I am always a junkie for a campaign. When a good, movement oriented campaign comes along, I get even more intrigued.
While U.S. politics is in the governing season, across the pond things are more interesting for campaign junkies. There is a lot of talk about the coalition formed government in Great Britain. The coalition faces its next election in 2015, so they have roughly 2 1/2 years left to make their case for more time, or to fumble completely and give Labour a victory. In the run up to 2015, and looking at the conservative movement in Britain beyond 2015, it is always necessary to look beyond the current leadership in the Tory party and think about what is next, and who is next.
Prime Minister David Cameron currently sits at the helm of the Tory party. There are many that might be perceived as next in line, among them, George Osborne, Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt and Theresa May.
But what about that next generation of leaders? Those working their way through the ranks, some just getting their start. To that end, Conservative Future is an organization similar to the Young Republicans (YRs) here in the States, but where the YRs is for people 18 to 40 years of age, Conservative Future is for those under 30. Conservative Future will hold leadership elections this March, and this election is getting interesting.
Paul Holmes and Charlotte Argyle have teamed up to run together as a leadership ticket in the March election. This 24 and 28 year old respectively, make up an impressive team for National Chairman and Deputy Chairman.
To show that even races like this can get negative, witness this anti-Holmes flier being distributed around:
Pretty weak in my opinion, but also very typical. At this point, the Holmes/Argyle campaign has remained positive, focusing on positive ideas and moving forward toward a real vision and real goals. Having paid attention to this contest for a while, I suspect that the Holmes/Argyle team will stay above the fray and not go negative at any point.
This campaign will be interesting to watch. We (those of us that follow politics) will be hearing these names for years to come. Whether the Holmes/Argyle team wins or one of the other campaigns, the future of the Tory movement is on full display and it is worth paying attention to right now.
For those inclined, the Holmes/Argyle team has posted a manifesto that is worth looking over. This is the equivalent of position papers here in the States.
American Renaissance Political Consulting Group 