Total Politics Blog Awards

Voting in the 2011 Total Politics blog awards is now open. If you have enjoyed, hated, been discusted with, loved, dispraged, loathed, scorned or recoiled upon this blog, then eer, please do vote for it!

It is that time of year once again.

I have just voted here

Sufficed to say my favourite two reads - John Ward and Alan Collins have once again lead the field. Our new Lib Dem blogger, Chris Sams has also featured very highly indeed.

The Medway CF isnt strictly a blog; though it should be... and Gary Allanach, whose name I remember well, also featured.

Medway Broadside and the Tony Watson Hoo Peninsula blog, though not strictly political, has been a very enjoyable read on local history.

Also worth voting on some of our young Labour members; Rory Weal and Oscar Davies - new to the art but worth a read too.

Have also supported our MPs; though i've noted their blogs are not as well used now they have other duties...

Some of us older blogger hands are now amongst a small throng of Medway political bloggers now. Our influence is growing...

Unashamed Plug

Whilst the Medway Conservatives appear to be happy to put the proverbial chastity belt on its local young supporters, this blog will continue to plug, and unashamedly, some young Labour members who are fighting the good fight against the blue rinse brigade across Kent.

The Labour Party slogan 'Join a new Generation for change' is a working project to increase membership and engagement from those who are being trod on by this current Conservative-led government.

Admitedly, that does now include the majority of the population now, low economic growth (downgraded monthly), high train fares, tuition fee's, fuel cost rises and cuts to NHS and the Police impact us all.

Two local blogs by two rising stars of the local Youth movement:

Oscar Davies - http://oscardavies.blogspot.com/

Rory Weal - http://a-week-is-a-long-time-in-politics.blogspot.com/

I may of course be informing both bloggers that a vote for me in the forthcoming TotalPolitics awards would be most appreciated.

Having read their blogs I can say that they appear to have a better intellectual grasp of the issues than many of their elders... in the Conservative Party.

An endorsement of sorts

It seems Tory Alan W Collins is now kind enough to lend his support to all the Conservative candidates in Medway after effectively rubbishing a number of his peers before the votes had been cast.

It also seems that whilst claiming Democracy in Action was independent we have not had the whole truth. The predictions for a number of marginal wards have gone off the radar, whilst last year we had a full breakdown and prediction of the results across all the constituencies.

Perhaps because his calculator has worked out that Labour are probably, on his own calculations, due to win Council seats?

So its back to supporting the Conservatives wherever they, um, may decide to find themselves.

Or has he?

This blog could not help but notice the Vote Labour advert on the right hand side of his blog. Though true this is No to AV banner, it is still clearly asking people to vote with their brains - and vote Labour.

Seems like we are in agreement after all.

Importance of web-campaigning

Part of the presentation on why Labour need to engage locally on the web. A number of readers are keen for members of the group to be more active.

The rationale behind engaging politically online on a local level is clear:

- 69% of all UK households have broadband. In 2014, which is a crucial year politically, 83% of households are forecast to be connected. The web is where the eyes of the nation are, and to capture the audience you now have to be online.

- More than half of all 24-44 year olds regularly post comments or content to blogs or discussion sites. Clearly these people have opinions they want heard, and they’re interested in politics on an issue-by-issue basis rather than a party-political basis

- In 2009, 16% of all web users contacted a politician directly via the Internet. That’s more than six million people, which shows that the web is not just useful for engaging activists but also the public directly

- Three million people made online donations in 2009 – six times the combined membership of the three large parties, and 20% of web users signed a petition in the same year. It’s clear that people are awake to the civic & political potential of the web

- “All politics is local”! People who aren’t politically engaged can get engaged quite quickly when there is a local bugbear they want sorting. The first port of call is a Google search, which is a fantastic opportunity for local parties to demonstrate their good local work (and potentially gain new supporters) by publishing relevant content online;

- Whilst the web is great for engaging with citizens directly, it is a very useful tool for organising and rallying your existing network of activists and supporters. A local web presence for activists provides a strong focal point for the existing community.

This blog is pushing and raising the requirement for candidates to try and be active online.

Medway Broadside Launch

Today saw the launch of the Medway Broadside. A collection of articles from independent and local writers with varied cultural, social and political views on Medway.

Coupled with some of strongest supporting photography of any Medway publication this blogger has seen, the publication should be on the coffee tables of all those with an opinion on the Medway Towns.

What makes the Medway Broadside so refreshing to read is that it isn’t just another newspaper. In there own words 'It’s not another ad-heavy proseletising newsletter dropped through your door. It isn’t a money making venture or a voice for vested interests. It is a free, independent, community news and culture publication, produced by a team of talented, dedicated volunteers.'

This blogger is not independent but the first edition which can be read here is simply excellent because it uses fact in a non-emotive manner. Tackling youth unemployment, city status and many other topical issues are fairly commented upon with the reader left to think for themselves.

The paper is a community venture: anyone in Medway can write for them, send them pictures or give their thoughts on the paper. The only things that they will edit is grammatical errors and politically partisan or inflammatory rhetoric. Thank goodness for that.

Have a read and decide for yourself. And, if there’s something you’re passionate about, write an article and they will print it or put it online.

The Broadside newspaper is printed quarterly, with a regularly updated website at www.themedwaybroadside.com.

They will be announcing a full list of stockists on the website very soon.

As things stand, from Monday 29 November 2010, you can pick up a copy from the Deaf Cat Café in Rochester, the Nag’s Head pub in Chatham and the Barge pub or the Sunlight Centre in Gillingham.

Right Friendly Fisk

It seems that my blog piece on the Conservative Party membership has sparked some controversy with a local right wing blogger, the aptly named, anonymous Right Friendly who has sourced his piece from John Ward.

Just when this blogger was mourning the loss of the jedi master of the right in Medway. He reappears like Obi-Wan's ghost.

This blogger does enjoy a good fisk especially when the right usually fail to undertake basic online research. In this case on the piece entitled 'Party Membership' which has got past two right wingers!

Their piece contends that the Musings from Medway piece on the Conservatives is unjustified and has produced an authoritative graph to prove the point (though it stops in 2008). The blogger contends that the Labour Party membership was 60,000 in May 2010.

This blogger knows that number is not correct so decided to find out where Right Friendly and John Ward had pinched it from. It appears, rather amusingly, that it has sourced his information from the bible of the left, a Guardian piece entitled, yes, 'Labour Party sees record surge in membership.'

The Guardian piece has alas missed the '1' which is quite common for the Grauniad.

According to the Labour Party the membership in May 2010 was 155,000.

On May 17th the Labour Party reported that 13,000 had joined the party with a membership of 167,000

On September 30th, Harriet Harman reported to conference that 35,000 people had joined the party since May, that would create a membership of 190,000 or even 202,000 (if you take the 167,000).

Either way, the blog post 'Tory Party are dying' serves to highlight the fact that with the Conservative membership standing at 177,000 the Labour Party has now overtaken the Conservative Party in terms of membership. Perhaps that is the reason why Sayeeda Warsi felt uncomfortable discussing the topic.

Perhaps Right Friendly could update the authoritative graph which ignores the massive decline in Conservative membership and the increase in Labour membership.

The Conservative grassroot website ConservativeHome is already pondering the reasons why members have left in there droves. Indeed, comments show that they are worried that the party has lost members in a period where the incumbent government has been almost consistently behind in the polls. The website suggests it could be due to the fact that the membership subscription is too high and/or because those who were members have signed up to be 'friends' of the Conservative Party, which apparently stands at an all time high of 500,000.

If Labour has already overtaken the Conservative Party after only 5 months, it should send shivers down the spine of a party that is quite literally dying.

Locally Labour are the only party which has pledged to put a full slate of candidates under 35 at the next election. Already we have picked young candidates for the majority of marginal wards. The next generation is our generation.

Labour is quite literally the future for Britain.