Neil King (Chairman of Poplar and Limehouse Conservatives) writes his inaugural column for our website.
Dear Local Residents and Conservative Party Members,
As Chairman of Poplar & Limehouse Conservative Association, let me welcome you to our website and to the inaugural edition of our monthly columns, where local Conservatives (and the occasional guest columnist!) will let you know what we’ve been up to in our area.
So, how to begin this series with the vim I hope will continue as, I am sure, worthier scribes than I take up a proverbial blue pen and impress us all with their erudition and annals of their achievement?
Perhaps I should pay tribute to the outgoing Chairman, Paul Mawdsley, who served for many years as association treasurer and ran for Tower Hamlets council twice, achieving swings to him on both occasions? A doughty campaigner, eagle eyed keeper of the purse strings and real friend to many in the association and beyond, we wish him well as he moves on to pastures new.
Or should I lavish deserved praise on our council group? Residents in Wapping, Limehouse, the Isle of Dogs and Blackwall don’t need me to tell them how hard their Conservative councillors work, a cursory glance at their council timesheets or in the pages of the local and national press will confirm this for others. Any Tower Hamlets resident who wants to contact them should feel free to do so, confident in the knowledge that they will be ably represented by a group who punch well above their weight. In 2010 we reached the highest number of Conservative councillors elected in Tower Hamlets history, bucking the trend in London. I intend to lay the groundwork for further success in 2014.
Ought I to single out the group leader Cllr Peter Golds OBE, in particular for his sterling work in identifying the levels of voter fraud and intimidation locally? His efforts were at last rewarded by national coverage during the recent mayoral elections. This alone suppressed voter fraud and contributed to the great result that saw the return of Boris Johnson to office and the overdue termination of the career of Livingstone.
Perhaps I ought to use the column to exhort the already fantastic activist base locally to greater efforts? As chairman I am lucky to have a fantastic team of volunteers and an able and approachable officer team for 2012-13. Craig Aston as treasurer and Graham Collins as secretary keep the association on an even keel and the association couldn’t function without the tireless efforts of Naomi Snowdon as Deputy Chairman Membership & Fundraising and Andrew Bell as Deputy Chairman Political. Both the officers and the other association members can regularly be seen out and about campaigning on the issues that matter for local people, under Andrew’s able leadership. We always welcome fresh boots on the ground and invariably end some hard work with ample refreshment, so I hope to see as many of as possible on the streets soon!
Or ought I to use this column to trail some of the exciting social events we have coming up? Naomi has all sorts of treats in store for the coming year, with everything from our gala annual dinner to a regular Thursday Casual. But to find out, you’ll need to join the association, so don’t delay and get in touch with Naomi.
In fact, it appears I’ve covered the lot in this, the inaugural post. A record of delivery I hope I can continue to achieve in the next year in office! Thank you to those who elected me to take the helm of this formidable campaigning and fundraising machine and I hope to see as many readers as possible, either at a social event or campaign day soon.
Neil King can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected].