Ellee Seymour

Conservative women are wholeheartedly throwing themselves into global campaigns with a social conscience, they are taking on the barons and warlords of people trafficking.

This might be an issue that doesn’t touch the daily lives of most people, but it is high on the agenda for Conservatives who want to help stamp out what is estimated to be a $9.5 billion annual trade of depravation and exploitation.

Today they launched their poster including a Crimestoppers’ hotline number to highlight people trafficking, the fact that there are 8,5000 trafficked prostitutes in London charging £15 for sex.

It was launched at the Conservative Women’s Organisation’s conference at the same time as Eleanor Laing, Shadow Minister for Women and Equality, was challenging Ruth Kelly in the House of Commons on what the Government was doing about this controversial issue, the fact that they should be setting up a national hotline.

Rather than wait, the Conservatives have taken a lead on this themselves. And William Hague spoke passionately about the significance behind the campaign.

He mentioned the plight of a 15-year-old Lithuanian girl who came to England believing she was going to sell ice cream, but was sold seven times in three months for decreasing amounts.

He talked about how international Governments and police forces could work together to stamp out people trafficking and the illegal sex trade, how rape was used as “a weapon of mass destruction”, ruining the lives of their shamed victims, the importance of offering education and hope as an escape.

He said:

“After narcotics, it equals arms dealing as the second largest criminal industry in the world and is the fastest growing. It is closely connected with other illegal activities such as money laundering, drugs trafficking and document forgery and is estimated by the FBI to generate around $9.5 billion a year in revenue. On a human-scale the statistics are worse still: approximately 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year and of these, 80% are women and girls.”

He described it as the modern day slavery, that we must protect victims:

“This new slavery is of course illegal, operated by vast criminal networks and has the potential to weaken governments and the rule of law. To reduce the trade we must disrupt the market forces of demand and supply; making the rewards less lucrative, while increasing the risks of capture, and simultaneously reducing demand. And we must not forget the victims of trafficking who require support and rehabilitation.

“Over the past two years the government has been proactive in their approach to combat human trafficking and their initiatives are to be welcomed. But the problem in the UK shows signs of actually worsening. Earlier this year when the police force ran a three month campaign to tackle trafficking for sexual exploitation they rescued 84 women, forced to work against their will in brothels and massage parlours…”

This is the kind of issue modern Conservatives are going to be strong on, they want their social responsibility voice to be heard loud and clear. It’s one I am totally behind, let’s hope it makes a difference.

P.S. I have a full copy of William Hague’s speech which I can email to anyone interested, there is lots more interesting info included.

I have seen David Cameron speak twice recently, and whenever he mentions how glad he is that William Hague is back on the Shadow bench, there is always a spontaneous and rapturous applause. Even my two teenage sons think he is the bees knees, he obviously has a magical formula which people of all ages find pleasing, it is great to see how widely admired he is.

I returned home from an exhilarating day at the Conservative Women’s Organisation’s 75th Annual Conference to discover that I was Iain Dale’s blog of the week.

He mentioned me on Channel 4 News’s Morning Report podcast and radio programme. Iain kindly said I was one of the “best Tory bloggerettes”, that I was “feisty, independent and curious in an inquisitive way.”

Thanks Iain, it was a perfect homecoming, I shall try and live up to your expectations!

It looks like I’m going to be spoilt for choice today with so many top speakers at the Conservative Women’s Organisation’s 75th Anniversary Conference.

Their programme demonstrates the forward thinking Conservative Party, with sessions on International Women’s Rights (that’s certainly one for me), Successful Women and Supporting British Food and Farming.

Speakers include:

• David Cameron
• William Hague
• Theresa May
• Baroness Hazel Byford
• Shami Chakrabati - Liberty
• Steve Chalke MBE - Stop the Traffic
• Peter Kendall - President of the NFU
• William Kendall - CEO of Green & Black’s
• Dame Pauline Neville-Jones DCMG
• Clarissa Dickson Wright

I’m hoping to meet up with the ernest but feisty Shami, who I have seen many times on Question Time; Dame Pauline, Former Chair, UK Joint Intelligence Committee; and one fat lady Clarissa. Men are invited too, btw, another great idea. Watch this space.

The Thresher boozy bloggers’ exclusive deal offering 40% discount for 10 days from today on receipt of this coupon has proved sensational. The traffic surge was so great that it caused their computer system to crash.

That is what a delighted Hugh McLeod of Gapingvoid told me last night at the londongirlgeekdinner. He said it was proving phenomenal.

It was picked up by other bloggers from my site, including Tim Worstall, Devil’s Kitchen, Mr Eugenides, Harry’s Place and Tim Almond. As a result, I had two of my biggest hits two days running - peaking at 1,222 on Tuesday.

Let’s wait and see if those hits convert into cash for Thresher, the comments have been very mixed how genuine an offer it really is. But it is a great test for viral marketing.

Update: 1st December, 800,000 people download coupon.

Update: 2nd December, I had a new record number of hits again yesterday, mainly due to this offer, reaching 3,269. The Times today reports that more than 1 million coupons have been downloaded.

There can’t be a person in the land who wasn’t appalled and sickened by the pointless murder of Thomas ap Rhys Price who was stabbed to death for his mobile phone.

Poor Thomas was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he met his callous killers who showed him no mercy - and have shown no remorse since.

With our knife culture increasing, surely we should be banning their sale from shops. They should be as difficult to buy as guns. Those who  require them for countryside pursuits or any genuine activity will have to prove it, get a letter of consent from local police.

I know these weapons will always be available at sources like the internet, but we must make them as inaccessible as possible. Many violent crimes are probably committed on the spur of the moment, they are done for kicks, a sad indictment of the age we live in. We need to respond to that. My fear is that one day it might be my son, it could even be your child, who is in the wrong place at the wrong time…

Michael Grade wore them with his dark suit yesterday, Sir Christopher Meyer (pic) is famed for them, and even David Gest wouldn’t  be without them in the jungle. But can someone please tell me, why do men wear red socks?

One one hand they look naff and tasteless, the kind of accessory I would expect John McCririck to have a drawer full of. But they also have a quirky appeal indicating a “devil may care” attitude. Are they  simply a ploy of the upper-class dandy?

I wonder if our continental men could wear them with panache, while on a Brit, the site of the red ankle causes ripples of mirth and derision.

Sir Christopher’s hosiery has caused much speculation from commentators seeking  an explanation for his outlandish taste, it has even had Michael Gove in despair. The reason seems to be a tactic to be unforgettable:

“He wears red socks (a 1980s sort of idiosyncratic gesture designed to keep him in the memory of those he meets, but nevertheless one that works), he can ride in the ambassadorial Rolls-Royce through Washington like a pasha, but he is essentially grounded, partly through his wife Catherine - despite them being known as Fred and Ginger on the Washington circuit.”

And I’m sure it is a case of “once seen never forgotten” as Sir Christopher even wears a matching tie! But before you head off to try out this daring style for yourself, do take advice from the Men’s Style Guru who advises you not to wear red socks while giving the State of the Union address as “some will take you for a Communist and others will insist that the vice president take over immediately, on the ‘unable to perform’ clause.”

So men, have you added a pair of red socks to your Christmas list, or wouldn’t you be seen dead in them?

I’m not sure if this is what Rachel Joyce had in mind when she talked about localising the NHS on ConservativeHome today. 

Radical proposals for East Anglia could see up to 40% of outpatient hospital consultants visiting patients at home. And hospitals can share staff too.

This was announced by Neil McKay, who only four weeks ago took over as chief executive of the new East of England Strategic Health Authority, where local health trusts are desperately trying to claw back millions to make their books balance.

I wonder if there has been any consultation with consultants about this, how can it be cost effective for a consultant to travel around a rural region like East Anglia making home visits?

In theory, it sounds great to have your consultant call at your home, but nobody is going to believe that it is being done for the benefit of the patients.

Neil McKay sounds like a hatchet man to me. He is quoted as saying that balancing the books was the top priority, how hospitals have got to get rid of their debts. I thought the NHS’s priority was to provide a reliable health service, that the health needs of the public were paramount.

You might try to fake your body language, but your handwriting won’t fool the experts. George Osborne must have been over the moon when during a heated debate, an angry George Brown hurled some papers across the Commons and they landed in his lap. Little did he know how revealing they would be.

A sheet with some scribbles was dispatched to Sarah Mooney, (pic) principal of the London College of Graphology, whose analysis of Brown’s 14 word note painted a less than flattering picture of our Chancellor, describing him as thus:

“The writer is not shy. The writer shows unreliable and poor judgment. The writer was not in control of their emotions and instincts at the time of writing.

“There are signs that the writer is someone who does not like to give a clear-cut image of himself. There are signs that the writer can be evasive.”

It is spot on.

Although I prefer our politicians to avoid using these personal attacks, I can understand how George Osborne found this irresistible. After all, you can’t disguise the way you dot your “i” and cross your “t”, your whole character is laid bare, your writing can reveal far more than you would wish in the hands of the right person.

If our Shadow Chancellor believes in graphology, shouldn’t we be asking our political candidates to have their writing analysed? Has your writing ever been analysed, how true do you think it would be? And why wouldn’t George Osborne give a sample of his own to The Times?

Here are some analyses which you may find of interest - Frank Sinatra, Jack the Ripper, Stalin and Himmler.

It seems former US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is very peeved at the way he was fired by George Bush.

Sympathy for him is so strong that Rummy had a standing ovation at the American Spectator dinner last week to help heel his hurt feelings, regardless of his poor performance.

Nora Ephron describes how according to administration officials, only three or four people knew Rummy would be fired - and Rumsfeld was not one of them. His fellow presidential appointees, including some who did not applaud Rumsfeld’s performance in office, were surprised by his treatment. Norah concludes:

“Good gracious me. Donald Rumsfeld, who to the best of my knowledge has not lost a wink of sleep since he helped lead us into this sorry war, spent a whole day on the verge of tears because of the way he was fired? Because no one had the courtesy to tell him in advance? Because he believed it when Bush told the press that Rumsfeld would serve until the end of his Presidency? “

I don’t think there will be a wave of sympathy for Rumsfeld on this side of the pond. I also wondered if there was a right way, or even a right day, to be fired. Nora gets the point across:

“My favorite of these Firing Victim scenarios is the one called, “They fired me on my birthday.” You can’t imagine how many people walk around complaining that they were fired on their birthdays. “They fired me while I was in the hospital.” “They fired me a week after my mother’s funeral.” “They fired me right before Christmas.” Almost any firing can be made into a Firing Victim scenario, especially if you throw in national holidays. I recently bumped into a Very Powerful Woman who complained bitterly that she had just been fired while her partner was in labor. I mean, I’m sorry the woman was fired, but how was anyone to know that her partner was in labor? Was this common knowledge? Had the labor been going on for days? And how long would the person who fired this woman have had to wait? Until the epidural wore off? Until the baby was home from the hospital?”

(I think we have to have to draw our own conclusions about the woman whose partner was in labour).

Certainly Rumsfeld has no case to whinge, he should have gone long ago. Being fired has led to bitterness from our own sacked Ministers - the names Charles Clarke, David Blunkett and Michael Meacher immediately spring to mind. The true test of their character is how they continue to handle themselves, how to put it behind them and move forward, keeping the public on their side.

Have you heard anyone complain about how they were sacked? Do you feel Rummy has grounds to feel aggrieved?

As the momentum increases for England to become independent, will this add extra credence to a campaign to oust St George as England’s patron saint and replace him with St Edmund?

Should St George remain our patron saint if he never set foot in this country? Should we not have a true English saint holding that very privileged title, a plan which has already angered Labour MPs.

St Edmund was originally England’s patron saint until he was usurped by St George around 1100AD. But there is strong feeling in East Anglia to bring St Edmund back, he was a former king of East Anglia who was martyred in the year 869 for refusing to renounce his Christianity.

Bury St Edmunds MP David Ruffley has actively taken up the campaign, handing in a petition to Downing Street last Monday, St Edmund’s Day last, joined by organisers from the local newspaper and radio station.

However, he was surprised by the hostile reaction from Labour MPs when later in the week he presented the petition in the House of Commons.

He said petitions were normally read out in silence, but there were shouts of “Saint George” from the Labour side.

“It’s rattled them. They obviously haven’t done their history - we all know St George never set foot in England. I have never in all my time heard a petition being barracked. It shows the strength of our case. I think we have got them on the run.”

St Edmund was gruesomely murdered by the rampaging Vikings who tied him to a tree, shot arrows at him, then beheaded him. He was enshrined at Bury St Edmunds.

At the end of the day, have we all got used to St George as our patron saint and enjoy the story about him slaying the dragon? Do people really care who their patron saint is? As enchanting as this story is, I think we have forged strong traditional links with St George that are too strong to break. Or should we be true to the memory of St Edmund and reinstate him as our patron saint?