CF News In Briefs

CF News in Briefs

Howzat?

Ben Howlett launched his website this morning:

He's also managed to pick up backing of CF stalwart and once blogger

Caroline Hunt

. Check out his site

here

.

CF News In Briefs

A Comment on Comments

TB knows that lots of campaigners are all very excited about the CF elections, but such a battle will not be won by bitching about each other in the comments of this site.

Over the weekend one IP address attempted to post 30 comments in favour of one candidate and presented  some pretty spurious and libelous allegations. You know who are. If you want to end up in the High Court, go get your own blog.

Moderation is going to be a lot tighter now and repeated offenders will be blocked. TB is all up for hosting a forum for debate, but when it descends into smearing from one camp pretending to be another, save your breath, the comments won't get though.

Here endeth the bollocking. Sorry to get all Tim Ireland on your for a moment.

CF - News in Briefs

CF - News in Briefs

As you may have guest TB doesn't quite have the time to blog here like he used to. However in loyalty to those who have been readers from the beginning he is keeping an eye on the growing Tory-bun fight that is brewing over the internal Conservative Future elections. Without time to write vast analysis he will be trying each day to do a News in Briefs about the campaign. If you have any ideas for a good quick forty word hit, then do ping him an email.

Had to start somewhere...

"Would You Like A Chicken Supper Benny H?"

And so to Mahiki last night for the first of the Conservative Future chairman hustings that was piggy-backing on the Young Britons' Foundation Summer Party. Cocktails were flowing, though compared to years passed it was a relatively sober bout.

That wasn't to stop a howler though...

Questions began with an in-depth discussion on Europe. The floor probed the candidates far deeper than David Cameron was on the issue on the election campaign. Answers ranged from "No" to "Maybe" to "sort of in and out?" Other questions on reform were all rather dull and the usual lines about communications were pushed out.

It wasn't until a cheeky grenade was lobbed in that there was the night's only shocking incident. Candidates were asked "Which politician do you most relate to and respect... in Northern Ireland?"

Given that he was speaking in a room of Thatcherite right-wingers, Ben Howlett's attempt at getting the Fenian vote look spectacularly inappropriate. He cited Gerry Adams as "a conviction politician". Some were left speechless that Howlett, who had used a photo opportunity just 48 hours previously with Lady Thatcher to promote his campaign, endorsed the man who chaired the IRA Army Council that sanctioned the assassination attempt on her at the 1984 Conservative Party Conference in Brighton that left senior Tories dead and disabled for life.

After that the rest of the hustings seemed a little subdued and low-key. TB liked Cox's "Policy not Petrol" sound-bite and Cavalier-Jones did well to hold his own outside of his northern comfort zone and bloc.

Howlett has the chance to try to redeem himself tonight as the candidates will come together again for 

another hustings

at the Barley Mow on the Horseferry Road at 7pm. The event is in aid of Help the Heroes. Once again questions in the comments if you can't make it.  

Memo to Howlett - tread carefully. 

Cox out the Blocks

Craig Cox

has launched this video this morning outlining his supporters and ideas:



"Sound ideology" is quite the dog whistle and intriguing to see a candidate pledging to go up against the government.

While Cox is a late starter, Ben Howlett is still on his nationwide tour, last seen somewhere outside of Scunthorpe "listening". Just kidding, but it looks like he did have an intriguing chat

last night

.  

Simon Cavalier Jones

is picking up endorsments of branches, but whether they will all fall into line outside of his northern heartland block remains to be seen. Cox's entry has raised the bar for the rest and they need to get their web and media stuff up to scratch quickly, especially Howlett.

There is a hustings tomorrrow. If you can't make it leave your questions in the comments below and TB will see what he can do.

Simon Says...

...please chill out.

TB wasn't sure what Simon Cavalier Jones was expecting in this race but:

"It's shocking how tribal and petty these elections have become. Elections should be fun, ideas should be banded about, people should be lobbying candidates and drinking with them. It's amazing the amount of rubbish talked about these Elections and the smearing.

CF should be fun, we after all are the Young Generation, it should be about meeting friends, politics and party's. Not spouting off arrogant nonsense and accusing people of things they have not done. Sadly this behaviour is what drives people away from us and it must stop.

Most people outside of CF see us as about as progressive as Cliff Richard! We need to show that as a Party, we are normal young people and the tone of these elections is not helping. Let's have some fun, have some laughs and reduce the amount of pomp involved. I for one promise to buy a beer for the funniest comment below (for or against me)."

Has that cold feeling of "what have I done?" dawned one of the candidates? Oh well.. will hold him to the beers.

Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Cox

So the CF bandwagon rolls on.

London Spin

is putting TB to shame with the coverage though there have been complaints about the accuracy of all the details...

Howlett is racking up the miles, and the bartabs apparently. Activists were left unimpressed when he told an hustings crowd he was going to "feed the parking meter" before attempting to drive to another campaign event elsewhere. "Forgetting" to pay his bill on the way out...

Simon Cavalier Jones has locked in the north if their reactions to visits from Howlett are concerned. His team are picking up momentum. Given the rate of bitchy emails flying about TB would say SCJ is gaining on Howlett who is still the frontrunner mainly on name association. Nothing like a bit of mudslinging to amuse TB.

But that is all set to change as it becomes clear that the rumours are true - Craig Cox, student politics supremo and NUS conversation starter, staffer to various MPs and bit of a lad, is due to throw his hat into the ring.

Cox who has reduced lefties to tears with philibustering NUS debates and adding (literally) hundreds of amendments. He could and probably should write a book on how to piss off student unions. He's not shy of a fight and whilst this is still unconfirmed, Cox's candidacy would certainly liven things up.

CCHQ  and the other candidates are going to love the rumour that the slogan is the rather harsh "Cox not Cocks."