On the contrary, the presumption of downtime is an opportunity for young conservatives to become even more active while our opponents take their feet off the pedals.

During the Easter holidays, consider the five following steps:

1. Plan for a Summer Ball or Party – your plans in this regard may already be well advanced. An end of year/graduation social event, after the end of exams, is an essential part of any decent programme. If you want a speaker for the event, contact Christian May at christian@ybf.org.uk.

2. Plan ahead for next academic year – all too often too little is done in terms of inviting speakers to debates or speaker meetings until the autumn itself. The earlier you contact speakers, the more likely it is that they will be free to come. Arrange for YBF to visit your campus for a campaign or media training workshop. Look into the finances and activities of your university and students’ union. Search for newsworthy waste or extremist and politically correct courses or syllabuses.

3. Sort out your admin – the Easter vacation is a good opportunity for you to ensure that your branch or group’s administration is all in order. Chase unpaid subscriptions. Seek to persuade people to renew their membership or increase their involvement in the months ahead. Plan the succession. Be ready for a marked increase in membership in the autumn.

4. Focus on the elections – this June sees both the European elections and a myriad of local authority battles. The elections are a great opportunity for activists to get first hand experience in how to campaign effectively. Just because the elections are in early June doesn’t mean you can use exams as an excuse for not helping out. Going for a walk and delivering leaflets needn’t take more than an hour or two. Helping on polling day likewise shouldn’t turn a 2.1 into a 2.2.

5. Work on campaigns – campaigns such as YBF’s Support Our Troops campaign or the EU Awareness campaign are more than just a matter of putting up posters. Table motions for debate. Get signatures for a petition. Protest. Hold a media-friendly stunt. Write an article, feature or letter for publication in the students’ union newspaper. Appear on the student radio or television channel to discuss politics. None of these activities will take long and with forward planning and ingenuity you can obtain good local and student print or broadcast media coverage by latching onto a national news story and giving it a local or student angle.

Dissertations and exams provide a great excuse – indeed a reason – why many activists consider they cannot be active after Easter and into the summer. These five straightforward steps show you how to be active within the confines of your academic commitments in the coming weeks.

One of the wisest pieces of advice I have heard handed out to students comes from Patrick Coyle, the Vice-President of the Young America’s Foundation. Pat reminds student activists that while it is all well and good having views as to who should be the Republican Party’s nominee or what the basic rate of income tax should be, a true activist should be focussing his or her efforts on how deliver the conservative message effectively at the level where they can truly have an impact. More often than not that is at the campus level – and it is too often overlooked by young conservatives in Britain too.

Yes you may have strong views whether the top rate of tax should be 45% or not , or whether Britain should be inside the EU – but can you really, hand on heart, say that what you think really matters?

Just as Tony McNulty and Jacqui Smith are symptoms of a greater problem of increasing sleaze in British politics, so it will be that your students’ union will also be a snapshot of taxpayer-funded waste, sleaze and incompetent administration as well. Not every students’ union necessarily – but a significant number of students’ union will be poorly governed, sleaze-ridden and wasteful.

Conservatives need, if possible, to engage in their students’ unions, take control, reform structures, cut wasteful expenditure and give students and taxpayers real value for money. In that sense, students’ unions are a useful training laboratory for those who are considering running for office in the future. Well-run conservative-controlled students’ unions are also a great way to show fellow students that conservative-run organisations do not see the routine slaughter of the first born or the clock being turned back to Dickensian England.

So what questions might you want to ask?

Start with the National Union of Students. Ask how much your students’ union has paid to the NUS in the past decade, on what dates and when each year’s decision to pay that money was made and by whom.

Then look at Clubs & Societies, particularly political and cultural societies. Ask how much has been given in the way of grants to all political and cultural societies in the past decade. For example, has the local Hayek Society been unfairly treated in comparison to the campus Green Society even though the Hayek Society has 50 members and the Greens only a dozen? Does the Islamic Society get more or less than the Christian Union? Or the Palestinian Society more than the Israel Society?

Then move onto Sports Clubs, key allies of conservative activists on campus across the country and whose budgets are often cut in favour of left-wing hobby horses and pet projects. In the past decade have grants to the men’s and women’s rugby, cricket, hockey or football clubs been cut? Pledging to increase their funding is usually a sure fire way of ensuring their support in students’ union elections but as fiscal conservatives remember that you will need to make savings elsewhere in the budget.

Look at the Staff of your students’ union, some of whom will revel in Whitehall-style titles such as Permanent Secretary. They are normally your employees, not those of the university. They are accountable to you. If they fail to perform their tasks properly then, subject to the country’s onerous employment laws, they can be sacked. How much are they paid? What other perks – such as pensions, private healthcare, car and other expenses – do they get? Has the budget for their pay and perks increased in the past decade?

Another area that is full of waste is the Conferences budget. It’s the same in local government too. How many of your fellow students have attended external conferences such as the NUS Conference in the past decade? Who went and why? How much did it cost to send them to those conferences – including registration fees, travel, accommodation and subsistence?

Students’ unions currently fall outside the scope of the Freedom of Information Act, despite being wholly funded by taxpayers – a state of affairs that an incoming Conservative government will need to change. However you, as a student at your university and a member of your students’ union, are entitled to this information as of right. Prepare for stonewalling and delaying tactics from sabbatical officers and permanent staff. They will doubtless demand to know why you want this information – tell them it is none of their business. You are entitled to it – full stop. And then, when you have the results, send the information to the Young Britons’ Foundation so that we can expose quite how wasteful your students’ union has become.

At a time of recession, when millions are worried about losing their jobs and homes, conservatives everywhere need to follow the lead of the TaxPayers’ Alliance in exposing waste. With your help, the Young Britons’ Foundation can do this on your campus. Now get asking!

There will be times when you will wish you attended an event that you chose not to attend. Something else will have cropped up at work or in your personal life. You will have a diary clash, you won’t be able to afford to go or on a particular day you will decide you just cannot be bothered to go to whatever event it is.

And then you will discover that the event was truly memorable in some way and you will regret, sometimes to your dying day, that you didn’t go.

Since becoming politically active in 1990 I have been fortunate enough to go to some events that I had had second thoughts about attending. I got to hear Margaret Thatcher speak at the Despatch Box. I heard Enoch Powell speak at the Newbury by-election. I got to sit around the Cabinet Table when the Conservative Students National Committee went to see John Major. I got a private tour of the West Wing, including the Oval Office. Recently I got to meet Karl Rove. All events that I had weighed up going to – and that I am glad I did.

Similarly I’ve missed out. I never got to meet Jesse Helms when I could have done. I passed up the chance to hear President Bush speak. And as a result I kicked myself for choosing not to go when I could and should have gone.

This summer – as we do every summer – YBF is taking a group of young conservatives to the United States. After a week of training at the Leadership Institute (including three days in their state of the art television studio) and a week attending the Young America’s Foundation Conservative Student Conference (which incorporates a tour of Congress, the White House, the monuments and some shooting, and lots of drinking…). It is a truly memorable trip – and one that you will kick yourself if you miss.

Thanks to the generosity of some of its most supportive donors, the deadline for expressing interest in attending the YBF Summer Conference Programme has been extended to 28 February. If you want to go to the US, email Donal Blaney at donal@ybf.org.uk as soon as possible. It’s first come, first served…

That said, time is tight. I would therefore recommend the following ten online resources to bookmark and check either daily or at least once or twice a week. Just hold your nose as you read them..!

LabourList – Derek Draper may not have gone to Berkeley but he has successfully pulled together an impressive (insofar as it that is possible on the left) list of contributors whose combination of class warfare, bitterness and smears make it a must read for conservatives. Goading contributors in the comments section is optional.

Polly Toynbee – if you have the time, read The Guardian each day. If that doesn’t get you angry, nothing will. But save time, in particular, to be repulsed by the nauseating, self-congratulatory deceit that personifies Polly Toynbee’s columns.

Huffington Post – the left’s answer to The Drudge Report. More sour than a mouthful of lemons and as accurate as Jo Brand is slim. So left-wing that they think President Obama is a neocon!

Alastair Campbell - Machiavelli’s heir is new to blogging but he is doing his best to poison the political sphere.

Liberal Conspiracy – particularly venal and unpleasant, Liberal Conspiracy is the home of the radical left in the British blogosphere. If you can’t find a smear here, it’s only a matter of time before it appears.

Occupations – helpfully the ranks of the great unwashed whose treachery has led to them to sympathise with Hamas have a website listing all of their plans and antics.

The Independent – if you want to know what to think on that day’s news stories, you can rarely go wrong if you follow this simple rule: read The Independent, find out its take on the news and then think the opposite!

The European Union – over 80% of our laws originate in Brussels and that percentage is only going to grow. The EU is rarely shy about its plans for a European superstate. Read what they are up to, in their own words.

Now you have no excuse not knowing what the left is up to..!

I wrote:

“If a students’ union decides to affiliate to an external organisation – such as the National Union of Students – the Act states that the name of the organisation and the details of any subscriptions paid must be published. That notice must be made available to all students – and to the university authorities (section 22(2)(j)). Does your students’ union do this?

At least once a year, students’ unions are compelled to publish a formal report listing those organisations to which the students’ union has affiliated and identifying what sums have been paid to them (section 22(2)(k)). Does your students’ union do this?

At least once a year, the current list of affiliations must be submitted to members of the students’ union for approval (section 22(2)(l)(i)). Does your students’ union do this?”

There are other important provisions of the Education Act 1994 that it is important to ensure are complied with:

Section 22(2)(a) of the Act requires your students’ union to have a written constitution. Does yours? Have you obtained a copy? Have you (or a law student in your group) read it thoroughly to ensure you know what the standing orders are for meetings?

Section 22(2)(b) requires that that constitution has been approved by the university every five years. When was your students’ union constitution last approved by the university, if at all?

Students have the right not to be members of the students’ union thanks to section 22(2)(c) of the Act. Those of us involved at the time the Act was passed were disappointed that the law provided for an opt-out rather than an opt-in but this is a start. Were you told you could opt-out? Were you told that if you did you would not suffer adversely in terms of access to the students’ union’s services?

Your right to opt-out is required to be brought to your attention at least once a year by the university (section 22(5) of the Act). Was that right drawn to your attention or not?

Section 22(2)(m) of the Act provides that there should be a complaints procedure in place regarding your students’ union’s activities. Frequently students’ unions will act in ways that merit complaints being made. Have you obtained and read a copy of your students’ union’s complaints procedure?

The Act also provides for the publication of a code of practice to ensure compliance with the law (section 22(3)). That code of practice is required to be brought to students’ attention by the university at least once a year (section 22(4)). Has your university published its code of practice? Have you read it?

Asking these questions of your students’ union and university – by reference to the provisions in the Education Act 1994 – is a simple step to take in holding the students’ union and your university to account. You can make those requests for information in a firm and yet non-confrontational way. Not only can you but you must. For if you will not hold your students’ union and university to account, who will?

If you encounter any difficulties with your students’ union or university, you should immediately contact YBF Chief Executive Donal Blaney at donal@ybf.org.uk.

Barry Goldwater was right in 1964 but he lost in the then largest ever landslide to President Johnson. By contrast Ronald Reagan demolished both Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale in 1980 and 1984. He had the same views as Barry Goldwater but, through his sunny demeanour and ability to communicate to Americans, he was able to win and to win well. 

While it is rare for younger activists to get exposure to local and national broadcast media (although there are, of course, exceptions), it is much easier for young conservatives to spread the word in written form. Many do so by blogging. Some writes letters to the editor of their student, local or national newspapers. But often the best way to persuade is by writing considered pieces in, for example, the student newspaper. A feature on, for example, a conference or speech you recently attended or discussing a particularly newsworthy event or policy issue is a great way to persuade others. It is also very good practice.

When you begin to write your first pieces will inevitably not be Pulitzer Prize winning pieces of journalism – nor should you expect them to be. But over time you will eventually develop a writing style – a personality in prose – that will enable you to define what conservatism is to you and to help you communicate it to thousands of your fellow students and countrymen.

It is likely that your student newspaper will not have a conservative viewpoint. Offer to write a piece. If the editorial team turns you down, write a letter to the editor for publication (which letter is, of course, essentially just a shortened version of an article in any event). If you still cannot get published, maybe it might be time to consider setting up your own campus publication – be it online or in print.

The left has only developed its hegemony in the classroom and lecture hall because too many who could have stood up to their bullying chose the easy life instead. Just because conservatism seems likely to prevail in the next general election does not mean activists can simply sit back and wait for the government to run out of steam. Indeed that would be the very worst thing to do.

If you care passionately about politics – and surely you do if you are a campus activist – then you need to ensure that as many of your fellow students embrace your values and campaign for real conservative values. The more younger people that proclaim the conservative message, the better not only for the Conservative Party but, more importantly, for the country. Get writing!

What is the point in being an activist if nobody knows what you are doing? There you are, slogging your guts out while earning a degree or keeping a roof over your head, to promote the cause of conservatism. Rarely do you receive any thanks from your colleagues or peers. All too often you waste hours of your time organising meetings, recruiting members, canvassing or delivering literature – and nobody even has the decency to say “thank you” – and to mean it.

Whose fault is that? Well, in part it is your fault. How come? Because you don’t tell enough people often enough quite what it is that you have done. You fail to blow your own trumpet.

I don’t mean that you should become boastful. The last thing the conservative movement needs is for you to become an insufferable self-publicist (there’s plenty of time for that when you become a Member of Parliament, after all!) but what you could – and should – be doing is making sure that as many people as possible are aware of all of the good work that you are doing. If people aren’t aware of it that is your fault, not theirs.

To encourage activists to share what they are doing with fellow conservatives throughout the country, YBF launched its Grand Committee. This points-based reward scheme, based on the Young America’s Foundation Club 100, sees points awarded for particular pieces of activism such as securing press coverage, overturning a ban on the military on campus, organising a speaker event and so on. Your activism is then communicated to MPs, MEPs, Peers and the hundreds of supporters YBF has, thereby bringing your hard work to the attention of those who matter and who would otherwise not have the slightest idea what you are up to.

It may be, of course, that you would prefer not to have others know what you are up to. You might even want to convince yourself that this is because “crowing” or “boasting” is un-British and you are not a bragger. That is your choice. But if you have any sense, I would ensure that as many people as possible know what incredible work you are doing. Come on now: don’t be shy!

• Rt Hon David Davis MP – Freedom, Civil Liberties, ID Cards, CCTV, Europe, Law & Order, Conservatism;
• Matthew Elliott – Tax, Freedom, Government Waste, Europe;
• Guido Fawkes – Blogging, New Media, Freedom;
• Frederick Forsyth CBE – Europe, Military Covenant;
• Michael Gove MP – Education, Conservatism;
• Daniel Hannan MEP – Europe, Localism, Direct Democracy;
• Douglas Murray – Jihad, Islamism, Israel, War on Terror, Neo-Conservatism;
• Rt Hon John Redwood MP – Freedom, Tax, Europe;
• Antony Worrall Thompson – Freedom, Smoking, Choice;
• and many, many more…

All of these speakers are available to conservative students throughout the United Kingdom. So how do you go about getting a great speaker to your campus? Here are 10 steps that a committed activist should follow in organising a great speaker event.

1. Book the speaker – this may sound blindingly obvious but there were red faces at the Oxford Union this past year when it transpired that the Librarian had not, as he had claimed, invited Jonah Goldberg to speak but he nonetheless advertised his, and other speakers’, impending talks in the Term Card. Make sure the speaker is available to speak at a convenient time when you can be sure as you can be that a good number of students of all political persuasions will be able and willing to attend.

2. Book a suitable room – if your school, college or university has a tradition of inviting prominent speakers, no doubt the attendance will be sizeable. If, on the other hand, your branch is less renowned it is likely that the attendance will be smaller. The key is to book a room that is smaller than necessary. It is far better to have people crowding the aisles or unable to fit into a smaller room than to have a large lecture theatre with lots of seats unfilled. This was why Churchill ensured that the House of Commons chamber cannot sit all MPs at once: he wanted the chamber to be overcrowded on great occasions such as the Budget or PMQs. Likewise you will want the room in which your speaker event is to take place to be smaller rather than too large.

3. Book security – leftists loathe those who don’t share their own warped view of the world. They will do whatever they can to stop conservative speakers from advancing an alternative worldview, frequently resorting to intimidation and violence. If they cannot stop a conservative speaker from addressing a student gathering by passing a “no platform” policy (by alleging that a speaker is racist, sexist, homophobic or in some other way unacceptable) they will often lead a vocal protest before, after or even during the speech. In a democracy they have a right to protest. But other students have the right to hear what the speaker wishes to say, provided what he says is not unlawful (which, if you invite a YBF speaker, it will not be!). Make sure that your school, college or university’s security staff are present or available in case left-wing agitators decide to try to disrupt your meeting.

4. Publicise your event – a simple Facebook announcement is inadequate. There are many competing demands on a student’s time. It is up to you to ensure that as many of your fellow students feel sufficiently motivated, intrigued or interested to come and here from a prominent conservative speaker at a time when they could be out drinking, studying or sleeping. Your publicity should be provocative and eye-catching. Use colourful slogans on well-designed literature and ensure that any posters and flyers are circulated as widely as possible, whatever the authorities may say. Saying “come and here Dr Liam Fox MP” is unlikely to fill a room, no matter how undoubtedly sound the former Defence Secretary may be. A poster asking the question “Is It Time to Bomb Iran?” (a question that Dr Fox will doubtless answer in the negative, by the way!) is far more likely to entice students to listen to what Dr Fox has to say.

5. Engage the student media – your student newspaper will invariably be full of worthy but dull articles that rarely interest the wider student readership. See if you can write a feature on a forthcoming speaker event, highlighting some of that speaker’s more controversial views and statements. Or write a letter for publication. YBF works with student journalists to ensure that they get an exclusive opportunity to interview any speaker YBF brings to a school, college or university. This is a far more sensible approach than hiding a speaker from the student newspaper for fear that the journalist might be rude or disrespectful. Invite the student newspaper’s photographer to take pictures of the speech. After the event make sure to follow up with the student newspaper by offering to write a follow-up article or letter for publication. And don’t just focus on the student press: be equally as cooperative with any student radio or television station that you might have. They too will welcome the chance to interview your guest speaker.

6. Engage the local media – while it is highly unlikely that your speaker will interest the national print and broadcast media (unless he or she is giving a keynote address or commits a gaffe), there is no reason why the local print and broadcast media won’t be interested in covering your speaker event – particularly the further away from London you may be. Regional journalists are ambitious and will welcome the chance to test their interviewing skills on your speaker. And today’s regional reporter is often tomorrow’s lobby journalist based at Westminster. Build good relationships today and they will last you a lifetime in politics.

7. Record and upload the event – while dozens of students will hopefully attend the speaker event, many hundreds or thousands will not. Some will wish they had had the chance to hear what your speaker had to say. You should therefore video your speaker’s remarks, upload them to YouTube and circulate the URL/embed the clip in your website and across the blogosphere. The more people who hear what your speaker said, the better. YBF’s new media capabilities mean that we can professionally record, edit, clip and upload your speaker’s remarks accurately and quickly, thereby helping you to capitalise on the success of your event.

8. Hold a media-friendly stunt – the mere fact that a prominent conservative speaker is speaking at your school, college or university is not necessarily newsworthy. But if you hold a media-friendly stunt before or after the speech, suddenly the speaker event becomes more interesting to a student or local news media editor. A picture paints a thousand words so whatever you do, make sure the purpose of your stunt is clear to the photographer. This should be made clear in a pre-event news release that you will have circulated to student and local journalists to entice them to attend your event. But make sure you follow the journalists up: they are very busy indeed.

9. Sign people up - many of those who will attend the speaker event will not be members of your local branch. Some might be interested in becoming more involved or learning more about conservatism. That, after all, is why the event is open to students of all political persuasions. Make sure that you have sign-up sheets readily accessible to those who are interested in learning more or joining your organisation. And whatever you do, follow up with those who express an interest as soon as possible after the event.

10. Say thank you – most importantly, thank the speaker. Invariably he or she will be very busy and will have taken a large chunk of his or her day to travel to and from your speaker event. Thank the speaker publicly after the speech ends, thank him or her privately as they depart and thank them in writing a few days later. Also be sure to thank the university’s security staff, any journalists who attend, any photographers or cameramen and any other person who helped your event become the success that it became.

If you would like the Young Britons’ Foundation to help bring a conservative speaker to your school, college or university, please contact Claire Guyton, YBF Director of Events, at claire@ybf.org.uk or call (01732) 525922. 

The result is that those activists have returned to Britain better trained and highly motivated to promote conservative values in their schools, colleges and universities, on the blogosphere and in their local communities.

During the YBF US Summer Conference Programme students will have the opportunity to attend all or any of the following conferences:

The Foundation for Economic Education Freedom University – based just outside New York, this is the foremost academic conference for libertarians who want to learn why the free market system remains the best guarantor of liberty.

The Leadership Institute International Leadership Seminar - the LI trains conservatives who want to win. Based just across the Potomac from Washington DC, this week-long seminar encompasses an intense media training workshop as well as developing activists’ campaigning skills. Time is also set aside for sightseeing.

The Young America’s Foundation National Conservative Student Conference – based at George Washington University, YAF’s annual CSC is a highlight for conservatives from across America. It is your chance to hear from the leading conservative thinkers, writers and political leaders in an informal setting – as well as bonding with our trans-Atlantic cousins.

Full details as to the costs of the conference will be released in the next few weeks. At this stage, however, YBF needs to know what level of interest there is, in principle, in attending the YBF US Summer Conference Programme. It runs from the last week of July to the middle of August – and you can come for one, two or more weeks. Thanks to the incredible generosity of our donors the vast majority of the costs associated with attending these conferences will be met by sponsorship.

What are you waiting for?

To register your interest, at no cost or obligation to you, email info@ybf.org.uk by 1 March 2009.