Why a Conservative?

It is a question that a lot of people have asked me over the last fortnight. “You seem too young to be a Tory” and “you don’t talk or sound like a Tory” are two of the comments I am getting used to hearing as I go from door to door.

I would describe myself as a zealous supporter of public services, fanatical about the environment and sustainability, and passionate about helping society’s most vulnerable people.

Yes, I was fortunate enough to go to one of the best universities. But contrary to the suspicions of a resident on Sherbourne Drive, I had to work very hard to get there! I went to the Astor of Hever School, and stayed there even after I had the option of going to a Grammar school for sixth form.

In my time at Cambridge, I spent a considerable amount of time working with campaigns and schemes to help people from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds put together Oxbridge applications. I was fascinated by the subjects of building successful communities and tacking social exclusion, two issues I continue to hold very close to my heart.

Over the last three years, I have become a keen advocate of Rural Revival – including managing a research project to look at how young people can play more of a role in this goal – although I am not keen on hunting with hounds.

I support the reform of prisons to tackle the criminogenic needs of offenders, and favour treatment and prevention measures over punishment “for the sake of punishment”. Very “unconservative” views, you may say.

In actual fact, people are surprised to hear that I am not a lone voice in the Conservative Party. More and more people with similar views to my own have seen the opportunity, brought by David Cameron, to shape the party into something that reflects the desires of modern society.

With regards to young people, I genuinely now believe the Conservatives are now the only party taking young people as seriously as they (we!) should be. I was very excited to hear that our local leader, Cllr Eric Hotson, has appointed Cllr Ben Sherreard, 23, to be a dedicated spokesperson for Youth Affairs, and look forward to working with him over the next few months. It’s about time young people in Maidstone got the voice they deserve, and I wish Ben well with his new duty.

The Conservative group are a friendly, diverse bunch of people who I am delighted to now be a part of and contribute to.

Negative politics?

As my first fortnight as Fant’s Conservative spokesperson draws to a close, I have had a chance to reflect on my first round of leaflets.

Deciding how to introduce myself to Fant residents was very difficult. I wanted to become a spokesperson for the area after a considering what I could do to address a culmination of important issues resulting from the under-representation of young people and social minorities across our area. Yet, rather than highlighting these issues in my first leaflet, I decided to attack two misleading articles published by the Lib Dems in their Autumn Focus leaflet.

In the first article, concerning the number 8 bus route, my criticism of their methods was perfectly fair. The Lib Dems claimed that they were privy to knowledge of bus times, and then used a misleading sentence to suggest the service may still face closure. They knew the service did not face closure – they were aware of changes to the timetable – but chose to perpetuate rather than quash rumours of risk to the service. My leaflet was designed to be a reassurance to residents who rely on the service, not least the couple from Upper Fant Road who passed the leaflet on to me in October, whilst making a subtle dig at shoddy journalism from the Lib Dems.

In the second article, concerning imminent development of the Orchards along Gatland Lane, I have come to realise that my leaflets should have been worded better. The Lib Dem Focus leaflet called for protection of the Orchards and valley from future housing development. I support this, and tried to make it clear in my short article by referring to the measures as “sensible.”

My issue with their article arose after speaking to a resident from Cowdrey Close, who suggested that a planning permission request was being put to develop the valley. I checked with the planning department, and found no evidence to support this accusation. The resident claimed the Focus leaflet, and a mail-shot put around the close by a Lib Dem some weeks earlier, as the source for their information.

Having researched the matter further, I have found that the second leaflet was not put around by the Lib Dems – but by another resident of the Close. This leaflet did not suggest an imminent development, but referred to the risk of housing over the next 20 years. The Focus leaflet does allude to development, and could (should?) have been worded better to try and make this timescale clearer. By the way I covered this story; however, I don’t feel I put the record straight. The Focus article referring to Gatland Orchards was misleading, but I believe this was an honest mistake, unintentional, and something I have inadvertently repeated in my own coverage.

To put the record straight, Nick Schnell (a local Lib Dem councillor) has already been approached by a resident from Cowdrey Close at one of his surgeries, and has begun looking into the issue of protecting the Valley. My hat is off to Nick for the hard work he has put in to the matter, and for raising the issue within, and outside of, his party. I can assure him of my support and dedication to this cause, and hope he will accept my apology for my attack on the unintentional confusion caused by the Focus article. We all make mistakes, and I have made one myself in choosing to be so harsh.

As politicians, we MUST communicate with the people who we are trying to represent. But, we – in all parties – should be very careful with the way we word articles in future. As someone new to politics, I have certainly found the last fortnight a steep learning curve. But I relish the opportunity to move on and start SETTING the political agenda in Fant with my next round of leaflets.

Many thanks for reading!