WEST KENT CONSERVATIVE CAMPAIGN HQ
Christmas 2015 Newsletter Dear Member / Supporter As 2015 draws to a close I wanted to write to wish you a very Happy Christmas, but also to thank you for all you have done to support the Conservative cause in what has been a outstanding year for our Party, locally and nationally. Within our Group of five constituencies working together from the Campaign HQ in Paddock Wood, we achieved some remarkable results:
We increased the number of Conservative councillors in all councils served by the West Kent Campaign HQ (Medway, Swale, Maidstone, Tonbridge & Malling, Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks). The only negative being the loss of control of Maidstone when all the opposition parties combined to elect a Lib Dem leader. A position we aim to rectify in May next year. But increasing our majorities in already safe seats was never going to win a majority in parliament. We also had to gain or hold the dozens of marginal seats nearby, and I am delighted that by pooling resources and working together we were able to help achieve just that. Teams from West Kent provided campaign support to Lewes, South Thanet, Rochester, Eastbourne & Hastings—all of which we won.
HELEN WHATELY retained Faversham & Mid Kent with a majority of 16,652, despite being selected just a few weeks before the election.
GREG CLARK secured a majority of 22,874, Elsewhere in the newsletter you will read about our other the largest every in Tunbridge Wells achievements, in terms of fundraising, membership and organisation. But ultimately, we are a political party and HELEN GRANT doubled her majority in our primary purpose if to fight and win elections. Thanks Maidstone & The Weald in the face of a to the hard work of our members and supporters, the nasty and personal Lib Dem campaign generosity of our donors and the professionalism of our staff at West Kent, we achieved our goals and produced TOM TUGENDHAT secured the highest ever some of the best results in the UK. majority (23,734) and the highest ever vote share (59.7%) in Tonbridge & Malling. Thank you once again for your support, and best wishes for the festive season. TRACEY CROUCH achieved a majority of 11,455 in Chatham & Aylesford, the fourth largest swing from Labour to Conservative in the UK.
The local council elections, held on the same day, produced remarkable results, too.
William Rutherford Chairman of the West Kent Conservative Group
Ann Widdecombe’s
WEST KENT 500 CLUB
A great success and ready to GO! In September we launched a new 500 Club, with Ann Widdecombe as ‘Patron’. Members of the 500 Club each pay £30.00 per year and are allocated a number between 1-500. Through your generosity all 500 numbers were sold by early December. This will produce an annual income of £15,000. Of this, £7,500 will be returned in prizes and the remaining £7,500 donated to the five local Conservative Associations in proportion to the number of 500 Club members living in each. This is the breakdown for how each local Association will benefit from the success of the 500 Club:
Association
Chatham & Aylesford Faversham & Mid Kent Maidstone & The Weald Tonbridge & Malling Tunbridge Wells
Members
19% 14% 14% 32% 21%
Share of profit
£1425 £1050 £1050 £2400 £1575
The January 2016 draw took place on 11 December at a reception in Kings Hill, the numbers being drawn by the Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, Rt Hon Robert Halfon MP. The first two winners are: Prize: £100 No 361 Doug Mackay (FMK) Prize: £200 No 97 Roy Hollingsworth (TM) Congratulations to both winners!
2015 CHRISTMAS DRAW For the second year running the five “West Kent” Associations opted-out of the national Christmas Draw and ran our own draw locally. Although this results in more modest prizes, we are able to retain all the proceeds locally and more importantly all of the prize winners come from our corner of Kent. Across our five Associations the raw raised: C&A: M&TW: T&M:
£1,094 £1,264 £2,081
F&MK: £812 T Wells: £1,386
Total: £6,637
Although the proceeds were about 20% down compared with 2014, we must remember that our members generously contributed to the General Election Appeal and most also paid £30.00 to join the 500 Club.
The draw took place on Friday 11 December and the winners were: Fortnum & Mason Christmas Hamper: Keith Ferris (Ticket: 14356) (Maidstone & The Weald Association) Afternoon Tea for Two at The Ritz Adrian and Pat Gulvin (Ticket: 02436) (Chatham & Aylesford Association) London Theatre Vouchers Andrew Bowles (Ticket: 04853) (Faversham & Mid Kent Association) £100 John Lewis Shopping Card Graeme Weston (Ticket: 16510) (Tonbridge & Malling Association) Bottle of Vintage Pol Roger Champagne Bill Stead (Ticket: 09311) (Chatham & Aylesford Association)
An Audience With…
As well as our branches and Associations organising social events and activities, the West Kent Campaign HQ occasionally does, too. Over the last 18 months we have organised a series of evenings entitled, “An Audience With…” At these events a well know figure from the world of politics or current affairs is interviewed about their life by one of our local MPs. So far we have hosted Baroness Jean Trumpington, Sir Nicholas Soames MP and Lord David Trimble. Tickets are sold to all members and supporters across Kent with the proceeds being donated to the local Associations pro-rata to ticket sales. For example, if Maidstone members bought 28% of the tickets, the Maidstone Association would take 28% of the profits. We endeavour to keep the ticket price low (usually £10 or £12). This ensures good sales as no-one is excluded, and it is good to see increasing numbers of non-members attending. All three events have been fully booked and between them have raised over £7000 for funds. An Audience With... CA share
FMK share MTW share
TM share
TW share
Lady Trumpington
490
309
412
567
799
Lord Trimble
45
0
135
1405
422
Sir Nicholas Soames 102
77
153
565
1666
Total
£386
£700
£2537
£2887
£637
Our next “An Audience with…” will be held at Judd School in Tonbridge on Thursday 10 March 2016 at 7pm when the guest speaker will by Margaret Thatcher’s Official biographer and former Editor of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, Charles Moore. For further information or to book tickets please visit: http://tinyurl.com/CMAudience
RE-BUILDING OUR PATRONS’ CLUBS
Successful Patrons’ Clubs are already running in Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge & Malling and Chatham & Aylesford Associations, and in the New Year we aim to launch new Patrons’ Clubs in Faversham & Mid Kent and Maidstone & The Weald. We hope this article will inform members about our Patrons’ Clubs and how they help our success. WHAT IS THE PATRONS’ CLUB? The Patrons’ Club is a group of supporters who are fortunate to be in a position to give a higher level of financial support to the Association. In recognition of this support they are invited to a number of exclusive events throughout the year. WHAT ARE THE EVENTS? Each summer there is a Patrons’ Garden Party or Champagne Reception held locally, with a ’rising star’ as guest speaker. In the Autumn there is a formal dinner at a prestigious London venue such as the Carlton Club or the Athenaeum Club with a high ranking Cabinet Minister. The photograph above was taken at this year’s Patrons’ Dinner with Rt Hon Amber Rudd MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO BE A PATRON? Each Association runs its own Patrons Club and there are slight variations in cost, but on average Membership is £200 for s single member or £300 for a couple. This usually includes your Membership subscription too. HOW MUCH ARE TICKETS FOR THE EVENTS? There is no charge. Once you have paid to join the Patrons’ Club there is nothing further to pay. The cost of all events are covered by your annual subscription. IS IT POSSIBLE TO SPREAD THE COST? Absolutely, in fact we encourage members to do so as this provides regular income throughout the year. Some Members pay annually, many pay £20 or £30 per month by standing order. HOW DO I ENROL AS A PATRON? In January we will be launching a major drive to recruit new Patrons for 2016. Every member will receive an information leaflet, which will include a Patrons’ Club Membership Form.
MEMBERS’ LOYALTY CARD The five Conservative Associations in West Kent continue to perform well on recruitment and retention of members. We need to recruit around 200 new members each year to replace those who move away or become too ill to continue, and by and large we achieve this. At the time of writing our membership rates (compared with 2014) are: Chatham & Aylesford Faversham & Mid Kent Maidstone & The Weald Tonbridge & Malling Tunbridge Wells Total:
2015 188 353 280 643 513
2014 (155) (345) (293) (629) (484)
1977 (1906)
In January 2016 a small team of volunteers will commence work on recruiting local independent retailers to a Conservative Members’ Loyalty Scheme. The plan was devised here in West Kent, and if successful could be rolled-out elsewhere. Across West Kent we have around 2,000 members and 1,500 “Registered Supporters”, the majority of whom are longstanding, stable members of their local communities and generally understand the need to support local independent retailers. Our plan is to recruit a range of small independent retailers who will offer various discount to Members in exchange for inclusion in our handbook. We believe the retailers will benefit from increased patronage, and our membership will benefit from enjoying discounts and promotions.
Watch this space for further details.
What does the “West Kent Office” do for us…? The purpose of the West Kent Campaign HQ in Paddock Wood is to provide legal, compliance, campaign, technical and administrative support to our member Associations. The office and staff and paid for by the five participating Associations on a pro-rata basis linked to membership. Under this arrangement, the ‘lions share’ costs are met by Tonbridge & Malling and Tunbridge Wells, who between them have 58% of the membership. Generally speaking these two Associations are content with the arrangements as they realise that we are a team and will sink or swim together. The West Kent Campaign HQ not only provides competent back-office support, but is recognised as a “Centre of Excellence” for campaigning. Here are just a few of the ways Andrew Kennedy and Jon Botten have ’added value’ and brought fresh thinking and innovation to what we are all trying to achieve. During the General Election, we had the confidence and skills to ‘opt out’ of the national print package and negotiate our own print deal locally. As a result we achieved better prices, provided work for local small businesses and our candidates had full control over the timing and content of their leaflets. Rather than participate in the national CCHQ draw, which requires 25% of proceeds being sent to London, we have run our own West Kent Draw for the last two years. After payment of all costs, this has resulted in £3,000 additional profit for our Associations, plus all local prize winners. The West Kent office now has a full colour print machine and is self-sufficient for major print jobs and direct mail. We are now selling print and design services to other Associations making a profit for West Kent and providing practical supporti for those who need assistance.
Through innovation and new fundraising schemes in 2015 the West Kent Office raised almost £15,000 (15%) of its running costs, reducing the charge levied on Associations accordingly. In 2016 the aim is to raise £20,000 centrally, further reducing the financial burden on the Associations. The office has a ten line phone bank, capable at full capacity of making up to 5,000 phone calls a day. This facility is available free of charge to all Associations and branches upon request for canvassing voters and/or recruiting new members and helpers. Our ‘Registered Supporter’ scheme encouraging people to commit to the Conservatives without actually joining, has identified over 1,500 new strong supporters. Many of these are now helping deliver leaflets or are making donations to our appeals, broadening the base of our fundraising and identifying a new generation of activists. The scheme has been replicated nationwide.
The West Kent office provides a wealth of experience with fundraising. Recently the Faversham & Mid Kent Association organised their first Annual Dinner for many years, resulting in a profit of over £4,500 for Association funds. Most of this money was raised by an auction and through selling advertising space, organised by the West Kent Office. The Office have just launched online payment for events, tickets and membership. Over £2000 a month is now being received electronically, reducing postage and print costs and extending choice to our members. Our experience opens a network of contacts for use locally, such as our ability to identify high profile speakers and support members trying to relaunch their local branch. Our buying power means we now pay less for stationery than local authorities in Kent, ensuring contributions from Members are used efficiently.