I’m giving Janice Small a plug in her bid to win the 
Calder Valley selection. I know it means the world to her. We met when we both worked as regional press officers during the 2005 general election and her driving passion and commitment to the Conservative Party is second to none.
On the same subject, Tory Radio has the latest insights from Deputy Chairman John Maples on candidate selection.
Welcome to Janice’s political platform, I’ve added a pic of a four leaf clover to mark St Patrick’s Day and bring her extra luck:
Following my successful interviews for the Calder Valley Parliamentary seat, I am now through to the Open Primary which will be held in Elland on 27th March.
I am a fan of Open Primaries as it demonstrates our willingness to engage with local people, rather than just our local activists to select a candidate who is reflective of the wider community’s views. However, this does leave ‘outsiders’ such as me who do not live in the constituency without the necessary friends and relations to pack the meeting at a disadvantage. Now, I can hear some of you reaching for your keyboards to say that only local candidates should be considered. But what we have to remember is that we have to choose the candidate that is right for the job, has the gravitas and commitment to be a Member of Parliament and who, by promising to become local, becomes part of the community. Being local means living in the constituency, using the local services, the NHS, the schools, helping local voluntary groups, fighting for the things that matter to people and acting as if you are the MP from day one. I will make that commitment.
I will fight as if I am the MP from day one, engaging with local people, businesses, farmers, the public sector, voluntary groups and campaigning hard to the day of the General Election. I will engage with the local and national media, I am a professional campaigner – that’s what I do for a living. I know which doors to knock on and which doors to knock down, whatever government is in power to get results.
What matters to the people of Calder Valley? It’s not so different from the rest of Britain – a thirty per cent increase in the NHS but only a 5% increase in operations, one of the worst areas for tooth decay in 5-year olds and male life expectancy is below the national average (local Labour MP asks more Parliamentary questions on cross-gender issues and female genital mutilation than she does on the health of the youngsters and men in her constituency).
Education – most schools are below the national average – that’s not good enough for our children.
Immigration – a sensible approach to closing our porous borders and assessing what industry really needs and tackling the long term unemployed and NEETs to learn the skills necessary from cleaning our hospitals to building our houses and only then do we look outside for economic immigrants.
Europe – a referendum on federalisation.
Crime – youth nuisance and anti-social behaviour is blighting our towns and villages by feral teenagers whose parents have lost control, violent crime is rising – more police on our streets and less politically correct policing is the answer.
Family – support for families who have for whatever reason lost control of their children. Telling families that it is unacceptable to have 12 year olds roaming the streets at 11pm; telling lone parents that it is unacceptable to have babies without two parents and the income to support them; telling teenagers that they have to get jobs – whatever that job may be, to support themselves and that it is unacceptable for people to claim benefits, to rely on the State to support them, unless there is real need. Sanctions in place to ensure these policies are carried through.
This has to stop. In the 1980s it took a Conservative government to mend a broken economy, today it is a Conservative government that will mend a broken society.
I hope my no-nonsense, pragmatic approach is what Calder Valley wants and look forward to the Open Primary.
You are non local female candidate you will therefore be obliged to express virtually Cornerstone views at this point to have any credibility at all as a person committed to dragging this country to the right .(The whole point if anyone has forgotten). The problem is , why should anyone believe you ?
‘However, this does leave ‘outsiders’ such as me who do not live in the constituency without the necessary friends and relations to pack the meeting at a disadvantage. Now, I can hear some of you reaching for your keyboards to say that only local candidates should be considered. But what we have to remember is that we have to choose the candidate that is right for the job, has the gravitas and commitment to be a Member of Parliament and who, by promising to become local, becomes part of the community.’
Well this is purest piffle “ Gravitas indeed…also….
The fact that you are able to leave your job and raise the finances to up sticks immediately shows that you are drawn from a narrow social range . Again this suit’s the Party Elite who are exclusively drawn , now , from the media /middleclass nexus and after the next election once again the only people who represent the working classes will be on the Labour side. I see that talent will not be spread equally but the loathsome eltism of both Parties is fermenting discord and the biographers existence is making this conjorirs imposture harder to maintain,
I am a professional campaigner – that’s what I do for a living. I know which doors to knock on and which doors to knock down, whatever government is in power to get results.
A campaigner…super .No chance of anyone who has done something other politics just once … Media usually equals Liberal . Are you ?
Immigration – a sensible approach to closing our porous borders and assessing what industry really needs and tackling the long term unemployed and NEETs to learn the skills necessary from cleaning our hospitals to building our houses and only then do we look outside for economic immigrants.
Yes …that’s pretty good but that is not the reason we need to control immigration it is to protect the culture and the people of this country from foreign predation.
Europe – a referendum on federalisation
For a start !
.
Crime – youth nuisance and anti-social behaviour is blighting our towns and villages by feral teenagers whose parents have lost control, violent crime is rising – more police on our streets and less politically correct policing is the answer.
…You talk the talk but if you are not local how would anyone know if you will walk the walk
This has to stop. In the 1980s it took a Conservative government to mend a broken economy, today it is a Conservative government that will mend a broken society.
I hope my no-nonsense, pragmatic approach is what Calder Valley wants and look forward to the Open Primary.
Yes and the way to do this is to reform the housing and benefits system . Nothing on these real issues I notice and nothing on tax.
Its none of my business really but I have seen a few these things and what I notice is that they all sound alike . I gather there is some sort of course you attend and if you are a campaigner it would be pretty easy to cram it . I f I were looking on I would like to know about your political background and the views you have expressed over the years from within the Party. Having said that what you actually say would be the right sort of thing if I were there and for all; I know you are a Conservative. Ellee is a Liberal Conservative which mystifies me , are you another one ?
I don1t know you and that’s the point . From what you say I know nothing of you ,( good or bad )
Best of Luck
( If you are a goody)
Best of luck, Ellee. You will make a fantastic candidate and MP – hope you get the seat! Justin
Wake up Justin….Janice is the Cndidate …anyway last I heard you were bitching about women to win and their superficial commitment
“A referendum on Federalisation”
Naive, patronising, dangerous and ignorant. Just shows what the Conservative Party has become. Federalist, apologetic, feckless and spineless.
“a thirty per cent increase in the NHS but only a 5% increase in operations”
Simply changing government is not going to change that. The government puts the money – it is the BMA, the RCS and the MRC delivers or not. Who are you going to chase, the hospital managers? – or the dentists, GPs, doctors and surgeons who are clearly getting the money but not delivering on the ‘contract’ for services.
“support families who have for whatever reason lost control of their children. Telling families that it is unacceptable to have 12 year olds roaming the streets at 11pm; telling lone parents that it is unacceptable to have babies without two parents and the income to support them; telling teenagers that they have to get jobs – whatever that job may be, to support themselves and that it is unacceptable for people to claim benefits”
Well it is clear who your target audience is.
But I think it is unfair to presume that the young don’t want to work – some may boast that they don’t. But no one is ‘happy’ living on benefits – and some unemployed just cannot get or hold down jobs – for many different reasons.
Do you think half million poles would be coming to England to work unless it was worth their while – those in low paid jobs work for six or 12 months, scrape some money together to go back home (and live it up for a while). That option does not exist for locals who simply work to pay for rent, Council (poll) Tax, bills, food and debt – and have no real disposable income left at the end of the day.
You have to live on benefits for a year or two
or live on minimum wage (with no other income, or creature comforts or ‘nice’ friends) to appreciate the realities of ‘cost of living’
“Conservative government that will mend a broken society”
The problem with the NHS is ‘not’ the patients.
The problem with housing is a shortfall of Council Housing (affordable rents). House prices and RENTS are increasing faster than the low(est) or low(er) wages.
The problem with unruly youth is a lack of access to ‘activities’ – the best policing is access to positive well organised (structured) events and facilities – NOT more EXCLUSION.
Unless you propose creating Gaza like ghettos. And what is the final solution there you think?
Ellee, are you supporting Janice because she is the best candidate or because she is a fellow female battling the latent sexism within the Conservative Party!?!
A “driving passion and commitment to the Conservative Party” is not a good enough reason to be an MP, it should be a commitment to the electorate. I fear Janice will merely become another foot-soldier for the policies espoused by Cameron et al…
I’m hoping Janice will answer all your comments soon.
Snafu, I am naturally supporting Janice as a friend, I do not know the other candidates, but I suspect they are all extremely worthy and talented.
Good luck to Janice. We certainly don’t need Federalism.
To answer your questions:
I will not leave my job – my job goes with me as I am self-employed.
I am not from a narrow social elite – my mother was a cleaner and father worked for the Co-op coal company.
I am a campaigner for FTSE100 clients and have been a marketing director and business development director. I create new business for clients – that’s what employs people and allows businesses to expand. I campaign for funds to help disadvantaged youth play rugby, I campaign to save the greenbelt in my village, I campaign to keep vital Post Offices open and I campaign for the elderly to have dignity in their old age. I also help in a practical way to provide teams of teenage decorators and gardeners for the elderly.
You are right about controlling immigration. It is a start to close our borders. There are vast swathes of immigrants in this country that are insular and expect us to protect their culture whilst having no regard for our civil liberties and rights as citizens. We cannot pander to the middle-class, left wing Guardianistas. It is because this view is paramount in most of our media that decent people are turning to the BNP. I will change that in any constituency I am lucky enough to serve.
I am no liberal Conservative. Yes, you are right the housing and benefits system needs a complete overhaul together with ‘society’s’ tolerance of this abuse. ‘Society’ and the State has to say that it is not acceptable to have babies without a partner or income; it is not acceptable to lose control of your teenagers; it is not acceptable to have 12 year olds roaming the streets at 11pm, and so it goes on. There has to be hard sanctions for those who abuse and take from us who work hard and raise their families within a moral code.
There are hundreds of organisations that youth can join and not all cost money. Sport is a start but I do recognise that sport is not for all. The trouble is that the groups do not advertise themselves very well and a lot of parents are just to lazy to get their kids to the venues, it is far easier to tip them out onto the streets, to watch TV or switch on the computer.
Europe. I don’t apologise for being anti-federalist. Read the polls and people’s views – they joined the EU to trade, not to become a small state within the EU. I believe the primacy of our Parliament is sacrosanct. Let’s have a referendum and put the argument to rest.
Tax – tax cuts are in our DNA and when the time is right we will do it. If we jump straight in and say we will reduce taxes as soon as we are elected that is just playing straight into Labour’s hands.
NHS – yes, it needs reform. The new GP contract is a prime example of paying this group considerably more for less work – the BMA admitted that they couldn’t believe their luck when the last settlement was signed. The hospital consultants need to become more efficient and less protectionist and theatres need to be run more effectively. Paying dentists £42 for filling one tooth or thirty is a joke. Would you work for this? You try getting to see an NHS dentist. Because of this practice in Calder Valley they have a very high incidence of chidren under-5 with tooth decay.
The NHS is a prime example of Old Labour throwing money at a problem and thinking everything will be OK. It isn’t and it is not working.
I have plenty of local examples of how Labour isn’t working for Calder Valley and hope to demonstrate this at the Open Primary. They really aren’t any different from the rest of the country but there are local anomalies.
Janice
Good luck Ellee. You will be a fantastic MP.
Good luck to Janice too, although as someone who describes himself as a liberal conservative, I hope you don’t think the title is demeaning? I agree with you on Europe. We joined a ‘Common Market.’ That was good for trade, but parliament is sacroscant and the majority of British people are sick and tired of the EU trying to tell us how to live our lives. But that is socialism for you.
We need more candidates like Ellee and Janice. They are good and – hopefully – will lead us to victory and the next general election.
If I could vote there, Janice would get mine. Philosophically I like her, but I would be interested to know how she would go about implementing some of her points. Talk is one thing, action quite another, as you and I both well know. But the attitude is a refreshing change from the current status quo.
Ian
Ian, the talking is over. The left-wing intelligentsia has ruled for 10 years and we have slipped into an inertia of the State will provide and nanny will tell us what to do. If we don’t do something then my fear is that we will slip into a third rate, third world country. We need to get back our dynamism, skills and pride to combat the economic threats of China and India.
It is quite simple how we do what I say and that is by tough decisions on welfare, housing and education. We have to realise that our system of education of ‘one size fits all’ doesn’t work. Setting and streaming is commonsense. Skills for business in technology and science but recognising that we still need home-grown builders and not immigrants filling these roles. We have to say no to a Federalist Europe by trading with the US and our commonwealth partners, to be internationalist while the rest of Europe twiddles its thumbs looking inward. The State and, perhaps the Church – am I am no churchgoer – has to take a stand for what they believe in and what their bible tells them. If the Church believes it has a moral right to guide and teach, then it needs to set standards and deliver them, not the liberal whitewash they currently espouse. Our tolerance levels have dropped to the detriment of society. No longer do we admonish the kid who is spitting in the street; the football hooligans who shout obscenities every Sunday morning – and that is just the parents; the builder who wants cash in hand to evade tax. If more people stood up to say what they think rather than tutting behind closed doors, then we are half way there, government has to deliver the rest.
I hope my party will be taking a firm lead on these issues and I do get the impression that the Policy Groups are addressing these issues. Let’s see what they report in the summer becaus if we don’t have a radical manifesto for the reform of society then we are finished as an economic and social entity.
I hope these answers go some way to answering your question of how we do this.
Janice, many thanks for your comment, please let us know how it goes on the day, I know you will be a great credit to Calder Valley.
Andrew, sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not standing as an MP, it’s a bit of cheeky mischief making from Justin. 😉
“I am no liberal Conservative” – cuddly Janice.
The last thing we need is some reactionary applicant for Tombstone. I wouldn’t vote for you – a lot of what you said is populism, opportunism and darn right naive. The W2W network is alive and kicking…
May the best man win!
Not a W2W fan – and your answers are …..? Where is the naivety? A lot of bloggers are very quick to criticise but do not provide the answers. As for the W2W network – is having a couple of drinks afer work with a few Party activists, cabinet members, chairman of the Party and a few MPs a sinister plot against men? No, it’s just another social network, just like the gent’s clubs of SW1, you really shouldn’t get so worked up.
No, it’s just another social network, just like the gent’s clubs of SW1, you really shouldn’t get so worked up.
It is in the context of positive discrimination and the efforts of the Party Elite to promote women beyond their merit , now any female candidate is suspect and this is what always happes when you enforce unfair quasi quotas.
If you happen to be a deserving candidate bad luck but claiming not to understand is disingenuous isn`t it ?
…but having said that I am most impressed with your answers and am pleased to confer on you “One of us “status.
I wonder what Ellee makes of what you say…she`s a bit of Liberal at heart.
GOOD LUCK
Newmania, Believe me, Janice is a highly motivated, vibrant and very intelligent woman. We can be different shades of “blue”, my shade is “turqouise”, as you know.
A quick response to your question, I believe we need to focus much more on getting our police presence back on the streets, there was a report at the weekend saying only 1 in 58 officers is actually on the beat. We need more ethnic police officers particularly.
I feel strongly about education too, that languages should be taught from the age of 7, that community projects should be mandatory as many children who come from deprived homes will be given the opportunity to get involved with different scenarios outside their normal environment, it will open their eyes to different issues. They need to learn how to give to society, that their contribution is of value.
I also believe improved public transport should be a priority to get cars off the roads. We delay making so many important decisions on this subject.
Affordable housing is a big issue too, I really worry about how young people can afford to buy property today, and this is something they aspire to, and are now buying with strangers to get a foot on the property ladder.
Now back to my cultural web and Pestel and Swot analysis, I must focus on my studies this week.
Ellee: Well I was conned there. Have you ever thought of standing?
Andrew, I’m not thick-skinned enough.
I think Justin is right, Iznewmania – Ellee should be the candidate.
Sorry Janice, fail to see how cutting welfare and cutting taxes is good for the ‘country’ or the economy – just because you believe the ‘mantra’ does not make it so.
Of course it is good for high earners – but I get the feeling you think anyone who is not a high earner is not worth your time. And those on lower incomes – should pay higher rents too?
Funny I guess you think people should pay for their health care – but you still want to give doctors and the ‘privatised’ Foundation hospitals £90 billion a year – and if your mother needs £20,000 surgery should she pay?
And if someone elses mother cannot pay, what’s your answer – tough – Its’s Natures Way?
“In the 1980s it took a Conservative government to mend a broken economy, today it is a Conservative government that will mend a broken society.”
I suspect that it was exactly how the Tories rebuilt that broken economy which played no small part in ‘breaking’ society in the first place…
Good luck, Janice – but with a four leaf clover like the one you have there I doubt you’ll need it.
I agree with everything you stand for which is a bit of a worry for you I’m afraid.
The woman is clearly bonkers – but please go ahead and select another 600 like her.
In the meantime perhaps she could explain why it is decent to vote for the BNP? How she would in practice “close our borders until we agree a quota from countries who we are culturally aligned with” – physically close the ports and airports and cancel everyone’s summer holidays in the meantime. And who are we “culturally aligned with” – I think that she will find that Mongolia has moved on since Genghis Khan’s day.
Can any of you think (or care) what anyone whose ancestors didn’t paint themselves with woad might think about such statements. This isn’t even dog whistle racism.
Ms (i hope the abbreviation annoys her!) Small also needs to understand that not everyone in Calder Valley is like Bernard Ingham.
Just when I thought that 10 years of Labour Government might actually be beginning to drag the Tories into the 20th century – you look under a stone and what do you find? Obviously another 10 years is needed!
Why ‘bonkers’ ?
Can’t you make a point without resorting to insult ?