The Rock Blog

Throughout my travels around the country I have met many great CF members - working hard every day for our organisation. This is especially true with the Chairmen running branches and Areas. I am very proud to have many of them supporting my bid to become Conservative Future National Chairman (more to come):

Sam Billett - Cities of London & Westminster
Paul Hughes - Dorset
Amanda O’Brien - Deputy Chairman Essex
Mohammed Ali Azeem - City Future Steering Committee
Chris Birks - North East Derbyshire
Serene John-Richards - Tooting
Nathan Cavin - Bristol
Victoria Chamberlain - Deputy Chair and Treasurer for Islington CF
David James Sadler - Saffron Walden
Tim Crockford - Birmingham City

Starbuck Coleman - University College London
Harry Rowe - Loughborough
David Bonner - Lancaster
Marc Stokings - Kent
Rob Goldie - Imperial College London
Amanda O’Brien - Deputy Chairman Essex
Colin Moore - King’s College London
James Deighton - Leicester
Paul Church - London School of Economics
David Bonner - Lancaster
Paul Wells - UEA
Steven Bainbridge - Newcastle
Eleanor Downey - Bristol

Matt Lewis - Staffordshire
Oliver Cooper - London North West
Edward Keene - Nottinghamshire
Hamish Stewart -Deputy Chairman, Nottinghamshire
Laura-Rose Saunders - Deputy Chairman, Bristol & Gloucestershire

Christopher ‘Japers’ Mullan - President-Elect of KCL Student Union
Tobias Lehman - CF Scotland, National Chairman

I am posting my main video again to show CF members why they should vote Rock4CF!

As the best placed and most experienced business candidate in the CF elections, I will personally adopt the ‘Working Life’ brand as my project. Much of the disillusionment with CF comes from young professionals: CF plays no role in the lives of those who work hard and play hard.

We need to address this by seeking the external knowledge of the business professionals already involved with their immediate circle within CF, people such a Mohammed Ali Azeem who runs City Circle. I have a wealth of experience in business and look forward to promoting these events, where like-minded business people can network and interact.

Working Life needs to have a timetable of regular ‘official’ events (as well as the City branch events). My plans:

• 4 Working Life socials a year in the 6 areas
• 4 Working Life Policy Discussion breakfasts in London
• Trial Working Life Policy Discussion breakfasts in Manchester & Birmingham. If successful we will hold regular breakfasts in the 6 Areas
• Run by Area Chairman with NME member making sure they happen
• Specific ‘Working Life’ events at my CF Conference
• Continue working with ‘City branch’ groups for advice and support

Our current Branch Chairmen constitute an incredible resource that we should utilise far more effectively. We need to leverage the knowledge within CF to further advance and improve our organisation.

Established, experienced branch Chairman and Area Chairman will be paired with new branches. They will act as a contact for help, advice and general support. New branch Chairman will be encouraged to communicate with their ‘CF Consultant’ for advice, localising the support network and avoiding the ‘orders from London’ syndrome.

An example I can use is someone on my campaign team: Richard Jackson who ran the UCL Conservative branch last year is helping the Tooting CF branch - experienced members passing on knowledge thus stopping it from being lost when they leave the organisation. A simple and easy way to improve CF! 

Ballot papers should be arriving through your letterbox today - if you don’t get one call the ERS on 020 8889 9203.

I want to restore the Conservatism in Conservative Future. I will do so through core conservative principles: taking a professional, business-like approach to running our organisation, decentralising power and promoting a broader coalition of conservative-minded people.

My main proposals focus on invigorating and expanding CF, by building up support and influence from the base upwards. I will break the stranglehold of the NME: too much power rests in too few hands. Ordinary CF members, like you and I - outsiders who do the real work, on the ground - should decide how CF is run EVERY day, not just once a year.

I have recorded a short video message to share my views & plans for CF.

I have travelled all over the country, speaking to and meeting members, discussing their concerns, plans and ideas. This dialogue will continue for the rest of the campaign and beyond: you can email at michael@rock4cf.com, phone me on 07903 016809 or leave comments on this website.

The most valuable resource we have in CF is the members and I am determined that CF changes to reflect that. You can view my Business Plan here or view specific policy areas on: CF Conference, CF membership plans, Regionalisation, National Days, CF website, CF Protests, Social action & Democracy in Action tours.

Don’t settle for the same old Conservative Future, let’s return CF to its members, influence and power to a local level and make us the organisation that leads the Conservatives back into power - vote Rock4CF!

As a political organisation it seems only right that we should help to educate our members about the forms of Government in the UK.

It would also give us the opportunity to engage a wider audience: there is no need to exclude non-CF members, it may even be a way to better engage a broader range of potential members.

The NME will therefore organise, with our Conservative elected politicians and staff, for tours of:

• Houses of Parliament
• Welsh Assembly
• Scottish Parliament
• Conservative Party Campaign Headquarters
• Other regional Party headquarters

These events will be separate to National Days and will be advertised on the CF website. It would only seem sensible to tie up these events with training or significant events that members may wish to attend.

I believe we should far better utilise and engage outside organisations with CF and these days, once planned properly and in advance, will provide us with the opportunity to offer a more diverse range of events.

I have recorded a short video to share my views, and main plans, for Conservative Future.

We need to be much savvier in promoting the Conservative cause: just pushing leaflets through doors is not enough to convince many people. We need to deliver a public, social conscience. Elections are won on a local basis: by showing that the Conservatives are involved in local issues means we can genuinely show our best, most progressive side. Conservatism promotes influence at a local level; social action shows how it can be done.

As an organisation we have made good ground this year for social action; examples include the social action project at Party Conference, leg-waxing in Keele, Poppy selling in London, and the ‘Surpise Supplies’ initiative that I am doing with UCL CF (above picture).

On the ‘National Days’ we will also get CF members involved with social action projects:

• The Area Chairman will work to find local projects for the local members to get involved with on the National Day.
• This also allows the CF branches to build links with the project enabling them to possibly help or more than one occasion.
• Having the power and choice back with the Area Chairman allows us to make a difference with these projects, and not just a one-off photo op.

CF is not just for delivering leaflets; CF should be about spreading the positive message and image of Conservatism. We should see every project we become involved with as another advert for the positives in politics.

If Conservative Future is to grow into a mainstream political force, we need to develop from our standing as the dominant youth organisation and start delivering the message of Conservatism on a much bigger scale, to a much larger audience. We are not going to convert the apathetic solely by pushing ‘In Touch’ through letterboxes. This approach is not even engaging the majority of CF members.

One question frequently asked by people is just how much influence does Conservative Future have? The answer is, really, not a great deal, but it ought to. One field into which Conservative Future needs to develop if it is to increase its influence is protesting. We ought to be truly on the frontlines of twenty-first century politics.

A typical example of such an opportunity is the referendum on the EU Constitution we were promised by Labour. We, the people, have been cheated out of this. We were partly to blame. Conservative Future did nothing to put pressure upon Labour to deliver on their pledge. Our leadership at national level failed to seize, or even recognize, the opportunity.

Second chances in politics are somewhat rare, and yet we have been given one – and we’re still failing to seize it. Referenda are being held all over the country as an act of protest. Conservative Future is ideally placed to get involved with these, by promoting them, and make the Conservative case for a ‘No’ vote. It is after all in our Party’s manifesto! Instead, though, we’re doing nothing. Again.

Conservative Future ought to place protesting and law-abiding demonstration at the heart of its remit, along with campaigning for our candidates, and social action projects in our local communities. All three approaches have their strengths and weaknesses, but their combined effect will be to dominate through education the political discourse and ensure that our voice is perceived as the voice of reason.

The combined offer of free hosting and a functioning template, from MiLon Hosting and the Rock4CF team, has been taken up by many branches across the country. I have demonstrated how to deliver a functioning information led website, through my competence, business experience and knowledge. Websites are promotional tools, but they should also be a reference point for those inside and outside the organisation.

I will take as much influence over the creation of the improved CF website as humanly possible. We need it to be a focal point and I will deliver a much improved version. The main features of the website will be:

• The CF website will primarily be an information source - with up-to-date events (through integrated RSS feeds), news and contact information for branches and people
• The NME and Area Chairman will have to post regularly on the website - ‘post counters’ and other measures to ensure accountability
• Comments facility for members to question the NME and Area Chairman
• A facility, on the website, for members to join Conservative Future
• Online forum for members to share ideas, information and advice
• Guest blogging from CF members (similar to CF Copywriters) to provide knowledge for other members, and to reward the work done by the membership

The website needs to member-oriented, with posts by and for the membership. Most importantly, the website needs to used! Creating a website is never just about the code , its about the users. I’ve already shown how easy it is to get things moving on the web front: I have no doubt the CF website will be one of my personal projects!

We need to make a ‘National Day’ truly national; mini-bussing 20 activists to the opposite end of the country denigrates the impact and effort that CF members put into their constituencies all over the country.

My plans will create a ‘buzz’ for the entire nation, not merely a select few. These plans include:

• On a CF National Day six events will occur in the six areas of the country
• The six events on any ‘National Day’ will be different; some will be campaigning sessions, some social action projects or protests.
• The Area Chairs co-ordinate amongst their region to maximise turnout
• Every CF member can be involved, for less time and cost

This proposal also means will can cover 36 marginal seats a year on the National Days - 24 more than at present! Also, it was devised to increase the chance of repeat campaigning: people will develop an affinity and a relationship with their region and candidate. We should remember all the work our members do, outside of the limelight: the biggest impact we make is at local level.

That simple fact is how we can build momentum behind CF; by building local strength and then combining forces to a deliver a truly national impact.

Today is the day - ballot papers will be going out across the country for 10,000 CF members to vote who they want to be Conservative Future National Chairman. Let’s make this the year when CF members vote for themselves: vote Rock4CF to give CF back to the membership! 

Why vote for Michael Rock? 

I want to restore the Conservatism in Conservative Future.  I will do so through core conservative principles, taking a professional business-like approach to making our organisation bigger, better & bolder!

My main proposal is to invigorate and expand CF, by building up support and influence from the base upwards. This process involves giving more influence and power to the Area Chairs and encouraging a culture of open dialogue and idea-sharing.

My Business Plan for CF covers six areas, which I have gone over in detail on this blog:

• Strong & supported CF branches
• Increasing financial resources for Conservative Future
• The CF website & general communication
• Accountable NME & Area Chairman
• Distguishing CF members
• Conservative Future events & campaigning

Don’t settle from the same old CF, let’s return the bottom-up system to CF and make us the organisation that leads the Conservatives back into power - vote Rock4CF!

What if you do not get a ballot paper?

From the CF website: “If the member can verify their details then they will get a ballot paper. In this regard, ERS will establish a CF election helpdesk – please call 020 8889 9203. This number will be open from 11th February and can be used by Members, who for whatever reason do not get a ballot paper.”

Those of you have been able to make it to the hustings will have heard me use this word a lot - regionalisation- and this concept is the backbone of my plans for Conservative Future.

I don’t believe the current system of NME control best serves the members of CF. We need to return power and influence to the people who ‘actually’ run CF - the active members around the country. My proposals encourage a cultural shift towards a Conservative Future that shares information and knowledge internally and communicates better with all of our members.

I want to change the structure of CF by adopting a base-upwards approach; branch Chairman and Area Chairman playing the key roles with the NME acting to support and advise. My business plan is focused on this and I have specific policies that would restore the Conservatism to Conservative Future:

• I propose to devolve influence across the country into 6 regions, each with around 7 Area Chairman, with an NME member assigned an area each. The role of each NME member will be to advise and support the Area Chairman and provide feedback back for communication across CF. This places the running of CF on local branches and not the NME
• Area Chairman will run regional meetings with feedback, comments and ideas to be shared nationally
• 6 regional events on the National Days across the whole of the UK - a truly national day!
• Increase CF’s number of seats on the National Convention to 50 – allowing all Area Chairman and NME members to attend
• Local branches to have the power to set their membership rates
• Local members, helped by the NME, to gain local sponsorship for events
• Free websites for all branches (e.g. rock.cfbranch.com) - giving local branches an online presence

Many of these measures are simple to implement and will encourage greater participation and engagement with all of our members.

I really enjoy Party Conference - the mix of politics, debate and socials makes it a must for all active members. Last year’s conference in Blackpool was absolutely buzzing. We should have something especially for CF members.

I realise that we do not yet have the standing or active support to restore a National Weekend - I want to ensure the sustainability of CF and feel we must use our present resources wisely: notably the Party Conference.

The rooms have already been booked, the politicians will already be attending & all the support already exists - we should use this!

If elected I plan to create a CF conference to be held once a year at the main Party Conference. The CF conferences will include:

• Activist training sessions
• Speeches from members of the political world
• Smaller forum sessions with the NME and Area Chairman
• Campaigning in the area
• Social event to finish off the day

I plan to attach this CF conference before the first day of Party Conference, leaving space for the National Convention. This will cut down drastically the costs for the conference, plus giving us superb facilities to use for it! Getting the speakers will be far easier as well. By holding it at the Party Conference it will make it far cheaper for CF members to attend - you will already have booked accommodation!

I am already looking forward to the first CF Conference!

Resources are key to any organisation and Conservative Future is very lucky that we have an incredible resource: our members. A voluntary group, like us, relies on its members to lead the organisation and move us towards power. I believe fully that our activists are the strength of CF and want to return the power to them - this is the backbone of my campaign and want to make every effort to highlight and support you in the, normally, un-rewarded work that you do.
 
That is why I am starting a guest blogging section on the Rock Blog to highlight the varied work that CF members do all over the country. Called “CF members that Rock!” it is a chance for normal CF members to have a platform to highlight the work they get up to, the experiences they have and the knowledge they have learnt. It is a sort of step forward from the CF Copywriters.
 
If elected I would make this a mainstay of the CF National website - our members deserve credit for the work they do and this would be part of that. It would also fill a hole on the training front: experienced members passing on knowledge to newer members. This is key to strengthening our organisation and helping to keep it a formidable force in youth politics.
 
Over the coming weeks various CF members, from around the UK, will be posting there experiences on this blog. I hope you read, learn and comment on the material in these posts.

If you would like to contribute to “CF members that Rock!” please email me: michael@rock4cf.com

Nominations have now closed and my nomination has been accepted. This now means that I am ‘Officially’ standing to become the next National Chairman of Conservative Future.
 
My plans for CF focus on returning power and influence back to the key people in CF: the Area Chairman, branch Chairman and CF members. I see that out of the possible 43 Area’s we only have 21 filled by candidates - this really is not good enough. Our Area Chairman need to be a pivotal role for CF and the ones driving th organisation ahead. In the last CF year we have had 7 Areas without Chairman. The current NME have been in power for over 18 months and have not been able to fill these. This is tremendously disappointing.

If elected I will aim to fill all Area Chairman roles within one month of the handover. This is key to my plans and will take precedent for the new NME. I have already started to look for possible Area Chairman to speed this process up - these names will be passed onto whoever wins the election. If you are interested, please email me with your details: michael@rock4cf.com
 
I have been campaigning in the CF elections since last September and have thoroughly enjoyed every moment - travelling around the country meeting CF members and enjoying several drinks with you! Very few organisations can offer the spectrum of beliefs and ideas we have in CF, it is a real privilege to be standing and know I have the skills and professionalism to make our organisation great again!

Don’t settle for the same old talk, lets make progressive changes to CF that will improve both our social side and our campaigning force!

Vote Rock4CF!

The most important thing for a Chairman candidate to do, during the CF election, is to visit as many branches as possible. I have learnt so much from visiting CF members across the country and feel it has given me a lot of information when I was putting my Business Plan together. Since September I have been travelling round and meeting you all over the country - I am currently on my way to Lancaster at the moment to meet with members of the University branch!

Throughout this campaign you have been able to keep track my movements through the campaign map here. It is a great way so you can actually see that I am committed to CF and so I can remember where I have been! I am the only Chairman candidate that is actually making this effort, as I believe our most important asset is our members and have drafted my plans for CF with you at the front leading us to power!

Please check out the map and see where I am going to next (green pins) and come along and meet me - I want to try to get to every branch I can. If you want me to come to your branch email me: michael@rock4cf.com 

UPDATE: so far I have been to Newcastle, Hereford, Cheltenham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Blackpool, Lewes, Bournemouth, UCL, Kings, LSE, Imperial, Cities of London & Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea, Lancaster, Essex, Cambridge, Newcastle & Keele, Croydon, Tooting, Dudley, Birmingham, Stafford, Brentford & Isleworth, Harrow & Richmond. 

More to come…    

I published my Business Plan in its entirety last week, which gives a breakdown of how I will make CF bigger, bolder and better, if elected. Appreciating that many CF members can’t get to any of the Hustings, I am going to publish each section individually so CF members can ask any specific questions they have about that section.

I want CF members to believe that we can improve our organisation. My Business Plan has been written with this in my mind: sound, deliverable plans built on the Conservative priniciples of decentralisation and progressive thinking.

If you are not comfortable asking questions on the blog, please feel free to email me any questions directly to michael@rock4cf.com.

The agenda for the week is:

• Monday (Today)
  Strong & supported Conservative Future branches
• Tuesday
  Increasing financial resources for Conservative Future
• Wednesday
  The Conservative Future website & general communication
• Thursday
  Accountable NME & Area Chairmen & Distinguishing Conservative Future Members
• Friday
  Conservative Future events & campaigning

Today, I will blog the first section on ‘Strong & supported Conservative Future branches’, on the following post.

Enjoy and fire away!

Welcome to the new, improved, Rock4CF campaign site. Yes, its been a while since we launched the first version, we wanted to pack in as many new things as possible for a special re-launch, as well as line up a programme of updates, extensions and features, providing more interesting and flexible ways for you to communicate with me, follow my campaign and read up on what I stand for and why I want to be CF National Chairman.

You should now find it easier to navigate, with the addition of tags for blog posts and divided sections for the Manifesto and upcoming Business Plan. Any comment, feel free to leave a comment on this post or contact me at michael@rock4cf.com.

Please explore the new site, the headline features are a full blog (and obligatory RSS feed), Campaign Trail Map and a new, improved, page providing nice, easy, copy-and-paste code to embed support badges in your website!

Shortly, I will launch my Business Plan, laying out in detail how I plan to implement the theories and concepts illustrated in my Manifesto of Principles. The plan will go up in its entirety, but I will be highlighting a section per day, to give as much scope as possible for comment and discussion.

Onwards and upwards!

Michael

To all CF members

2007 was a good year for the Conservatives and Conservative Future: I hope 2008 is even better!

I’m visiting family in Peru for Christmas this year and will be away until the middle of January. I would like to thank you all for the support and interest in my campaign and look forward to meeting you all in the coming months. The publication of my ‘Manifesto of Principles’ has been exceptionally well received and I am looking forward to presenting my ‘Business Plan’ in January, hopefully to an even better reception!

I hope you enjoy the festive season, have a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2008.

All the very best wishes,

Michael David Rock
Candidate for CF National Chairman

http://www.rock4cf.com/

Free CF Branch Websites: http://rock.cfbranch.com/

Rock4CF Campaign Site: http://www.rock4cf.com/

Manifesto Of Principles: http://www.rock4cf.com/mop/

Manifesto Download: http://www.rock4cf.com/mop/Michael_David_Rock_MOP.pdf