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!

YBF wants your political groups on campus to make videos of what you are doing on campus and elsewhere and submit them too our YouTube group YBF’s Activist’s Videos. The best videos will get further coverage on the YBF website. So if you want to show how good your activist branch is on campus let the YBF know by submitting your video online!

If you would like any help or advice uploading a video to YBF’s Activist Videos sent an email to steven@ybf.org.uk

It is not negative campaigning. It has been described as “the interpretation of publicly verifiable documents, not a collection of unverifiable innuendoes and rumours”. It is a matter of finding out as much about your opponent as your opponent probably already knows about you.

The value of opposition research was brilliantly displayed by the Labour Party over the final weekend of campaigning prior to the Ealing Southall by-election when the memorable picture of the Conservative candidate, Tony Lit, standing alongside Tony Blair was released to the media. At a stroke Lit’s campaign died.

The goal of all opposition research is to demonstrate that your candidate is competent, capable and that his/her values match those of the voters. Equally you wish to demonstrate that your opponent is incompetent, unethical or does not share or represent the values of the voters.

As one leading conservative opposition researcher, Terry Cooper, once said: “If you’re challenging an incumbent, or running for an open seat in competition with someone better known or more experienced than you, the odds are that you’re going to lose – unless you have skillfully used opposition research”.

If engaging in opposition research consider the following:

1. Start Early – your campaign should be based on the fruits of your research; it should not be an afterthought.
2. Don’t Wait for the Knockout Punch – it is rarely delivered and you waste too much time waiting.
3. Start on Yourself – get an opposition research report produced about yourself to see what skeletons may be revealed.
4. Be Honest – if you are a candidate, be honest with your campaign manager. If you have a poor attendance record, have voted badly on a key issue or have financial problems, your campaign manager must know.
5. Verify Everything – just because it’s on the internet doesn’t mean that it’s true!
6. Be Discreet, Ethical & Legal – trawling through rubbish, hacking into computers and accessing information through inappropriate means will not help your cause.
7. Do Not Overstate Research – the researcher must not exaggerate or embellish his findings in the hope of impressing a campaign manager. If the research reveals little of real use, so be it.
8. Research With Pride – you are conducting research on your opponent because he or she is running for public office. If you are accused of muckraking this will be because your opponent is scared of running on his or her record.
9. Document Everything – if you are challenged you need to prove your allegation otherwise you will lose all credibility.
10. Keep Perspective – whatever is discovered, is it really sufficiently relevant to form part of the overall campaign strategy?

Sign up HERE

Following the success of the training day in Birmingham last year, Young Britons’ Foundation and Conservative Future  will be teaming up to hold a half day conference just for Conservative Future members. This will take place on the Sunday before the Manchester Party Conference begins.

The day will feature:

• TV and media training
• Speeches from leading figures in the political world
• A party in the evening.

And remember that if you do want to come you will need to book extra accommodation for the Sunday night!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=77647111779

Book your place now!

Ticket Options

Standard Ticket £20.00 Full-Time Student Rate £10.00

Further details will be released closer to the event.

Led by former Reagan Administration speechwriter, Dr John Shosky, the YBF Public Speaking Workshop is a one-day specialist training programme that will equip you to be the best public speaker you can be. Conservatives owe it to their philosophy to study how to win.

The YBF Public Speaking Workshop covers:

• The Fundamentals of Communication
• The Keys to Dynamic Delivery
• Organising and Building a Speech
• Speech Delivery
• Speaking Under Special Circumstances
• Dealing with Nerves

The £35 course fee (£20 for students in full-time education) includes:

• Tuition fee and printed course materials
• Tea, coffee, water and refreshments
• Buffet lunch

To reserve your place on a Young Britons’ Foundation Public Speaking Training Workshop please email info@ybf.org.uk or call (01732) 525923.

Join us at The London Guildhall between 10am and 5pm on Saturday, 23 May 2009. 

Order your ticket online here. 

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!

Recent posts in the Every Monday Matters series include:

• Week Twelve – Don’t Kick Yourself
• Week Eleven – Know Your Enemy
• Week Ten – Use The Law
• Week Nine – Are You Having Enough Fun?
• Week Eight – Get Writing
• Week Seven – Don’t Be Shy
  
• Week Six – Invite A Speaker To Speak
  
• Week Five – Apply for the YBF US Summer Conference Programme
  
• Week Four – Apply for CPAC
  
• Week Three – Apply for An Internship
  
• Week Two – Hold Your Students’ Union To Account
  
• Week One – Get Involved

The bible of campus activism is the Campus Conservative Battleplan by Patrick X. Coyle of the Young America’s Foundation. This is a call to arms for all campus conservatives. It details stunts and campaigns that can be run on a month by month basis – and is part of the reason why campus activism in America is so much bolder. Of course, there is also a cultural difference. In America, politics is more obvious and people shout about it very loudly. But there is absolutely no reason why the Right can’t take the fight to the Left here in the UK.

Let’s talk about what Coyle calls aggressive activism. This is where conservative groups make a constant effort to challenge the Left’s ideas and to promote their own at every opportunity. You might think that an example of this is to host a sound speaker on campus. But if all you have is a room of conservatives listening to another conservative and agreeing with him, is this activism? The key is to promote the talk to non conservatives, prepare for leftist infiltration, get the media on side and make the event controversial and worthy of interest. Now it becomes aggressive activism, as opposed to passive activism.

Think about stunts, too. A good stunt can be planned and executed in under an hour – and if managed well, can get effective earned media coverage. YBF is running a series of stunts on campuses right now. One of the most effective ones is to host a candle light vigil for the third world victims of the Common Agricultural Policy. 275 people die every hour in the third world thanks to the EU’s trade barriers. A mass of candles and a dozen activists can get this point across very well, and attract significant media coverage of a shocking statistic.

So keep up the delivering, the canvassing and the socials – but ask yourself “can I add a stunt on to the end of a campaign day?” or “how can I get media coverage of my guest speaker?” As ever, YBF is just a phone call away if you want help with any of this. For campaign advice and guidance, call Christian on 07876 708262 or email christian@ybf.org.uk. YBF campaign advice and guidance is available 24/7.