Conference Highlights

Margot comments on her experiences at Conservative Party Conference.

Most Interesting

• A pity that us candidates don’t have more time to sit in on the main conference sessions. The outside speakers they get these days are excellent. Terry Pratchett spoke very movingly about Alzheimer’s and the need for greater awareness and more research funding.
• My top fringe event was Francis Maude, Peter Riddell and an excellent guy from Price Waterhouse Coopers on ‘Preparing for Government.’ It left me in no doubt that if we do win the next election David Cameron won’t be wasting his first term like Tony Blair did his.
  Margot with Rt Hon Francis Maude MP




• My excursion out to Somers Forge in Halesowen. I took Bernard Jenkin out to see Somers which forges huge specialist steel products for the defence industry. Somers and similar companies are under threat from the European Emissions Trading Scheme which will force them to pay uncompetitive rates for emissions. When you see what they forge you understand it takes a lot of energy to forge these massive constructs.

Most Important

• Launch of the Conservative Friends of Pakistan which I have joined. Attended by the High Commissioner for Pakistan His Excellency Wajid Shamshul Hasan. It is vital that we support moderate Islam, quite apart from the need to defeat extremism, we have so much to learn from eachother. We hope to see the first Conservative ex Pakistani MP elected at the next election, Rehman Chishti (known as Ray) has only 250 votes to overturn as our candidate in Gillingham.
  Margot meets Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid Shamshul Hasan




• The Older People’s Summit was a session that took place out of the main conference area; this was a good idea designed to enable people to come for the day or the session without full security clearance. Hence I invited Derek Elton, President Stourbridge Age Concern and Maggie Venables, Head of Older People’s Services at Dudley Council (pictured here with Gordon Lishman, National Director of Age Concern and myself) David Cameron spoke and there were excellent sessions on pensions, cost of living and other issues of concern to older people.
  Margot with Derek Elton, Maggie Venables and Gordon Lishman

Most Impressive

• Well the leader’s speech of course. It really was a tour de force. A perfectly pitched appeal to traditional and modern Conservatism in one. I was very fortunate in having a ringside seat and there was a great sense of occasion in the Birmingham Symphony Hall. The event was introduced by five candidates, led by Louise Bagshawe who was very good indeed.
• Michael Gove. His whole education debate was excellent, it was one of the few main conference sessions that I saw from start to finish and Michael’s speech at the end was a masterpiece. It helps when you agree with every word.
• I was delighted to hear from my chairman Ted Baker that he regarded my friend Nick Herbert as the top rising star. Good judgement that, Nick is also out of the top drawer (politically speaking) and should go far.

Most Daunting

• Introducing the economy debate. I wrote my speech and I was quite happy with it. George Osborne’s office gave it the thumbs up so I should have been more confident delivering it – working on that... (Click here to download speech)

Click here for video

More Highlights

• I chaired an excellent fringe event for the Women’s Policy Group on women in employment and entrepreneurialism. We had a good 150 people attending and feedback from the audience was excellent. I addressed my comments to the issue of whether the financial crash in the banking world would have been so catastrophic had women achieved a critical mass of senior positions (no, in my view) and the implications of the impending recession on women’s employment prospects.
  Margot with Rt Hon Theresa May MP




• Interviewed by Sky News
• Interviewed by BBC Radio WM
• Laid on a visit by Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve to Stourbridge Police Station. There was a lot of talk about the police being called needlessly to non serious incidents that should be sorted out by society as a whole. At the time I wasn’t sure about the drift of this discussion. I hear too much from residents about their inability to get police attention on a consistent basis for serious concerns that most certainly should get police attention. There is no doubt that in Stourbridge there seems to be little impediment to the daily round of arson, vandalism, intimidation and drug dealing. That is the problem. Not Police being called out on trivial matters.
  Margot James with Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve on his visit to Stourbridge Police Station

Most Enjoyable

• Two dinners really. Adam Boulton’s dinner for MPs and Candidates was very interesting. Adam was in New York unfortunately but that gave me the chance to meet Jon Craig who was most impressive.
• The second dinner was with friends from Stourbridge and Halesowen, we all went to Bank Restaurant for a casual dinner which was great fun. Missed the last train home which must be a sign of a good evening.

Lessons Learned

• Every year I support Stonewall’s fringe event which was attended this year by about 200 people. I spoke alongside Nick Herbert and Ben Summerskill. The topic this year was why gay people should vote Conservative. I got a bit carried away and said that not only should they vote but they had a duty to vote Conservative. I learned that what sounded good in a fringe event when you forget that press might be present, does not look as good on the BBC news website... I received quite a lot of emails, and I must admit most of them were negative. Another reminder of how powerful the forces are that influence people in politics to think very carefully before they say anything, a pity really as that results in the sort of bland politics where everyone looks and sounds the same. Like a typical British High Street.