28th September 2008
CONFERENCE SEASON BRINGS OUT PARTIES’ DIFFERENCES
“Conference season really brings out the contrast between the Labour and Tory Parties”, according to Donna Hutton, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Clwyd West constituency.
Mrs Hutton said:
“Last week Gordon Brown rallied the Labour Party, uniting everyone behind our mission: to make Britain a fairer society, where the needs of the many take precedence over the desires of the few.
“By contrast, as the Tory conference begins, they have received the news that their membership is falling. These disappointing Tory membership figures show that there is no real enthusiasm for David Cameron even in his own party.
“Unlike in the parallel period prior to 1997, when there was a huge increase in Labour party membership, David Cameron has presided over a decline. This shows he cannot convert short term poll leads into anything substantial.”
“Recent events have shown only a Labour government has the will to protect the British people. While Gordon Brown has acted to preserve the stability of the economy, David Cameron has pledged to divert a billion pounds to the richest 2,000 families!
“We must all remember the record inflation, interest rates and unemployment of the 1980s and early 1990s under the Tories. The Tories have already shown they would not be any different if allowed back into power. They have no answers.”
ENDS.
Since Cameron’s election:
- 90% of local associations with a sitting MP report either no recruitment or a fall in members.
- Constituency membership has fallen by an average of 24 in 2006 and 93 in 2007.
- Each Shadow cabinet member lost an average of 81 members in just the last year.
- George Osborne experienced a net loss of 240 members since joining the Shadow Cabinet.
- Even Cameron himself lost 19 members in Witney last year.
- 90% of sitting MPs’ membership has fallen or stayed the same.
- 50% of Tory MPs have lost 10% of their membership.
- 20% of Tory MPs have lost 20% of their membership.
- Figures for the last five years show an even longer term decline which Cameron has failed to arrest, and in places, made worse.
(This information is publicly available on the Electoral Commission’s website, http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/ and based on the Annual Reports of Conservative Associations.)