last chance to get your tickets for YBF5 - this coming weekend you could not only get some of the most comprehensive media and campaign training going but also spend a weekend with David Davis and some of the biggest names of the conservative movement...
What are you waiting for?
As you will see Tory Bear has undergone an overnight makeover. TB is very grateful for the services of
"One of the many freelance things I’ve been busy on recently is a new template for Tory Bear. I had the great honour of going to the Bear’s party at conference after being commissioned and it was a great insight into the potential future that lies ahead for this blog. The bear understands branding - hence the heavy use of the blue teddy bear graphic through the blog.
The colour scheme we agreed on was, naturally, blue with white, and few shades of grey. This keeps the blog looking simple and spacious, yet the blue is the dominant colour. It’s designed for resolutions 1024×768 and higher running on Firefox 3, Internet Explorer 7 and/or Google Chrome/Safari. I’ve tried to accomodate Internet Explorer 6 users as much as I can, but ultimately you guys are going to have to
This job also required me to work with Google AdSense and ensure good placements for adverts. There’s a 768 Leaderboard at the top of the blog and a 300 x 250 Rectangle underneath the video player, which itself is a YouTube video embedded in a DIV that’s got a background image of an old TV-video combi with some minor modifications. The downside, however, is that the YouTube video has to be resized in the HTML, but this is made easy with Blogger.com’s “Page Elements” editor. My customer doesn’t have to touch the raw HTML at any point.
There are two sidebars underneath ToryBearTV and the advert. One is big enough to accomodate a standard Skyscraper banner and is better suited to things like archives and small videos as well as a few widgets. The other can contain some small adverts and is suited to links and buttons.
The main post area uses some bold text for headlines and is plenty big enough for images and videos to be included in posts. Comments pop up in a new window, so no real work has been needed there.
In all, I am pleased with the outcome thus far, but warn that the job is not yet 100% finished. When is a website ever finished?! I’m hoping to spend some time over coming weeks tweaking the sidebars and other elements, but need to see what feedback comes in first.
I hope you enjoy reading the blog and like the new design. Your comments are very welcome."
TB is well chuffed with the new design and hope you all like it...
TB is plotting a thing or two to celebrate the 5th November up in Scotland. Think big rally, angry students, NO2ID, details to follow...
However for those of you who will be in London that afternoon TB suggests you checkout the gloriously free spoken
TB has been a busy bear over the last few days so apologies for the light-blogging. Having spent the morning canvassing a rainy, wind-driven and very nationalist estate on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Tory Bear is catching up on emails and working to get some new video content up.
A couple of things have caught TB's eye over the last few days... It seems that the strictly whipped and devout Salmond Youth, aka
TB couldn't help think of the comic gold of Adrian Mole when he saw that unemployment figures were at there highest level for 17 years today.
With a mere switching of a few words Mole's tragically bad poem can last another generation:
Do you weep, Mr Brown, do you weep?
Do you wake, Mr Brown, in your sleep?
Do you weep like a sad willow?
On your Marks and Spencer's pillow?
Are your tears molten steel? Do you weep?
Do you wake with 'Two million' on your brain?
Are you sorry that they'll never work again?
When you're dressing in your blue, do you see the waiting queue?
Do you weep, Mr Brown, do you weep?
TB is hearing whispers from Westminster from very frustrated parliamentary staff who are having their evening drinkies disturbed, not by the hippy climate change bunch but by the massive and overwhelming police response.
The word about this protest was spread around the staff and media this afternoon and strange that this supposed massive potential breach of security happened at exactly the same time as the Government lost the vote about 42 days in the House of Lords.
42 days was thumped in the Lords by three to one... The police presence for less than 750 protesters is certainly clogging up the airwaves.
Golden Gordon the Global Crisis Guru wouldn't want this 42 days malarkey to come back and ruin his week walking on water so why not order the troops to create a faux siege situation and distract the news.. and more importantly tomorrows front pages....
Tory Bear just spotted a sign at the protest that says "Tree's have Rights too"
Like what - Life, Liberty at the persuit of sunlight?
Enviromental protesters complaining about something have attempted a rush on Parliament.. The plan was for them all to descend and try enter at the same time.
The footage is pretty cool...
CLIMATE RUSH
On Monday 13th October a number of environmental groups are associating themselves with the 100th anniversary of the ‘Rush on Parliament’ by the Women’s Sufferage Movement in an event entitled ‘Climate Rush’. This will involve a demonstration on Parliament Square during the afternoon and a planned ‘Rush on Parliament’ at 6.00 pm.
A number of security measures will be implemented in order to maintain access for Members of both Houses and to mitigate disruption to Parliamentary business. Some of these - such as increased police presence within and around the Parliamentary Estate, a heightened search regime and the closure of the Victoria Embankment and Derby Gate Library entrances all day on 13th October – may inconvenience Members and staff. We would be grateful for your understanding.
Jill Pay
Serjeant at Arms
TB is very excited about the launch of the new site this week and would like to introduce you to his next venture that will be on the up and up in the next few months - ToryBearTV. This video is the first in a series of conference diary type vids. This is one of the best speeches of the week and the rest of the video gives you a feel of the mood in the Hall in the run up to DC's big speech...
National Management Executive Elections results 2008:
Christian May - 413
Adele Douglas - 400
Owen Meredith - 380
Steve Ricketts - 378
Anastasia Beaumont-Bott - 358
Patrick Sullivan - 347
Matt Lewis - 339
Karen Allen - 323
Charlie Groome - 320
Craig Cox - 299
Anne-Marie Bray - 273
Lately I have started going to young conservative events again, YBF, Salisbury Club, Students for Freedom and association organised campaign days. People have started to saying to me “We wish you had been elected instead of Rock!” They go on to tell me that CF has pulled a vanishing act, a great magic trick. Apparently, there are committees, officers, working parties, sub-committees, and titles galore but nothing seems to happen. The campaign days that CF was becoming famous for (300,000 leaflets in a year) have stopped. The visiting that Mark Clarke used to do all over the country just doesn’t happen any more and the flagship new branches scheme has vaporised. The NME are all but anonymous aside from some sniping and intrigue which appears on the blogs. Area chairman are all in rebellion and the massive budget Mark’s exec battled for seems to have been revoked.
Despite all of this I say the same thing to all of them “I don’t wish I had been elected instead of Rock, not even a little.” Here’s why: Michael and I are approximately as capable as one another, in fact, if truth be told Michael has more management skill than me. It would have been just as much of a disaster if I had been elected too, the problem isn’t the chairman and it never has been. The problem is the NME, the fact is that they are useless. Patrick Sullivan, the man with my old job has done nothing. Not one thing! “Scurvy” Steve Ricketts is nowhere to be seen. Where are they? What have they done? Christian has lost interest and is working very hard on YBF very well and frankly helping the cause much more than if he was looking after CF portfolio and although she is working hard Adele is staying in the North. Rock could be the best General in the world but the problem is the troops are useless.
Michael is a dedicated, liberal tory and an excellent manager, the problem is that his exec are morons and life might just have been better if the dedicated people of Forward Together had been elected. We need people who care about the party more than their CV. Michael Rock is one, I am not sure that any of his exec are.
The credit crunch might be hitting us all, but the good folk at YBF are helping us through it. Thanks to a recent donation, YBF are able to lower to the cost of their excellent conference - YBF5 - to a mere £50 for students. To book a ticket,
So as the dust settles TB's sources reveal that there won't be a replacement co-option onto the National Management Executive as result of ABB's departure. There seems to be little point due to the fact that the NME is almost certainly now going.
As much as TB has a lot of time and respect for all of the elected officials of CF for their own different reasons, it a rare occurrence that a member quits and shows just how frosty NME relations are. TB understands that this issue was the first contact the NME had together since conference and there has been an almost freeze in communications. The resignation was specifically held from the NME until the last minute but seems TB's source stretch further and wider than elected officials. The reform fall out certainly goes deeper than anyone anticipated and future votes will now once again seemingly be a tie without the ABB swing vote. This could lead to a rather messy next meeting where these reforms need to hammered out and the executive evenly split.
TB wonders if any other elected officials are thinking ABB had the sense to get out now...
Press Release
Conservative Future
Friday 10th October 2008
Anastasia Beaumont-Bott is resigning from the National Management Executive
Anastasia Beaumont-Bott is today resigning her post on the Conservative Future NME. She immediately gives up her regional responsibilities as well as her voting rights on the Executive. She will keep her role within the CFSAN (CF Social Action Network) to assist with the important handover to the next Executive.
In a letter enclosed Anastasia sets out her reasons for stepping down.
Commenting on her resignation the National Chairman, Michael Rock, said:
"I have today accepted Anastasia's resignation from the Executive. Since her election in March, Anastasia has made an incredible contribution to the Executive and Conservative Future. In particular, her work with Social Action has helped to make a serious mark within the Party as to the influence of our organisation. I am happy though that she is going to stay with the CFSAN role until the handover next year, which will further ingratiate us within the Party and the wider conservative movement.
"Anastasia has also contributed to a significant phase of evolution for Conservative Future, which will enhance the effectiveness and reputation of our organisation. Her role within CFSAN will continue her personal commitment to CF. We have lost a very effective member of the Executive, but I entirely understand her reasons for stepping down and support her in her new endeavours.
"I want to thank Anastasia very much for all the hard work she carried out, the contribution she has made and the effectiveness of her efforts."
ENDS
For more information contact Richard Jackson (rngjackson@gmail.com)
Anastasia's resignation letter:
After giving it much thought these last couple of months, I have decided to resign from my position as a member of the Conservative Future National Management Executive. It is with great regret that I have come to this decision and I am grateful for everyone who voted for and backed me during my campaign.
I ran on a platform of change. I wanted to put an end to the lies, the bitching and the gossiping and transform Conservative Future in to a professional, responsible and united organisation which this party could be proud to call its future. Those around me warned me against becoming involved in Conservative Future – they warned me of the bad reputation it had within the party, but I stuck to my guns and insisted I wanted to help bring about change – remind us we were all on the same team, remind us what we were fighting for, and help introduce new forms of activism and campaigning through social action. Instead I have found myself at the centre of the very accusations, lies, and gossip which I campaigned to stop – some of them just plain silly, some of them more serious and upsetting to me on a very personal level, but all of which false. I have been shocked and appalled by the calculated level of gossip mongering that happens in Conservative Future and now no longer believe the change I once promised is possible.
In resigning, I want to be able to dedicate more time to my position as founder of LGBTory. We have recently been personally endorsed by David Cameron and I want to be there every step of the way, to watch the organisation grow, to watch our achievements unfold and to congratulate our members who I am so proud off and thankful for each and every day for their hard work and determination. I also wish to continue my work in social action. Social action has taught me the true meaning of politics and is probably what has kept me in Conservative Future for so long. I aim to continue my work there as a social action liaison figure and look forward to developing the many ideas which I am working on currently right across the country with local Conservatives. I don't want to wait for the day after a general election to make the changes our party advocates, and through LGBTory and Social Action, I hope to begin helping to make those changes today.
I thank Michael Rock and continue to offer him my full support as a fellow party member and as a confidante who I admire and respect greatly. I also thank those on the NME who I have grown close to as both colleagues and as friends, and thank them for their continued support and trust. Conservative Future could be an amazing organisation if we would only just let it, get over ourselves and remember we are all fighting for the same thing. The turning point came when I met a Conservative who told me he wasn't renewing his party membership because he didn't want to be a part of Conservative Future. Our behaviour is turning people away and I cannot be a part of that anymore. Please stop and think about what the public gossiping does to the image of our organisation.
I look forward to dedicating more time to LGBTory and social action and maintaining the close friendships I have made through my involvement with C.F. I am also at the beginning of my degree in Medieval Islamic History, and I dare say my resignation will be a welcome move by my tutors as I will be able to dedicate more time and effort to my studies, which by the way are going pretty good.
Lastly, I thank those who have reminded me what we are fighting for and who have made me realise what truly matters – you know who you are and your kind words will never be forgotten. Onwards and upwards to bigger better things!
Thank you,
Anastasia Beaumont-Bott
So there we have it, ABB is gone. There were rumours flying around about this all through conference. TB once again beat the CF press guru adding further proof that torybear.com is your number one place for CF gossip. This release was due to sent out tomorrow afternoon but seems TB might have quickened things up a little...
TB is going to sleep on it before he passes comment or judgement on this development in the reform saga, he will say this though...
This is certainly going to have an impact on future NME votes and will there be a replacement?
At least the ducks of Richmond pond are safe...
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