New website

We are currently creating a new website for the society. This is being done for several reasons:

• To create a more professional looking website
• To design for the future of the society
  
• To incorporate the blog into the main website

We are hoping to have the new site up by the end of the week.

Only two weeks to go...

Yes; Top Gear is returning to our screens in just two weeks!

The return of Richard Hammond and the most politically correct TV show in the UK!

p.s. you only have one more week to buy tickets for the STRG Reception in Parliament - hurry!

Can you name an MEP?

Can you name any of your local MEP's? Can you name any MEP?

Out of 78 MEP's in this country 27 are Conservative. Did you know that? Do you know how MEP's are selected and what they do?

Why do we care so little about the Members of the European Parliament? Is it that most people don't care about European politics or is it our anti-European stance that causes this?

A new campaign has launched this week called MEP Watch. It aims to bring "further accountability and higher levels of democratic practice to the Conservative party's European Parliamentary candidate selection process." It is hoped to bring further political interest and debate into the MEP selection process.

Will this actually help or do people just not care? Let us know your comments.

A Vote of Confidence for DC

An article today in The Times gives a great picture for our future success. Whilst Labour stumble with a £23 million debt and a cash-for-honours scandal that has dried up loans and donations the Conservatives have had a boom year!

Through Party loans, the different donor clubs (including making £500,000 on one dinner with DC at Blenheim Palace) and the soon sale of the old Party headquarters (at around £30 million) the Conservative Party books are looking good. The sale of the old headquarters alone will give them around £13.5 million in profit, which could leave them with only having to pay off £2.5 million in loans.

This shows both a vote of confidence in DC and leaves us in a much better position to fight the next General Election. Labour with huge debts, donors wanting there loans back and no new cash since the scandal will be hard pushed to call an election anytime soon!

Also out today is a ConservativeHome survey, which has 71% of the grassroots satisfied with David Cameron. Things are looking up!

Skills4Work - Media Day

Skills4Work is an initiative organised jointly by UCL Union and UCL Careers Service to give you the opportunity to meet employers and develop the skills needed to give you the upper hand when it comes to applications, interviews and when you start your career after UCL.

This term they are focusing on careers in the Media. They will organise practice interviews and assesments throughout the term, but on Thursday 15th February they are holding a Media Day.

This will involve many things including a formal discussion and talks from representatives of the BBC and The Guardian. If you are interested in this as a career you should go along!

For more information please visit http://www.skills4work.net/

Is UKIP a serious alternative?

With the news that two Tory Peers (who no one has ever heard of) have defected to UKIP I want to discuss the UK Independence Party and its current role.

UKIP is a single issue Party that has had huge success in a short space of time, but now appears to be declining. Europe is not a big as issue as it has been in the last few years. With the end of Blair and the beginning of Cameron Europe has been "dropped" from the front pages.

In the recent months they have elected Nigel Farage MEP as there new leader and have been producing policies on many different issues. There most recent policy is on tax, which includes them wanting to drastically shake up things by changing the tax bands and scrapping inheritance tax. They have also released there policies for Education, Local Government and the West Lothian Question.

Sounds quite good? Very far fetched, but they seem to be trying to be both credible and outreaching. With Cameron's Conservatives changing the Party it seems a perfect time for UKIP to offer the Tory grassroots a right wing alternative. Is it working? Whilst two Peers have joined UKIP whole Associations are resigning (they are angered by the MEP's claiming benefits from the system they are meant to be bringing down!). Is UKIP a serious alternative to the Conservatives? I don’t think it is, but I want to know your views.

Let us know your comments.

Student TRG Annual Parliamentary Reception

Every year the Student Tory Reform Group holds a reception inside Parliament and this year is no different!

All members of UCL Conservatives are invited to attend; it is being held in the Jubilee room, which is just off the Westminster Hall. Lots of MP's will be coming along to chat to us in a very social setting.

Guest of honour is Ken Clarke, but lots of other MP's will be coming along including Charles Hendry, Alistair Burt, Boris Johnson, Andrew Mitchell, Damian Green, Theresa May, Justine Greening and many more...

Want a ticket? To go you need to send off a cheque using this form. Due to security though you need to get this in by Monday 22nd January - hurry!

Tickets: £10 student (includes STRG membership), £5 STRG (if you came to the xmas party in the crypt you are a member of STRG)