The Conference According to Hashim
This year I was lucky enough to attend the 2014 Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham. I had no idea what to expect or who I would end up meeting, but I did know that it was the place to be for any budding politician! I arrived the night before the conference was due to start. As soon as I got to my hotel I was told about a party for all the young Conservatives who were aspiring to be politicians. I went along and before I knew it I had agreed to attend some more events later that night. When I got back to the hotel I checked the Conference pamphlet. It was packed with events, and there were many things I wanted to go to the next day. The conference was officially opened on the Sunday by the Party Chairman Grant Shapps, and so I found myself surrounded by government ministers, journalists, lawyers and TV crews jostling to ask all sorts of questions. At one point I was even asked to give an interview for Sky News on whether young people should be allowed to vote at 16.
It seemed like Birmingham had been taken over by the Tories for four days. Inside the secure zone of the conference there were literally dozens of events going on. In the main hall the key ministers such as the Home Secretary, the Chancellor and the Prime Minister gave speeches on the Conservative party strategy to win the forthcoming elections. It was essentially a manifesto pitch of promises which were largely met with applause. Outside the main hall there were various stands enticing people to volunteer to help secure a majority by canvassing. There were also stands for all the interest groups within the party, showcasing what they had done in the past year. At the same time there were various fringe events debating certain policies or issues which could swing the vote. Each day the conference would officially close at around 6pm, but the events would go on late into the night.
This year I was lucky enough to attend the 2014 Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham. I had no idea what to expect or who I would end up meeting, but I did know that it was the place to be for any budding politician! I arrived the night before the conference was due to start. As soon as I got to my hotel I was told about a party for all the young Conservatives who were aspiring to be politicians. I went along and before I knew it I had agreed to attend some more events later that night. When I got back to the hotel I checked the Conference pamphlet. It was packed with events, and there were many things I wanted to go to the next day. The conference was officially opened on the Sunday by the Party Chairman Grant Shapps, and so I found myself surrounded by government ministers, journalists, lawyers and TV crews jostling to ask all sorts of questions. At one point I was even asked to give an interview for Sky News on whether young people should be allowed to vote at 16.
It seemed like Birmingham had been taken over by the Tories for four days. Inside the secure zone of the conference there were literally dozens of events going on. In the main hall the key ministers such as the Home Secretary, the Chancellor and the Prime Minister gave speeches on the Conservative party strategy to win the forthcoming elections. It was essentially a manifesto pitch of promises which were largely met with applause. Outside the main hall there were various stands enticing people to volunteer to help secure a majority by canvassing. There were also stands for all the interest groups within the party, showcasing what they had done in the past year. At the same time there were various fringe events debating certain policies or issues which could swing the vote. Each day the conference would officially close at around 6pm, but the events would go on late into the night.
Hashim with the Home Secretary Teresa May MP at the 2014 Conservative party conference
Over the course of the four days I managed to meet the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary and Theresa May who were just casually walking around taking selfies with people. Amidst all the excitement of meeting the people who run our country, there wasn’t much time to reflect on what was said until I had gone home. There was certainly a copious amount of rhetoric as the party tried to set itself apart from the others to win the election. One such example is David Cameron’s speech, in which he included the sound bite “I believe in something for something; not something for nothing.”
In sum, I strongly recommend that anyone who is interested in party politics should attend their party conference and network, because it is a fantastic opportunity to get yourself known within the party. I will let you into a little secret: almost everything is scripted, so the politicians tend to read their speeches off an autocue. But nothing beats the atmosphere and excitement of being at the party in person!
By Hashim Bhatti
The Conference According to Oliver
Through 3FF, I heard about an organisation called Patchwork Foundation. They aim to promote and seek positive integration of under-represented, deprived and minority communities into British politics. One of the programs Patchwork runs is its Conference Programme that provides an opportunity for young people to attend the Labour, Conservative or Liberal Democrat party conferences. I was selected to attend the Conservative Conference.
I attended the conference as an undecided voter with the idea of using the visit to see how supportive Conservative members are of their leader David Cameron, especially after the defections of his some of his members to UKIP.
Through 3FF, I heard about an organisation called Patchwork Foundation. They aim to promote and seek positive integration of under-represented, deprived and minority communities into British politics. One of the programs Patchwork runs is its Conference Programme that provides an opportunity for young people to attend the Labour, Conservative or Liberal Democrat party conferences. I was selected to attend the Conservative Conference.
I attended the conference as an undecided voter with the idea of using the visit to see how supportive Conservative members are of their leader David Cameron, especially after the defections of his some of his members to UKIP.
Oliver being presented with his Graduation certificate by John Bercow MP, Speaker of the House of Commons
After a tour of the venue, myself and the rest of the Patchwork delegates were taken up to a private room for a Q&A with the Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP who is the Secretary State for Culture, Media and Sport. The group posed some challenging questions about getting minorities involved in politics, the threat of UKIP and why he decided to join politics. He answered the questions well and appeared to be in full support of David Cameron.
We all then moved onto the Symphony Hall. Our seats were great - we were 10 rows away from the stage. We heard speeches from Justine Greening who is the Secretary of State for International Development, then the Secretary of State for Defence Rt Hon Michael Fallon MP spoke and finally The Foreign Secretary Rt Hon Phillip Hammond MP. Michael Gove then came on to energise the audience in preparation for the arrival of David Cameron. After a promotional video of the party David Cameron walked onto the stage waving to the crowd who was giving him a standing ovation.
The speech was well put together with humour, gratitude, the celebration of his party’s achievements and encouragement to win the election in 2015. At the end, there was an air of unity as party members left the hall with a feeling of promise - the promise that they could win the election. Despite party members defecting to UKIP that week, David Cameron seemed to have put those thoughts out of the minds of the party members. I left the conference feeling that the Conservative Party members really did see David Cameron as the right candidate for winning the next election.
It was great to attend the conference with such a diverse group of people. The team from Patchwork really made the day enjoyable, they were extremely approachable and knowledgeable.
By Oliver Kasin
We all then moved onto the Symphony Hall. Our seats were great - we were 10 rows away from the stage. We heard speeches from Justine Greening who is the Secretary of State for International Development, then the Secretary of State for Defence Rt Hon Michael Fallon MP spoke and finally The Foreign Secretary Rt Hon Phillip Hammond MP. Michael Gove then came on to energise the audience in preparation for the arrival of David Cameron. After a promotional video of the party David Cameron walked onto the stage waving to the crowd who was giving him a standing ovation.
The speech was well put together with humour, gratitude, the celebration of his party’s achievements and encouragement to win the election in 2015. At the end, there was an air of unity as party members left the hall with a feeling of promise - the promise that they could win the election. Despite party members defecting to UKIP that week, David Cameron seemed to have put those thoughts out of the minds of the party members. I left the conference feeling that the Conservative Party members really did see David Cameron as the right candidate for winning the next election.
It was great to attend the conference with such a diverse group of people. The team from Patchwork really made the day enjoyable, they were extremely approachable and knowledgeable.
By Oliver Kasin