Week One: Get Involved

Monday, January 5th, 2009

Every Monday Matters is the title of a new book written by YBF Chief Executive Donal Blaney and which is being published in the Spring. Here is the first chapter, setting out concrete steps for activists to take this week…

The conservative movement in Britain is far broader than many activists might realize. In December 2007, Matthew Elliott of the TaxPayers’ Alliance launched a monthly meeting of the leaders of Britain’s conservative movement. Prior to the launch of the Wednesday Meeting, Matthew and I came up with a list of over fifty organizations that were movement-oriented, ranging from think-tanks and discussion forums to pressure groups and campaigning bodies

The Conservative Party alone cannot win the next general election. For conservatism to flourish it needs a broad-based movement to create the intellectual and political climate in which it is then seen as being both acceptable and desirable for conservative ideas to be embraced and enacted.

For many young conservative activists the be-all and end-all of their activism is the local Conservative Future branch or Hayek society. These activists – more properly described by YBF’s sister organization, the Young America’s Foundation, as “passive activists” – will organize the occasional social event, undertake occasional mutual aid and will occasionally recruit their fellow students to the conservative banner. While these activities are certainly not to be denigrated, they are, in and of themselves, insufficient to help advance the conservative agenda as effectively as that agenda could be advanced. Far more could and should be done.

Many campus branches are too inward-focussed, ignoring local government and even national elections. Many pay undue attention to the machinations of their students’ union, the National Union of Students or even Conservative Future’s National Executive. Too many activists fail to realize that their primary role must be in converting as many non-aligned students to the conservative cause as possible and, in turn, converting as many supporters into members and members into activists.

The perfect politician does not exist. Neither does the perfect student politician. Not every activist can be a charismatic leader or manager of their fellow students. Not every activist can be a persuasive debater or an outstanding orator. Not every activist can be a brilliant website or poster designer. Not every activist can exhibit the penchant for organizing memorable and successful social or fundraising events.

It should also be borne in mind that although we might want everyone to share our particular views, few do. Many will be more authoritarian than you on a particular issue, more liberal on another. Whereas socialism requires uniformity, conservatism embraces individualism and diversity. For conservatism to flourish, it needs to be as broad a church as reasonably possible. Frank Meyer, the American conservative leader, came up with the doctrine of “fusionism” under which Cold War hawks, social conservatives and libertarians could all coalesce around the notion of “freedom”, rather than focusing on what divided them. Conservatism in Britain likewise would benefit from a greater tolerance towards differing viewpoints while coalescing around a similar notion.

The reasons young activists join a local CF, Hayek Society or libertarian club branch differ. For some, such groups provide an opportunity to make friends or to develop contacts that might last a lifetime. For others such groups are an outlet for ideas, a chance to learn about politics and political values or a vehicle for self-aggrandizement. The key is to identify why someone wishes to join and to ensure that that person is encouraged to become more involved for the benefit of the movement as a whole.

To that end, this week I want to encourage you and your colleagues to join one or more of the organizations that comprise the broader conservative movement in Britain. Some of these organizations, such as the TaxPayers’ Alliance, do not charge a membership fee at all for you to register as a supporter. Some, such as Conservative Way Forward, offer discounted membership rates for students.

Your political beliefs may, you think, be well settled and you know for certain which groups represent your strain of conservatism. If so, join those groups and regularly read those websites. Others of you may not yet be 100% sure which group or groups reflect your views – that is fine too. I suspect that you will, in fact, discover that on some issues one group is closest to your views and on other issues a different group is. Such is the beauty of a broad-based movement.

If you or your colleagues need any guidance as to what each group stands for, once you have reviewed its website, by all means contact me at donal@ybf.org.uk and I should be pleased to help.

Here follows the vast right-wing conspiracy so bemoaned by leftists everywhere…

• Adam Smith Institute
• Atlantic Bridge
• Bow Group
• Bruges Group
• Campaign Against Political Correctness
• Campaign for an Independent Britain
• Centre for Policy Studies
• Centre for Social Cohesion
• Centre for Social Justice
• Civitas
• Conservative Christian Fellowship
• Conservative Friends of Israel
• Conservative History Group
• Conservative Home
• Conservative Way Forward
• Countryside Alliance
• Democracy Movement
• European Foundation
• Forest
• Freedom Alliance
• Freedom Association
• Free Society
• Global Britain
• Global Vision
• Henry Jackson Society
• Institute of Economic Affairs
• International Policy Network
• Migration Watch
• New Culture Forum
• No2ID
• Open Europe
• Policy Exchange
• Politeia
• Reform
• Selsdon Group
• Students for Freedom
• TaxPayers’ Alliance
• Young Britons’ Foundation

One final step: make sure you bookmark this site. As well as returning for the next instalment of Every Monday Matters next Monday, you should keep an eye open for other exciting announcements throughout the week.