Conservative Future is the youth movement of the
Conservative PartyThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, for members aged up to 30 years old. Conservative Future only currently organises in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
, although it is soon to expand to cover
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
Conservative Future ScotlandConservative Future Scotland is the youth group of the Scottish Conservative Party, based at Scottish Conservative Central Office in Edinburgh....
is the autonomous sister organisation of CF in
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
It was formed in 1998 by the merger of the
Young ConservativesThe Young Conservatives was the youth wing of the United Kingdom's Conservative Party until the organisation was replaced in 1998 by Conservative Future.-Origins:...
, the Conservative student organisation
Conservative Collegiate ForumThe Conservative Collegiate Forum was the British Conservative Party's national student organisation from 1986 to 1998.It was the successor to the Federation of Conservative Students...
and the National Association of Conservative Graduates into one organisation.
Purpose
CF's purpose is to encourage Conservative Party values and assist in local and general elections. Conservative Future is aided in its aims by Members of Parliament (MPs) and Prospective Parliamentary Candidates (PPCs) with visits to branches. They participate in lectures, debates and many more activities.
Many members of Conservative Future branches often go on to contest local and national elections, and the organisation as a whole is increasingly turning to the internet to attract new active members.
Branches
Conservative Future branches can vary in structure. It has branches at most British universities, but also has a number of branches affiliated with city and town associations. These branches aim to attract members from the non-student population. However, some branches are now bringing together both types of organisation. Newcastle-under-Lyme and
Keele UniversityKeele University is a research-intensive campus university located near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as an experimental college dedicated to a broad curriculum and interdisciplinary study, Keele is most notable for pioneering the dual honours degree in Britain...
Conservative Future is an example of a hybrid university and town branch. Some County areas operate, in effect, as one large branch, so that their members have many more opportunities to get involved.
National Executive
Conservative Future is run by a National Team, elected annually, to represent the membership and to implement its aims and objectives. The chairman, currently Michael Rock, is supported by six other members of the National Management Executive, with the option to co-opt three further members.
Former chairmen
- Donal Blaney (1998 – 1999)
- Gavin Megaw (1999 – 2000)
- Tom Bursnall (2000)
- Hannah Parker (2001 – 2002)
- Justin Tomlinson (2002 – 2003)
- Paul Bristow (2003 – 2005)
- Nick Vaughan (2005 – 2006)
- Mark Clarke (2006 – 2008) (one, extended, term)
- Michael Rock (2008 –
External links