Nicola Blackwood is the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Abingdon & Oxford West.
This week she was at the Tory party conference in Manchester, and kept a diary of her hectic schedule.
If you've ever wondered what actually goes on at these events, here is her take on the lead up to the conference, and the first day.
Nicola Reports Back…Sunday:
11.45am Interview with Adam Boulton at the Sky Studios in West London (I wagged my finger at him – not sure that’s the best way to get on in this game!). The main story on the agenda was Ireland’s yes vote on the Lisbon Treaty – would it derail the Party Conference.
I didn’t think so then and I don’t think so now. David Cameron has been clear: we want a referendum and we appeal to Labour to live up to their Manifesto commitment and hold one now. If we get into power before the Treaty is in force then we will hold a referendum and recommend a ‘No’ vote. If on the other hand it is in force – and there are still two countries to go yet so this is still very much an ‘if’ – then it’s a whole different kettle of fish.
All sorts of complex rules of International Treaty Law come into pass and it might not even be legal to hold a referendum. The key point though is that we don’t want it and if it’s in force we’ll not be satisfied just to let it slide. This is a hugely important issue for Britain but it’s not the only issue – Unemployment, pensions, overregulation of business, over-bureacratised NHS, the list could go on forever.
Before Conference started, David Cameron said ‘we won’t be playing it safe – instead we will be offering bold plans to deal with the big problems the country faces.’ It would be unforgiveable if we spent this conference talking about nothing but Europe – we’d be as bad as Labour then, who seemed to think the point of their Conference was just to talk to their membership.
1pm Got back to Oxford to grab some lunch and pack. I am congenitally incapable of packing light but got it down to a suitcase the size of a small elephant. Then off to Manchester in the trusty Prius. And the M40 was closed – those more conspiratorial might think it was part of a Labour plot to stop those from the South getting there…!
Then I got well and truly Sat-Navved and took the most extraordinary route and added an hour and a half to my journey. Still I got there in the end and did pass the most stunning countryside on that sunny evening.
11.50pm Radio Five Live with Steve Nolan in Manchester. Nolan and I on slightly different political planes but it was good fun getting down to it. Europe again, of course. I know we live in an age of instant media want an answer now but one thing at a time.
Personally, I’d rather David took time to find the right answer than just took some populist position that might not be able to honour in the long term. If we want our politicians to be honest we can’t berate them for actually being responsible and not just giving a completely unworkable plan.
Monday:
8am Roundtable hosted by the National Federation of Housing. The discussion was about the problems villages face when there isn’t enough affordable housing and that can lead to post office, local shop even the local school closing and gradually the community just dies.
Grant Shapps, Shadow Housing Minister, was speaking and he had some exciting things to say about Local Housing Trusts which will give the power to a village to decide about their own housing. The scrambled eggs were good too.
10am to 3pm Various meetings with other PPCs, charities and organizations about everything from palliative care to the future of Iran. There is such a lot of information to absorb at conference that it tends to all blur together after a while – it’s very important to remember to take a business card.
At 11.15 the main session was on transparency and accountability for politics and politicians. Of all the voters I meet, the ones I worry about the most are those who have just given up on politics. They don’t use their vote, not because they are irresponsibe, or uneducated or protesting but because they have don’t have any hope that it will make the slightest bit of difference to anything.
But without hope you can’t change anything – why would you work for something you don’t believe is possible? And nothing has contributed more to this disillusionment that the complete loss of trust in politics and politicians that followed the expenses scandal. I’m not interested in empty promises. I want to see clear lines of responsibility and open decision making.
3.45pm NHS session in the main hall, I’m really pleased to hear Andrew Lansley, Shadow Health Secretary, talking about protecting frontline services and cutting back on bureaucracy. I think if we’ve learnt one lesson from the last few years it’s that it’s not just how much you spend but how you spend it that counts. Labour’s investment in public services has not been met with either sensible or sufficient reform and the cracks are beginning to show.
5.30pm Speaking with Director of Amnesty UK and David Lidington (Shadow Minister for Human Rights) about Foreign Policy and Human Rights in 21st Century. The room was packed and Tony Baldry (who was chairing) decided to ask me to speak on something completely different than I had prepared.
Still I suppose it was spontaneous… Some of the main issues that came up were the need to be consistent about speaking up against Human Rights abuses in all countries – our friends as well as our enemies. It’s the only way you can be credible. Also important was the recognition that aid and human rights are just the other side of the coin of security and you seldom have one without the other, or not for long anyway.
8pm Hotel to write this and prepare for tomorrow. I have an interview with Malcolm on BBC Radio Oxford at 8am (another early start!) then on to a photo shoot to support the British Legion’s campaign to help Armed Forces Families. I shall be challenging Greg Clark on his plans to get the Green Economy really up and running. I will be meeting with Help the Aged to discuss their views about George Osborne’s plans to raise the retirement age to 66.
PS…
I’ve just seen a copy of the proposals to ‘Get Britain Working’ that will be announced on Tuesday and they have brought joy to my heart. They are a detailed, fully-costed plan to deal with the current jobs crisis (you can find them on www.conservatives.con).
With over 27 per cent of 18-24 year olds now on Job Seekers Allowance in Oxfordshire, for many, Labour have become the party of unemployment – it’s up to us to show those who have suffered the most in this recession that they are not abandoned, that we have a plan and that we are the party of new jobs and new opportunities – we have got to give them back some hope for the future.
A big part of fixing the Economy though, has to be dealing with Labour’s spiraling National Debt. This is only going to be done by taking tough decisions and, crucially, be open and straightforward about them. Whoever wins the next election will have to do difficult and unpopular things at times and we are not going to forgive a Government that ducks the question now in the hope they can hang onto power longer. It’s time the British public were treated like adults.
They know that this Labour Government has run out of money and that something must be done. And while we can’t have all the answers at once – it’s still too far out from an election for that – it is a great boost that the NHS budget will be protected. With an aging population and huge medical expertise in Oxfordshire, this position could not be more welcome.
The impression so many of us were left with after Labour’s conference was that they have just run out of energy, not to mention ideas. It seemed that at a time when so many in the country are suffering, Labour spent their conference talking only to themselves - not the country. We need change.
For someone who put her hand up to part of this campaign when pretty much everyone said I was mad, this week has been a huge relief. I can come back to Oxford West & Abingdon confident in my decision to support David Cameron as leader and more convinced than ever that he has it in him to be a great PM.
This week could have been completely derailed by the Lisbon Treaty, by too high expectations, or by any of those frivolous stories that tend to get in the way of real debate at party conferences. Instead what I have seen is a Conservative Party united, determined and ready to deliver the bold, tough and radical change Britain needs.
Nicola Blackwood Picture: copyright Rex Features
A group of Dagenham sixth formers spent a day at Oxford University under the watchful eye of Oxford’s Head of Rugby Steve Hills after starting their own rugby academy.
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