Tuesday, March 20, 2007

The question I'm asking myself.

Is summed up nicely by a commentator "Englishperson" on the Guardian's comment is free ( The article is on alleged low turnout at the Conservative Spring conference).

He or she said:

    They dont turn up for two reasons.

    Firstly, David Cameron isnt much liked by people who have conservative views.

    Secondly, membership of the conservative party, and the other parties, is pretty much a waste of time. Every conference is usually totally stage managed. Speaking usually isnt open to any member; only those with leadership or m.p approval.
    Also my own experience of spring conference, is they only let people speak for 60 seconds !
    In essence membership is a total waste of time, and these organisations have no interest whatsoever in the members.
    They are there simply to clap for the cameras, and to make democracy seem real.
    Also the calibre of leaders in this country is totally pathetic. And most people are beginning to see through the "democracy" in this country.

    Posted by englishperson on March 19, 2007 02:58 PM.
The question I'm asking myself is should I stay a member of the party ?

There have been a number of things giving me the gitters right now:
  • David Cameron failing to oppose the SORs anti-Christian nature.
  • Allowing these regulations through - without forcing a debate.
  • The failure to take a professional and sceptical view of climate change.
  • Opting for more control over people lives and taxes that will work against most people and small businesses.
  • The fact we haven't withdrawn from the EPP yet.
  • Failure to campaign effectively in Northern Ireland or Scotland.
  • The lack of an effective plan on the NHS - rather than just telling Doctors what they want to hear.
When I whisper these thoughts to other Conservatives I am shocked to hear that my position is moderate in comparison to their's. This situation is fast becoming unstable.

I'm not asking for some red meat in policy terms to be chucked my way - what I want to know is does my party still stand for the things I believe in ?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was a Conservative Party member from Ted Heath through to John Major.
I had lived through the Callaghan/Wilson years and realised that Labour had nothing to offer the workingman and Ted, Margaret and John all came from fairly ordinary working households. Margaret, especially, understood the needs and aspirations of ordinary working people.
I left the Party when John Major's government voted MP's an enormous payrise. I wrote a letter asking about it and was fobbed off.
Nowadays I am an about to retire professional and I cannot see how a wealthy ex Etonian can possibly have any ideas of my needs and aspirations.
I know Labout will cock it up; they have done over the last ten years and always do.
I despair of my vote being worth anything at all.

kinglear said...

Of course the Conservative party stands for what you believe in. Look at at from the other side, do you stand for what Bliar/Brown and Ming stand for?

Man in a Shed said...

Kinglear - it was towards the wholly left that I was thinking of heading.

But I don't see a great alternative. Plus whilst people like John Redwood and Daniel Hannan are still in the party I guess I have people I can agree with.