TYC started during the YBF Summer Conference Programme ‘08 in the USA. Against the heady backdrop of all that intensive training I was keen to find a way to implement what I’d learned there, and Tarasyn commented to me that she was keen to start blogging.

 

I’m a big advocate of the importance of finding a niche to blog about, not just being another “my two cents on what’s on bbc.co.uk” blogger. I think you’ve got to justify why people should read your blog, what makes it different to all the others out there. Originally we toyed with names like “CF Times” but on reflection at the Reagan Ranch I thought that would be too parochial, and that really I wanted to do something for the movement as a whole. It struck me that whilst we have great resources such as ConHome, there’s precious little for the youth of the movement – CFDiary being updated sporadically. Thus, TYC was born.

 

It’s there for the activists. Our aim is to give them a resource to find out what’s happening at grassroots level, how they can get involved, and to give them a platform to promote their work. We believe the conservative movement is strongest when it’s broad and deep. That means we’ll carry all strands of thought, all conservative opinions, though we may not personally endorse them. The stronger the movement, the stronger our chances of having a sound conservative government, in my opinion.

It’s coming along in leaps and bounds but it still has a long way to go. We’ve got YBF, for example, providing superb training, but we need to get far more people through those training programmes. Take media training, I think it’s crucial to be savvy on camera or around a journalist. But then you look at the recent profile of CF in the Financial Times and it’s apparent some members really ought to have known better. I think if they’d be trained in political technology they’d have thought twice about some of the things they did and said. I was with the journalist who wrote that article for days on end in Crewe, and frankly we got off lightly, when you consider some of the silly things said.

I’d also like to see more internships available with movement groups. Parliament is quite accessible, but we need to have more young people working for lobby and single issue campaign groups. I suppose the viability of that goes to money, which is something else we need to work on, convincing donors to support the movement, not just the Conservative Party.

 

We need to boost our campus activism and have more single issue groups springing up to vocally campaign on issues. The Left are great at this, frankly to the point of being militant. When UCL banned the military from its campus we saw a galvanising of opinion and a strong statement against such appalling behaviour, but it’s died down largely since. I’d like to see organisations like that stay high profile and active, bring military speakers for instance to campus, hosting debates, and basically refusing to go quietly.

 

Our campuses have been handed over to the Left. Take a walk around any of them and they’ll be covered in socialist/communist posters. Why don’t we have counter-posters up? In America they wouldn’t stand for it. October 9th was No More Che Day and YAF released some very powerful posters for campus activists. In this country we’re far too quiet.

 

How would you compare it to the US?
In the US they’re streaks ahead. The movement their is slick, professional and confident. It seems like they’ve got a generational headstart over the British. For example, you’ve got the Leadership Institute who focus purely on training in political technology, and then the Young America’s Foundation who focus purely on doctrine and ideology. Contrast that to Britain where YBF does a fantastic job of covering both roles. 

There’s a lot more money in the American movement, too. The LI has an annual revenue of $13,000,000. YAF has a even more. I think we very much need to keep pressing the argument that if people want a conservative country they need to fund the movement, not just the Tory Party. It’s the only way we can train the next generation of activists and keep feeding fresh ideas into the Party.

 

In America they’re very keen on bring conservative speakers to campuses. In Britain that translates as MPs and PPCs. This is something I’m trying to change. The Conservative Party doesn’t have a monopoly on conservatism. I’d like to see our branches and campuses inviting non-Party speakers. Douglas Murray is a favourite and always warmly received, in addition to being a simply lovely chap and a fantastic orator. But we need to be exposing young people to fresh thinking and new ideas, not just trotting out the Party line over and over again. Young people like the edgier, more radical side of politics, they like debating big ideas, so play to that. 

My concern with the gossip blogs is that so much of what they publish isn’t backed up supporting evidence – it’s conjecture and, at times, verges on libel. There’s no way to seek redress if you’re the victim. But all that aside there are even worse consequences. I’ve spoken to people new to CF who have been utterly turned off by all this backstabbing. They don’t want to be involved with an organisation that gossips about them. They can’t get their heads around why we’d do that to each other, and I adopt that position; it’s not constructive.

 

I don’t think we should be airing our dirty laundry in public. By doing so we leave a lot of potentially damaging stories of questionable merit in the public domain. Take for example the recent case of the now seemingly defunct ‘TheBlueGuerilla’ blog which was quoted on a daytime TV show for something he wrote. That same blog also has some of the worst vitriolic gossip. Of course there needs to be a mechanism for voicing dissent, but I don’t think gossip blogs are the best way. That’s not to say they shouldn’t exist, but they ought to be much better fact-checked, and shouldn’t run a story they can’t validate.  I also believe you should write under your own name, not hide behind anonymity. That’s a cornerstone of TYC – we’ll put our names to everything we write. If you’re not comfortable doing that, maybe you shouldn’t be writing what you’re writing. Overall, I’d say we should just think twice before attacking our own activists. Is that really the best use of our time?

 

I’d also add that some of the worst attacks comes in the anonymous comments people leave. Something about the anonymity of the internet brings out the worst in people. At TYC we don’t tolerate that. We require an email address and log IPs of commentors so we can bar repeat offenders, and will delete personal attacks. We want debate and dissent, but we’re determined to keep it highbrow. A lot of people have said they want CCHQ to take CF more seriously. I think there is an argument that we need to be more professional and mature first if we want that recognition.

Without a doubt. If I want to know what’s going on in the political world I’ll turn to the blogosphere first. It has many advantages. It’s available 24/7 wherver you are and constantly updated. It’s free. It’s dedicated – unlike say a TV news programme which will have limited time. It’s interactive – you can contact authors easily and participate in the debate. And I suppose it’s also a great way of countering media bias against conservatives – it gives us a powerful tool to voice our views. Many of the traditional media outlets are embracing blogging – newspapers and tv stations frequently host blogs, and carry video content online.

 

Certainly. Most people want to get involved in politics because they care about a specific issue. When you’re out leafletting or canvassing, as vital as that is, it’s often hard to feel like you’re addressing that issue. And then there’s the fact that the Party may not want to take the line you do. Better Off Out is a classic example. So I would advise people to work out what their core issues are, and then seek out the groups that campaign on those issues; and if you find nothing suitable exists, set one up! Take Laurie Pycroft, who founded Pro-Test to give science and reason a platform in the debate over vivisection. He was just 16 at the time; now Pro-Test is very much the voice of common sense, opposing animal rights extremism. (We actually have an interview with Laurie coming up soon!) And don’t forget, you have plenty of friends and allies who will support your venture. Take to the likes of myself for help promoting your group; talk to YBF for training, contacts within the movement and advice. There’s a wealth of experience you can draw on.

 

Also, don’t be afraid of covering the same ground another organisation does. In the US there’s more than one gun lobby, more than one tax lobby, and a lot of libertarian groups. What I’d really like to see is more student lobbies – Students4Freedom which recently launched here is a classic example. I think they’re a great way to energise conservatives and get them active in the public policy process.

It’s still very early days, and we’ve yet to reach all the goals we set ourselves on day one. Most pressing of those is we want to reach out to CF branches, lobbies, campaign groups, and get them contributing to the site. We want to establish in their mind that TYC is the place they’ll automatic submit content to, such as press releases, notification of events etc if they want to be in touch with the youth of the movement. At present Tarasyn and I cover things we know are happening, but we don’t know it all and we can’t be everywhere. We want activists to make the blog their own and utilise its potential.

 

We’re also currently focusing on rich media content – use of much more video and audio. I appreciate at times the blog can be a bit text-heavy, and more mixed media would help break that up. We’ve several things coming up which we’re excited about on that front, so stay tuned!

 

I drop by ConHome many many times each day for the heavyweight politics. I also check what YBF have posted to keep abreast of activism and training, and like to keep up with Dan Hannan at the Daily Telegraph. Dizzy has some fantastic articles – he actually served on a jury here at the Old Bailey, where I work, recently. That was odd! For opinions I can’t dissent from, and lashings of wit, it has to be Blaney’s Blarney.