2010 Function Dates for your diaries
Thursday 21st January AGM Luncheon, Valtacado €10 per person
Friday 19th February - Liz St. Clair Conservative Party Woman's Officer more....
Friday 26th March - Philip Bushill-Mathews former MEP, West Midlands more....
Friday 7th May - General Election Dinner & Dance more....
Friday 18th June - Richard Ashworth MEP more....
Friday 1st October - Dr Thomas D. Grant Chairman of Republicans Abroad more....
Friday 12th November - Robert Sturdy MEP, East of England more....
Friday 10th December - Christmas Lunch - No guest speaker
With the exception of the AGM in January, all functions are to be held at the Tamisa Golf Hotel at the usual cost of €35 per person.
Previous Functions for your interest
2009 Functions See the list of Functions
2008 Functions See the list of Functions
2007 Functions See the list of Functions
2009 Function Dates
Friday 6th February - Therese Coffey MEP Candidate Read about this dinner function
Thursday 19th February - AGM Read about the 2009 AGM
Friday 27th March - John Flack MEP Candidate Read about this dinner
Friday 1st May - Conor Burns MP Candidate for Bournemouth West Read about this dinner
Friday 12th June - Charles Tannock MEP for London Read about this dinner
Friday 2nd October - Greg Hands MP for Hammersmith & Fulham and Shadow Treasury Minister Read about this dinner
Friday 13th November - Alistair Burt MP for North East Bedfordshire and Assistant Chief Whip Read about this dinner
Friday 11th December - Xmas Lunch
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2008 Function Dates
Wednesday 23rd January - AGM Read about the 2008 AGM
Friday 8th February - Pamela Parker Read about this dinner
Friday 11th April - Roger Gale MP Read about this dinner
Friday 9th May - Rt Hon Francis Maude MP Read about this dinner
Friday 13th June - John Midgley Read about this dinner
Friday 25th July - Private dinner at the home of Mr & Mrs Christine Rowlands Read about this dinner
Wednesday 20th August - Daniel Hannan MEP Read about this lunch
Friday/Saturday 10th/11th October - Brussels Conference Read about this Conference
Friday 17th October Eleanor Laing MP Read about this dinner
Friday 21st November - Keith Simpson MP Read about this dinner
Friday 12th December (Christmas Lunch)
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2010 Functions
February 2010 - Guest Speaker: Liz St Clair
Liz St. Clair, Conservative Party Women's Officer and Deputy Chairman of Hammersmith, was guest speaker at the Benalmadena, Fuengirola and Mijas Branch of the Conservatives Abroad dinner held on February 19th at the Tamisa Golf Hotel.
The new Chairman, Michael Taylor, hosted the function and he was supported by fellow Committee Members, David Hird, Christine Rowlands, Ben Godbolt, Wendy Dexter and Juliet Butterworth. Ann Covell, although not in attendance, worked with Central Office to secure the speaker and facilitate all the necessary arrangements.
Before introducing the guest speaker, Michael Taylor stressed the importance of voter registration with the forthcoming General Election. He announced an initiative by Member John Brebner, to organise events in the city of Malaga with the objective to encourage people to register to vote.
The guest speaker, Liz St. Clair started by passing on thanks from Central Office (Lesley Taylor) to John Leith, the former Chairman, who she felt had established one of the best run Branches of Conservatives Abroad.
Liz St. Clair continued by sharing her experiences as an ex patriot in Malaysia, declaring an understanding of some of the challenges faced by voters living overseas. She then gave details of her role within the Party, in particular the focus on External Relations and the political issues that are being addressed relating to women. Liz was able to provide detailed statistics on some women’s' issues, which further illustrated her point.
She also spoke about Policy, urging everyone to log onto the Policy section of the Party website to see the Policy documents that are in place. Liz gave her view that elections are about risk versus change and the Party needs to manage the uncertainty with people who are not sure about the risk associated with changing from Labour to Conservative.
Liz also highlighted the importance of voter registration by informing that Margaret Thatcher's old seat of Finchley is held by 31 votes and therefore the Conservative Party needs only 16 votes to win it in the Election. She also had determined that Finchley had 22 overseas voters so if they voted for the Conservative Party they would win the seat. She said that overall a 2% swing will gain 38 more seats and a 3% swing will gain 54 more seats. Liz concluded by encouraging all those present to register to vote and to encourage their friends and family to register to vote in the forthcoming General Election. She then addressed questions from Ray Mitchell, Kerra Greenlaw and David Hird.
John Brebner gave a very informative Vote of Thanks, highlighting key elements of Liz St. Clair's career. He also suggested that in return for the Branch putting effort into obtaining overseas votes, the Conservative Party could put more effort into resolving some of the issues that are specific to the overseas voter. Liz St. Clair noted his comments.
Christine Rowlands organised a raffle with winners including Michael Collings, Robert Godfrey, Bruce Roberts, Richard Wood, Shirley Basham, Les Bridges and Nick Upton.
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March 2010 - Guest Speaker: Philip Bushill-Mathews
Philip Bushill-Matthews, former MEP for the West Midlands, was guest speaker at the Benalmadena, Fuengirola and Mijas Branch of the Conservatives Abroad dinner held on March 26th at the Tamisa Golf Hotel.
The host was John Covell, representing the Chairman Michael Taylor. The Committee Members, David Hird, Christine Rowlands, Ann Covell, Wendy Dexter and Juliet Butterworth were in attendance and supported the host.
In his welcoming address, John Covell mentioned visiting guests Louisa Ferguson and Iris Tipper. He also acknowledged the voting registration and debating sessions held by John Brebner in Malaga, in the run up to the General Election. He passed on thanks to John Brebner from the Chairman and the Committee.
John Covell went on to give a detailed introduction of the guest speaker, before handing over to Philip Bushill-Matthews. The guest speaker, who is the author of two books, spoke of two Members who are also authors. He then referred to the book by Vernon Coleman entitled "Gordon is a Moron" and used anecdotes from the book to describe the perception of Gordon Brown within the EU. He quoted the issue of the referendum as an example of how Gordon Brown did not appear favourable to the UK voters as well as those in the European Parliament.
Philip also gave an interesting insight into life in the European Parliament. His humorous references, including that of the appointment in the UK of a bouncy castle inspector, illustrated how the UK interpret some EU regulations differently compared to other European countries. He talked of prosperity and peace and in reference to the world wars, suggested that anything that binds Europe together peacefully, i.e. building on trade, is a good thing. The EU has helped to contribute to the inter dependency of some European states.
Philip spoke of the rules, the reality or lack of reality of some Labour MEP's and reform. He used examples of Margaret Thatcher's view of Europe through to the current strike action issues to highlight his points.
Looking ahead to the General Election, Philip said that the Conservatives must explain that beyond the initial pain of change, it would be worth it. This will stop voters being nervous of change. He went on to say the Conservatives will win, acknowledging David Cameron as a special guy, after being elected as Leader after only four years as an MP. He concluded by suggesting the previous election phrase of "go green and vote blue" should be changed to "vote blue and dump Brown!"
Philip answered several questions from David Webb, John Horne, Marilyn Mittman and John Brebner before leaving the way for John Hope to give the Vote of Thanks.
Christine Rowlands organised a raffle which included a box of wine donated by Molly Humphrey and a "Spa Day for two at the Reserva del Higueron Nagomi Spa" donated by Bill & Christine Ransome. The winners included Sheila Kempe, Kerra Greenlaw, Harold Grant, Elizabeth Bishop, Louisa Ferguson and Marilyn Mittman.
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May 2010 - General Election Dinner Dance
On Friday May 7th, the day after the General Election in the UK, we are holding a dinner dance to celebrate the Conservative Party's return to Government.
No-one has any doubts do they?
It will be held at the Tamisa Golf Hotel, Mijas Costa and we expect guests to arrive at 7:30pm when pre-dinner drinks and canapes will be served before dinner. After dinner we will dance the night away.
We are planning for a large turn out and already have over 50 guests committed to attend, but we would like more. The fee is €35.00 irrespective of whether you are a member of Conservatives Abroad or not. So bring along your family and friends for what will be a fun evening.
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June 2010 - Guest Speaker: Richard Ashworth
Richard was born in 1947 in Folkestone, Kent and he is married to Sally. They have three daughters.
Before being elected to the European Parliament in June 2004 to represent the South East of England, Richard stood as the Conservative candidate for North Devon Westminster constituency in the 1997 General Election.
As well as having a long-term interest in politics Richard's life has heavily revolved around cows. He was a dairy farmer in East Sussex for over thirty years and during this time operated his own dairy business. Carrying on this theme, Richard served as Chairman of United Milk Plc.
A particular interest of Richard's is education and he was chairman of Plumton College in East Sussex for 15 years. His commitment to bettering Education and in particular vocational learning plays an important role in Richard's parliamentary work.
Richard is currently a member of the European Parliament's committee on agriculture and is Conservative Spokesman in this area, while holding a secondary seat on the Budget committee. Richard was elected as the Deputy Leader of the Conservative Delegation to the European Parliament in November 2008.
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October 2010 - Guest Speaker: Dr Thomas D. Grant
Thomas Grant was born in 1969 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA.
His teaching subjects include international law and international relations. He has lectured the international law paper at Cambridge and supervised graduate students in law and international relations at Cambridge and Oxford. He is also author of several books, the most recent of which concerns legal controls on admission to membership and participation in the United Nations.
His professional activities have included legal consultancy to the European offices of American law firms, as well as to corporate clients, international organizations, and to an American presidential election campaign.
He is Chairman of Republicans Abroad UK Branch (2009-present) and his hobbies include English and American literature, physical training, and music.
Read more about Dr Tomas D. Grant
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October 2010 - Guest Speaker: Robert Sturdy MEP
Robert was born in Wetherby, Yorkshire and educated at Ashville College, Harrogate and trained in accountancy.
He built up a substantial family farming business, mainly in arable crops and he finds this practical experience invaluable in policy discussion in Parliament.
As being an MEP involves so much travelling from home to Brussels when he has time off he enjoys nothing more than helping out around the farm.
His passion for agriculture started young when he became County Chairman of the Young Farmers.
Active in the NFU, Robert held a number of appointments and chairmanships including Chairman of the Regional Livestock Committee and Sugarbeet, Potatoes and Cereals Committee and was involved in the WTO Uruguay round negotiations. It was this that led to his growing interest in international trade and the important role that agriculture plays within it.
Robert takes a keen interest in animal welfare and the environment and is a member of the RSPB and Vice-President of the Cambridgeshire Beekeepers Association. Robert is treasurer of the Land Use and Food Policy Intergroup and Chairman of the Sustainable Hunting Intergroup.
Robert got his first taste of politics at school, winning the public speaking trophy. Since then he has been a councillor and was a constituency chairman from1990-93.
Robert has represented East Anglia since June 1994 and is currently the Conservative member responsible for Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire. In 1999 he was elected Deputy Chairman of the Conservatives in the European Parliament and held this position until 2001 when he decided that commitments of the European Foot and Mouth inquiry committee would take up most of his time.
He used his position as Conservative, and EPP-ED spokesman on Agriculture (1994-2001) and Rural Affairs (2001-2004) to lead the campaign to set up the first public inquiry into the epidemic.
Since becoming the ECR (European and Conservatives) Coordinator for International Trade, Robert has focussed his energies on holding the Commission to account. As this is an area where Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht negotiates on behalf of all EU member states he believes it is important that the British public’s interest is taken into account.
In addition to his role in International Trade, Robert is also a substitute member of the Parliament’s Agriculture Committee. He follows both committees closely when they overlap with areas of his experience and expertise.
Read more about Robert Sturdy MEP
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2009 Functions
February 2009 - Guest Speaker: Therese Coffey
Therese Coffey, MEP candidate for South East Region, was guest speaker at the Benalmadena, Fuengirola and Mijas Branch of the Conservatives Abroad dinner held on 6th February 2009 at the Tamisa Golf Hotel.
John Leith, Chairman hosted the function and he was supported by fellow Committee
Members, David Hird, Christine Rowlands, David Webb, Molly Humphrey and Juliet Butterworth. Ben Godbolt was unable to attend the event, however he organised a live radio interview for Therese Coffey and transported her to and from the hotel and airport. The event attracted 36 people, including Antonio Martinez a senior member of the Partido Popular in Benalmadena.
The speaker, Therese Coffey began by thanking the Branch for the invitation to speak and also special thanks to Ben Godbolt his assistance. She explained how she realised the importance of politics, sighting personal experiences to illustrate the point. She gave an insight into her background in the business world within the private sector and how this experience was now being used in her political life.
Therese expressed support for David Cameron in sacking MEPs for missue of expenses. She stressed that MEPs should have influence not power and that the European Parliament should be challenging sovereign governments, not taking powers away from them. She spoke of integrity and plans to use her background in business, trade and overseas development to make sure that money spent in Europe is done so, carefully and effectively. In particular she expressed a strong desire to get the EEC Accounts signed off properly in an attempt to build the credibility of the European Parliament.
She stated that the Conservative Party wants the UK to be in Europe but not run by Europe, saying no to the euro and Lisbon treaty. To support this she quoted William Hague saying "we do not need a change of currency, we need a change of government."
Therese concluded by reminding those present of the European elections on June 4th and stressed the importance in registering to vote in time for these elections, before answering questions from Brian Carter and Geoff Hughes regarding the euro and also disinterest in MEP's.
Michael Taylor gave the Vote of Thanks and this was followed by a raffle, which helped to raise funds for the Branch. Raffle prize winners included Maureen Davies, Elaine Hughes, Sonia Myers, Tricia Widdall and Michael Collings.
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February 2009 - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The Committee of Conservatives Abroad notifies you of the Annual General Meeting to be held on Thursday 19th February 2009 12.30 for 1.00 pm at Valtocado Urbanisation, No 46 Calle Colinas, Mijas.
The AGM of Benalmadena, Fuengirola & Mijas Branch will start promptly at 1.00 pm after which a BUFFET LUNCH will be served.
Please note there will be a charge of €10 per person for the Buffet Lunch.
To facilitate the caterers please confirm your attendance to John Leith, either by email or by telephone.
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March 2009 - Guest Speaker: John Flack
John Flack, MEP candidate for Eastern Region, was guest speaker at the Benalmadena, Fuengirola and Mijas Branch of the Conservatives Abroad dinner held on 27th March 2009 at the Tamisa Golf Hotel.
Ben Godbolt, Media & Publicity Officer hosted the function and he was supported by fellow Committee Members, David Hird, David Webb, Michael Hall and Juliet Butterworth. In his opening address, the Host welcomed five new Members to the Group who were all present at the function. As well as hosting the event, Ben organised a live radio interview for John Flack which was broadcast along the Coast.
The dinner function attracted 38 people, including Mario Bravo a senior member of the Partido Popular in Mijas. The Speaker, John Flack recounted his experiences of canvassing and standing for election in the Eastern Region. He expressed that he was not in agreement of how the areas have been carved up into regions by Brussels. As a result of this, his political opponents for the forthcoming European Elections are member of UKIP rather than Labour candidates.
John Flack made reference to the recent speech by Daniel Hannan, where he posed questions to Gordon Brown. The speech was extremely popular and has attracted over one million viewers via the Internet, an opportunity missed by the BBC. The Speaker quoted a line from Daniel's speech, saying Gordon Brown was a "devalued Prime Minister leading a devalued Government."
John Flack said he was here to urge people to register to vote in England. He reminded all of the entitlement to vote if you have been outside of the UK for less than 15 years. The website to access for the relevant information is dontleaveyourvote@home.com
John gave his five reasons to register to vote, as follows:
* the European Parliament has recently passed a censure to sort out the property and land issues in Spain
* Patriotism - for the sake of family and friends still living in the UK
* to send Gordon Brown a huge message that his time is up and David Cameron is the man to deliver the changes
* a strong belief in the right to vote and participate in democracy, and
* his passion for defending British interest, rather than edging towards a united state of Europe.
John Flack addressed some challenging questions from Members Ray Mitchell and David Hird, before concluding by urging all those present to register to vote and to use that vote for the Conservatives.
John Hope gave the Vote of Thanks and this was followed by a raffle, which helped to raise funds for the Branch. Raffle prize winners included Elaine Hughes, Les Bridges, Jay Upton, Stuart Cunningham, John Hope, Emily Horne and Wendy Dexter.
Read more about John Flack MEP
Also connect to John's personal website
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May 2009 - Guest Speaker: Conor Burns
Conor Burns, MP candidate for Bournemouth West, was guest speaker at the Benalmadena, Fuengirola and Mijas Branch of the Conservatives Abroad dinner held on May 1st at the Tamisa Golf Hotel. There were 38 people in attendance.
John Leith, Chairman hosted the function and he was supported by fellow Committee Members, David Hird, Ben Godbolt, Christine Rowlands, David Webb, Molly Humphrey and Juliet Butterworth. In his opening address the Chairman welcomed the new guests, in particular two new members, Margaret Siddall and Margaret Hicks. He also gave a mention to Hilary Battreshell-Hall, wife of Committee Member Michael Hall, who was unable to attend the event due to her serious illness.
Before introducing the Speaker, the Chairman announced he had received a letter of thanks from David & Samantha Cameron in response to the condolence letter that he had sent on behalf of the Branch. A copy of the letter from the Cameron's was distributed on all tables.
The Speaker, Conor Burns thanked everyone for their support for the Party and said the financial contributions sent back to Central Office made a real difference to them being able to offer a real alternative to the current government. He said the Conservatives were on their way back to Government and he felt in good heart politically, but not in good heart economically.
Conor made specific reference to the increased borrowing and the poor financial situation that exists today as a result of the efforts of Gordon Brown and the Labour Government. He provided very detailed statistics illustrating this point and explained the level of debt that has been created. He explained that this required the drive and entrepreneur of future generations to apy off. However, education standards have fallen dramatically in the UK under Labour with 1 in 5 children leaving school without a single GCSE C grade pass. Conor went on to quote statistics on school results showing how the gap has widened under Labour and the risks to the future of the educational system in the UK.
Conor gave a very interesting illustration of the basic requirements back in 500 BC, namely weapons, food and trust. If you have to lay any of these down, the last one would be trust because without trust you would not have the ability to govern.
Before answering several questions from the floor, Conor Burns reminded everyone of the European Elections on June 4th and encourage all to exercise their right to vote.
Conor's speech generated lots of interesting questions from those present and he provided good answers to such questions as, the single biggest challenge, how to obtain a conservative majority at the next election, the affect of the SNP on the next election, how would a Conservative Government work with the new US Administration, education and health, managing the floating voters, who covers the cost of the next election and boundary issues for constituencies.
John Kenworthy gave an excellent Vote of Thanks. This was followed by a raffle which helped raise funds for the Branch. The main prize winner was new member Margaret Siddall, who was fortunate to win the music/audio centre. Christine Ransome won the box of wine, generously donated by Committee Member Molly Humphrey. Other raffle prize winners included Paul Cutts, Juliet Butterworth, Richard Wood, Diana Godbolt and Maureen Davies.
The Chairman reminded all those present of the Conservatives Abroad Conference in October to be held in Mallorca. He encouraged as many Members as possible to attend advising that two Members, John Kenworthy and Stuart Cunningham have already reserved their booking for the event. Details of the Conference were distributed at the dinner.
Read more about Conor Burns
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June 2009 - Guest Speaker: Dr Charles Tannock MEP for London and Spokesman on Foreign Affairs and Human Rights
Dr. Charles Tannock, MEP for London, was guest speaker at the Benalmadena, Fuengirola and Mijas Branch of the Conservatives Abroad dininer held on June 12th at the Tamisa Golf Hotel. There were 39 people in attendance.
John Leith, Chairman hosted the function and he was supported by fellow Committee Members, David Hird, Christine Rowlands, David Webb, Molly Humphrey, Michael Hall and Juliet Butterworth. Ben Godbolt organised a live radio broadcast for the Speaker and this successful interview took place earlier during the day.
In his opening address, the Chairman welcomed the visiting guests naming each one personally. He then announced another two new members had joined. He congratulated Juliet Butterworth who had set a target of achieving 60 members by the end of the year. She has exceeded this, with the Branch now having a total of 63 paid-up members. He reminded all about the Conservatives Abroad Annual Conference in Mallorca in October and encouraged Members to attend. So far six members have confirmed their attendance. Before introducing the Speaker, John Leith said this was the last dinner before the summer recess but there would be an informal event held during July. After the recess the next dinner function would be on October 2nd, with guest speaker Greg Hands, MP for Hammersmith & Fulham.
Dr. Charles Tannock started his speech by acknowledging Valerie Melvin, a dinner guest who is local to his constituency in the UK and Antony Lillis, a Member whom he had recently met at a Conservatives event in the UK. Dr. Tannock then stressed the importance of voting and explained the outcome of events following the recent European elections. The expenses issue had marred the whole election campaign, however David Cameron had handled this situation very well and he was now several steps closer to Downing Street.
The Speaker gave an insight into his childhood in Portugal and his experiences of coming across to Gibraltar. He also gave details of his international experience in his professional life. His fluency in spanish was an advantage when he worked in Columbia as Foreign Affairs spokesman last year. His role as President of the Friends of India has been very useful in London. His wife is from Eastern Europe and he was able to give accounts of the experiences of some Eastern Europeans in their movements across the EU. Dr. Charles Tannock talked of the Referendum and gave an example of when Tony Blair asked to meet Tory MEP's in Strasbourg to discuss the issue of the working time directive. He credited Tony Blair with being a talented speaker and leader.
In relation to Europe the Speaker said that Spain was doing well on solar energy and high speed rail. He said there was a need for Britain to address the extremist parties resulting from mass migration. On Europe he felt that David Cameron was adopting the right approach in stating that Britain should be in Europe not run by Europe. He said that Britain should try to get an alliance with central and eastern Europe as well as developing good relations with Commonwealth countries. Dr. Tannock also spoke on the issues of global warming and he concluded by saying that David Cameron is keen on maintaining global economic competencies.
Dr. Charles Tannock responded to several questions on the topics of alliances with Parliament and the relationship with the Partido Popular in Spain. He explained that he had recently addressed a Branch of the PP based in London, able to deliver his speech in spanish. Human rights issues and the referendum and Lisbon Treaty were also discussed before the vote of thanks was delivered.
Antony Lillis gave an excellent Vote of Thanks. As well as expressing his thanks to Dr. Tannock, Antony also thanked the Members for making his first visit so friendly and enjoyable.
A raffle was held to raise funds and the winner was Mrs. Kalil, guest of Michael & Annette Taylor. Other raffle prize winners included, Maureen Davies, Sheila Kempe, Marilyn Mittman and Nick Upton.
Read more about Charles Tannock
Also connect to Charles's personal website
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October 2009 - Guest Speaker: Greg Hands Member of Parliament for Hammersmith & Fulham and also Shadow Treasury Minister
Greg Hands, MP for Hammersmith & Fulham and Shadow Treasury Minister, was guest speaker at the Benalmadena, Fuengirola and Mijas Branch of the Conservatives Abroad dinner held on October 2nd at the Tamisa Golf Hotel. There was a very good turnout with 51 people in attendance.
John Leith, Chairman hosted the function and he was supported by fellow Committee Members, David Hird, Christine Rowlands, David Webb, Molly Humphrey, Michael Hall and Juliet Butterworth.
The Speaker, Greg Hands, thanked everyone for their support and their attendance. He also made reference to the good relationship the Branch has with the Partido Popular and acknowledged Antonio Martinez, senior member of the PP in Benalmadena, who was also in attendance.
There are 1 million British people living in Spain, yet less than 1% are registered to vote in UK elections. Greg Hands stressed the importance of the role of Conservatives Abroad to get people to register to vote. Public finances and the Economy are his main topics and he said that has a former ex-pat himself (5 years in New York and 2 year in Germany), he knows that the economy for ex-pats has been bad due to the impact the Labour Government has had on the stock market. Inheritance Tax thresholds have not kept pace with the economy and Labour, in general, has not been good for ex-pats.
He made reference to the recent party conferences of both the Liberal Democrats and Labour in relation to some of their not so popular initiatives. However he stressed that the General Election is not yet won and all the votes, particularly from the ex-pat community, are important.
Greg Hands outlined his view of the 3 priorities for David Cameron. 1 - Sorting out public finances and public deficits. 2 - Fixing Britain's broken society and 3 - Winning the war in Afghanistan so it is resolved in a way favourable to Britain. With his experience as Shadow Treasury Minister, Greg concentrated on the first of these points during his speech.
He stated that whilst Britain is coming out of recession, the public finances are not recoverable. Greg illustrated this point by quoting the UK figures on spending in relation to the GDP and also borrowing, which is currently £500 million per day. With the UK debt interest at £22 billion per year, rising to £67 million in 3 years, Britain is worse out of 42 countries in its budget deficit. He recognises that Britain is overtaxed, productivity is going down under Labour and public services are judged in the wrong way.
Greg Hands suggests the solution is to radically change the way the UK spends its money. For example scrap ID card and regional assemblies, change the whole culture and the way we control spending, change the way the civil service operates and create an independent office of budget responsibility. This should encourage transparency and correct public spending. The Labour Government has created lots of public servants without trust or power. Greg gave the example of his own Council of Hammersmith & Fulham, where after 3 years they have reduced staffing by 17% by using natural wastage, cut council tax by 3% for 3 years running and improved services by contracting out. He said that Hammersmith & Fulham Council have shown that you can get more for less.
Focusing on the next General Election, Greg said that whilst Conservatives are favourites to win the election, we cannot get complacent because it is possible to lose the election or to be in a situation of a hung parliament. He stressed that the Party does need the help of everybody to win and that we are going into the most important General Election since 1979. All the main parties have a different Leader than at the last election and there is opportunity for change in the UK.
Greg Hands speech generated lots of interesting questions from those present, including John Horne, Simon Baldwin-Purry, John Davies, John Brebner and Ray Mitchell. The Speaker provided good and detailed answers to each question. There were many more questions to be asked, however time was against us and the Chairman had to conclude this session.
Michael Hall gave the Vote of Thanks and this was followed by a raffle which helped raise funds for the Branch. Stuart Cunningham won the box of wine, generously donated by Committee Member Molly Humphrey. Ana Maria Brebner, wife of new member John Brebner, won the digital photo display. Other raffle prize winners included Antonio Martinez, Richard Wood and Maureen Davies.
The Chairman reminded all those present of the Conservatives Abroad Conference in October to be held in Mallorca. He invited all those present to attend if possible and announced that fellow Members John Kenworthy, Stuart Cunningham, Christine Ransome, Carol Brunyate and Juliet Butterworth have all booked to attend.
Read more about Greg Hands
Also connect to Greg's personal website
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November 2009 - Guest Speaker: Alistair Burt Member of Parliament for North East Bedfordshire and also Assistant Chief Whip
In 1983, Alistair was elected MP for Bury North, being re-elected in 1987, and 1992. Having served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Rt Hon Kenneth Baker between 1985-90, he was appointed as junior minister at the Department of Social Security in 1992. He was promoted to Minister of State, Minister for Disabled People, in 1995.
Alistair lost his marginal seat in 1997. He and his family moved to Bedford as a result of a job change in 1998, and he was selected as prospective Parliamentary candidate for North East Bedfordshire in summer 2000, being elected in June 2001.
His political interests are centered on his busy constituency workload, taking a keen interest in the development of public services in a growing county, countryside issues affecting villages and small towns, regional planning and transport. Social division, urban regeneration and overseas development are also high on his agenda.
From November 2002 to May 2005, Alistair was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition and following the general election of 2005, Alistair Burt was appointed Shadow Minister for Communities and Regeneration. This builds on Mr Burt's background in such work. In 1994, he was appointed Sponsor Minister for Manchester and Salford, and oversaw the Government's City Challenge programme in the north-west of England until 1997.
Following the Conservative Party Leadership election of December 2005, Alistair retained his role in David Cameron's new Conservative team as Shadow Minister for Communities & Local Government, but with an extra responsibility to help deliver his agenda on social justice and action.
In January 2008, Alistair was given responsibility for a completely new job within the Conservative Party, as Assistant Chief Whip and Deputy Party Chairman. He is also currently co-ordinating work on Michael Heseltine's Cities Task Force.
Alistair is our guest speaker at a dinner on Friday 12th June 2009 at 7:30pm at the Tamisa Golf Hotel, Mijas Costa.
Read more about Greg Hands
Also connect to Alistair's personal website
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2008 Functions
January 2008 - AGM at the home of the Chairman, John Leith
The AGM was hosted at the home of John Leith and Richard Wood in Voltacado, Mijas. There were 39 in attendance whom, following the AGM, enjoyed an excellent lunch provided by the hosts.
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February 2008 - Guest Speaker: Pamela Parker
Pamela Parker, President of the British Conservative Party Woman's National Organisation, was guest speaker at the Mijas Branch dinner held on 8th February 2008 at the Tamisa Golf Hotel.
The event, attended by 45 people, was hosted by Christine Rowlands, the Social Events Officer. The attendees included members of the Partido Popular, including Angel Nozal, President of the PP Mijas and Antonio Martinez, PP Benalmadena.
Pamela Parker delivered an excellent speech outlining her view on the policies necessary to win the next election and of course the importance of the Women's vote. During the afternoon Pamela took part in a successful live radio broadcast on REM and she made sure that Conservatives Abroad Mijas Branch received plenty of publicity.
Pamela also read the following message that she had obtained from David Cameron specifically for the Conservatives Abroad Mijas Branch.
"The role of Conservatives Abroad is highly valued within the Party, and I would like to thank Conservatives Mijas Branch and all our expatriat supporters for all that you do.
Today it is the Conservative Party that is setting the agenda and leading the debate. Gordon Brown cannot be the change that Britain needs. With your support, we will continue not only to hold him and his failing Government to account but to offer people a vision of change, optimism and hope.
Thank you all for your support."
The Vote of Thanks was provided by Ben Godbolt. The guests enjoyed an excellent dinner and several went home as delighted raffle prize winners.
Read more about Pamela Parker
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April 2008 - Guest Speaker: Roger Gale MP for North Thanet
Roger Gale, Member of Parliament for North Thanet, was guest speaker at the Mijas Branch dinner held on 11th April 2008 at the Tamisa Golf Hotel. There were 35 people in attendance.
The event was hosted by John Leith, Branch Chairman, who informed those present that Roger Gale would soon be celebrating 25 years in Parliament, since joining the house in June 1983.
Roger Gale delivered an excellent speech, addressing topics of immigration, the olympic flame issues, exchange rate changes, school funding, the referendum on the treaty of Lisbon, the closure of sub post offices and the 10p income tax rate. He also emphasised the importance of the votes received from Conservative Abroad members, reminding all that electorally overseas votes matter. He related that Charles Clarke, the former Home Secretary, said that the Labour majority could be wiped out with just 700 votes. A reminder to us all to register our vote in the UK.
During the afternoon, Roger made a live radio broadcast on REM radio, attracting more publicity for Conservataives Abroad.
Roger Gale kindly donated a bottle of House of Commons Whisky, which he personally signed and was auctioned at the dinner, raising funds for the Conservative Party.
The Vote of Thanks was provided by Michael Taylor. The guests enjoyed an excellent dinner and several went home as delighted raffle prize winners.
Read more about Roger Gale MP
Also connect to Roger's personal website
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May 2008 - Guest Speaker: Rt Hon Francis Maude MP for Horsham
The Rt. Hon. Francis Maude, Member of Parliament for Horsham, was guest speaker at the Benalmadena, Fuengirola and Mijas Branch dinner held on 9th May 2008 at the Tamisa Golf Hotel.
John Leith, Branch Chairman, who was supported by Committee Members, Christine Rowlands, David Webb, Molly Humphrey, Juliet Butterworth and David Hird, hosted the dinner. The event attracted 56 people, including Antonio Martinez, a key member of the Partido Popular in Benalmadena and Geoffrey Allen, a former Conservative Party candidate for the Liverpool Wavertree constituency in the UK.
In his speech the Rt. Hon. Francis Maude reflected on the last thirteen years of the Conservative Party where at times the Party made no progress at all. Since the appointment of David Cameron as leader the Party has made constant progress and the recent local elections have produced fantastic results.
He stressed the importance of being a “National Party”, recounting that for a period of time the Conservative Party became invisible in the North of England. This is no longer the case as there are now more Councils in the North that do not have Labour Councillors than those that do. Francis went on to explain some of the changes the Conservative party has made to become a National Party that is able to represent all the aspects of the British society. For example they now have many more women candidates in winnable seats, without the need for having all women shortlists, which the Labour Party favour. They have more candidates from ethnic backgrounds and their candidates no longer fit the old conservative “identikit”.
Francis explained that the Conservative Party want to oversee a country that can succeed again and they believe that what makes a country great is what its people do together. The Conservative Party therefore want to produce frameworks that support and allow the key groups within the British society, such as families, to build communities and services that properly support them.
The Conservative Party now has the huge challenge of preparing itself to govern and Francis informed us that his job was to make sure that the Party is fully prepared to govern after the next election so that they can hit the ground already running.
His final point was that there are 2.5 million British citizens now living abroad and only 19,000 are registered to vote. If only 10% of the 2.5 million voted it would make such a difference for the Conservative Party at the next election. So the single most important contribution that Conservatives Abroad members can make to assist the Conservative Party to win the next election is to get more British citizens living abroad to vote.
Francis kindly answered a large number of questions covering the Regional Health, Education, President Mugabe, Iraq, oil, Boris Johnson and the national debt.
John Hope gave the Vote of Thanks and this was followed by a raffle, organised by the Social Events Officer, Christine Rowlands.
Read more about The Rt Hon Francis Maude MP
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June 2008 - Guest Speaker: John Midgley
John Midgley, political writer and the Co-Founder of the Campaign Against Political Correctness, was guest speaker at the Benalmadena, Fuengirola and Mijas Branch dinner held on 13th June 2008 at the Tamisa Golf Hotel. John attended the dinner with his wife Laura, an experienced political researcher at the House of Commons who now runs the CAPC, Campaign Against Political Correctness.
John Leith, Branch Chairman, who was supported by Committee Members, Christine Rowlands, Juliet Butterworth and David Hird, hosted the dinner. The event attracted 40 people.
In his opening address, the Chairman paid tribute to Tim Farmer, a member of the Committee who passed away recently. Tim was responsible for Voting Registration and Media & Publicity for the Branch and all those present were saddened to hear of his death. John Leith announced that Ben Godbolt would be joining the Committee in the Registration & Media role.
The Speaker, John Midgley provided us with a very entertaining and informative dinner speech. He opened by reminding us about a glorious sea battle and a major British historic event, which took place on 21st October 1805 and changed the course of European History, the Battle of Trafalgar. On 28th June 2005, about 20 yards off the Norfolk coast, the only organised event to commemorate the two hundred anniversary of this great event took place. The reason – the British Government did not want to cause offence to foreign dignitaries. The commemoration of a great victory for British freedom by one of Britain’s greatest Admirals, Lord Nelson, was sunk by the current wave of Political Correctness.
He went on to explain how political correctness is invading everyday life. For example, a Chairman is now referred to as a Chair, Ladies can no longer be referred to as pet, love, duck etc but must be called Woman, a ploughman’s lunch is now a plough-person’s lunch, we can no longer have man-hole covers, blackboards or nitty-gritty. Asylum Seekers are now to be called Sanctuary Seekers, Dustmen are to be called Waste Collection Engineers and Dinner Ladies are now Crockery Cleansing Operatives. There are even moves to remove the word God from our National Anthem.
John Midgley explained how Political Correctness foists guilt onto people through language. Those who encourage political correctness brand everyone as an “ist” or an “ic” – racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic etc. It defies common sense, stifles free speech, laughter and the sense of fun and year-by-year it grows and infects our lives.
John also informed us that the action against Political Correctness is now very active and growing. Eighty percent of the UK public are fed up with it and this opposition is across all age groups. In fact younger people are even more opposed than older. Despite this he did fear that Political Correctness would not die quickly, therefore mainstream political parties should include it in their agendas.
John closed his speech with a humourous politically correct version of the Lord’s Prayer. He was very well received by the dinner guests and there were many comments of support for the campaign against Political Correctness.
Richard Wood gave the Vote of Thanks and this was followed by a raffle, organised by the Social Events Officer, Christine Rowlands. The evening ended with an auction of a first edition of the “Oxford Dictionary of Political Quotations”, signed by the donor John Davies and purchased by Nick & Jay Upton. The Speaker, John Midgley also donated several copies of their “Politically Correct Scrapbooks” with the proceeds of the sales going towards Branch funds.
Read more about John Midgley and Political Correctness
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Friday 25th July - Private dinner at the home of Mr & Mrs Christine Rowlands
This delightful supper function was additional to our previously published programme and was to round off the most successful series of first half dinners. Christine’s menu was as ever excellent, with a succulent choice of Chicken with preserved lemons and Pork Cordon Bleu.
Brian and Elaine entertained the party, with an amusing quiz, which was enjoyed by all, especially the winning team.
The event was well attended by 35 guests who enjoyed the setting, the food and the fun. Thank you Christine and Gordon for another wonderful party and such warm and generous hospitality.
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Wednesday 20th August - Daniel Hannan MEP for South East England
Daniel Hannan, Member of the European Parliament for South East England, visited the Costa del Sol during August. During that time he attended a guest luncheon in his honour for the Benamadena, Fuengirola and Mijas Branch of Conservatives Abroad.
The event was hosted by John Leith, Branch Chairman, at his private villa in Valtocado, Mijas. There were 22 in attendance and John was supported by members of the Committee including Ben Godbolt, Molly Humphrey, David Webb, David Hird and Juliet Butterworth.
Ben Godbolt, Media & Publicity Officer, had arranged for a series of interviews for Daniel to ensure that all residents of the Costa del Sol could benefit from his brief visit. REM radio broadcast a live interview on Tuesday 19th August and the SUR in English newspaper published an interview in their Friday 22nd August issue.
Daniel Hannan delivered an excellent address at the luncheon, emphasising the importance of the expatriate vote, both in the UK elections and the European elections. He encouraged the Members to register to vote, reminding all those present that the European elections are due to take place in June 2009.
Daniel was also able to discuss, in fluent spanish, the challenges and opportunities in today politics with Antonio Martinez, who had been invited to the luncheon as a key representative of the Partido Popular for Benalmadena.
Read more about Daniel Hannan MEP
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Friday/Saturday 10th/11th October - Brussels Conference
The Conference is being hosted by the Brussels branch of Conservatives Abroad and booking forms can be obtained from the Mijas Branch Secretary, Juliet Butterworth who can provide paper copies for posting and electronic copies for emailing.
The Conference Hotel is the Crowne Plaza which is holding 40 rooms for Conservatives Abroad members but reservations, guaranteed by a credit card must be submitted on the official booking form and must reach the Crowne Plaza by 29th August. After this date the rooms will be released back in to the system. There is very little available hotel accommodation in Brussels over the weekend 10/11 October so if you intend to go to the Conference it is sensible to make your reservations as early as you can.
To book your place at the Conference you should contact Stephen Woodard (the Treasurer) at the address on the booking form or email through to Simon Godwin the Chairman at Chairman@Conservatives-Belgium.com.
The Conference weekend 'kicks off' with an evening Reception hosted by the Conservatives in the European Parliament followed by Dinner in the Club des Officiers where the guest speaker is the Rt. Hon. Francis Maude MP.
The Conference on Saturday is being held at the Crowne Plaza where the keynote Speaker is Dr. Liam Fox MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence.
There is an optional Walking Tour of Brussels which will be 'hosted' by members of the branch to show some of the historic sights of Brussels and will move towards Le Scheltema Restaurant in rue des Dominicains off rue des Bouchers in the Grand Place area. Classified as one of the 'solid' restaurants in the Ilôt Sacré district it is renown for its quality service and fine atmosphere which compliment the seafood specialities. The menu does include meat/pasta dishes.
With two great speakers and an interesting debate 'Unity in Diversity' capturing our imagination this will be a very compelling conference.
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Friday 17th October 2008 - Guest Speaker: Eleanor Laing MP for Epping Forest.
Eleanor Laing, MP for for Epping Forest, was guest speaker at the Benalmadena, Fuengirola and Mijas Branch of the Conservatives Abroad dinner held on 17th October 2008 at the Tamisa Golf Hotel.
Christine Rowlands, Social Events Officer hosted the function and she was supported by fellow Committee Members, David Hird, Ben Godbolt, David Webb, Molly Humphrey and Juliet Butterworth. The event attracted 37 people. In her opening address, Mrs Rowlands paid tribute to Richard Brunyate, a Branch member who had recently passed away. She also commended Hilary Battreshell-Hall, a member who made a special effort to attend the function after delaying treatment for her serious illness.
The speaker, Eleanor Laing addressed the issue of the economy, reminding all that the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown had promised to abolish boom and bust but has only abolished boom. He inherited a good strong economy after 18 years of a Conservative Government, but he did not make provision for a downturn in the economy. She continued to say that Britain could have been in a stronger position to weather the storm, but Gordon Brown did not prepare for this outcome. Eleanor is dismayed that Gordon Brown is being hailed as a world hero for coming up with solutions to the economic crisis, when it could be said that he has been responsible for its cause.
The speaker commented on the return of Peter Mandelson, warning that he was the clever spin of New Labour and that we should beware because he has nothing to lose and will cause trouble for the Conservatives. She stated, however, that David Cameron is surrounded by a strong team.
Health, education and law and order were raised, with Eleanor Laing highlighting that lots of money has been spent but these areas have not improved. Examples were given to illustrate the point.
Eleanor ended her speech on the point of the Constitution. She stated the Labour have damaged the Constitution with the amount of power given to the European Union and also the power given to Scotland and Wales. She commented on the expat vote and its importance and supported this by her plan to put an amendment to the Bill to make it easier for expats to vote.
Eleanor answered a number of questions from the floor, covering topics of immigration, the next election, the replacement for Ann Widdecombe and the stance that David Cameron has taken regarding towards Gordon Brown and the economic situation.
Ben Godbolt gave the Vote of Thanks and this was followed by a raffle, which helped to raise funds for the Branch. Raffle prize winners included Richard Wood, John Covell, Ray Hancocks, Jenny Woods and Kerra Greenlaw.
Read more about Eleanor Laing MP
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Friday 21st November 2008 - Guest Speaker: Keith Simpson MP for Mid Norfolk.
This dinner was unfortunately cancelled due to the speaker becoming ill at short notice and there not being enough time to organise a replacement speaker.
Keith was born in 1949 and was educated at Thorpe Grammar School, Norfolk, followed by the University of Hull,
He was the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Plymouth Devonport in 1992. At the 1997 General Election, Keith was elected as the Member of Parliament for Mid Norfolk with a majority of 1,336.
In July 1997 he was appointed to the Conservative Parliamentary Defence Committee. In June 1998 he was appointed a frontbench defence spokesman. From June 1999 to June 2001, he was an Opposition Whip responsible for Treasury, Home Affairs and Health. He was subsequently appointed Shadow Agriculture Spokesman in October 2001. From 2002 to 2005, he was Shadow Minister for Defence; since May 2005, he has served as Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.
He is the guest speaker at the Benalmadena, Fuengirola and Mijas Branch dinner on Friday 21st November at 7:30pm at The Tamisa Golf Hotel, Camino Viejo de Coin, Mijas Golf, 29649 Mijas Golf.
Read more about Keith Simpson MP
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2007 Functions
Friday 9th February - Brian Binley MP for Northampton South
Read more about Brian Binley
Friday 9th March - Eric Pickles MP for Brentwood and Ongar
Read more about Eric Pickles
Friday 11th May - Angela Watkinson MP for Upminister
Read more about Angela Watkinson
Sunday 1st July - Private dinner at the home of Mr & Mrs Christine Rowlands
Friday/Saturday 12th/13th October - Conservatives Abroad International Conference
Read the Conference Report
Friday 9th November - Iain Dale Political Journalist, Commentator and Activist
Read more about Iain Dale
Friday 14th December - Christmas Lunch
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