The Guildford Conservative Association: proudly independent
Given recent developments, I think it's worth pointing out (as it has been pointed out to me) that the Guildford Conservative Association operates very much independently of Anne Milton's office.
(ahem)
And now, for no reason whatsoever, here are some of the individuals who posed as your average man or woman on the street, endorsing Anne Milton in her 2005 election literature...
Meet 'Jill' from Compton:
Jill appeared in Anne Milton's April 2005 election pamphlet and said: "Let's have Anne as MP. Let's get Matrons back in charge - Anne's a voice of common sense."
Ah, yes... common sense. Common sense would dictate that - if you had a vested interest or a close association of any kind - you would be careful to declare it in such situations. Perhaps this is why Jill took the precaution of using exactly the same photo on the Guildford Conservative Association profile page; she wanted to make matters as 'obvious' as possible to the general public upon her appointment...
On the Guildford Conservative Association website she is currently listed as follows:
Needless to say, none of this background information appeared in the relevant election literature.
But we're not done yet, folks...
Appearing right next to Jill (and the lovely Dora) is 'Jonathon' from Blackheath:
When appearing in Anne Milton's April 2005 election pamphlet Jonathon said: "Anne is great value. She'll be a great MP. She's done so much for local people."
Jonathon also appears on the Guildford Conservative Association profile page:
On the Guildford Conservative Association website he is currently listed as follows:
Needless to say, none of this background information appeared in the relevant election literature.
But we're still not done, folks...
Meet 'Christine' from Stoughton:
Christine appeared in Anne Milton's April/May 2005 election pamphlet (you can download a copy of this as a PDF file here) right next to the even-more-lovely Kathy.
When appearing in this pamphlet, Christine said: "Anne got straight on to the police about the problems with vandals round here."
Oh, how nice... and yes, you guessed it, Christine appears on the Guildford Conservative Association profile page, too... and - like Jill - she has taken the precaution of using exactly the same photo. I mean, we wouldn't want to go swanning about deliberately misleading the electorate, now would we?
On the Guildford Conservative Association website she is currently listed as follows:
Needless to say, none of this background information appeared in the relevant election literature.
So that's three out of four current members of the Guildford Conservative Association who - before their appointment to this association - appeared in Anne Milton's 2005 election literature endorsing Anne Milton without declaring their past or current affiliations to this candidate and/or the Conservative Party (the only exception being the Right and Truly Honourable Lord Howell of Guildford).
Meanwhile, Conservative activists closely associated with Anne Milton continue with false claims that this weblog is the work of Liberal Democrats (and much worse besides) and when I choose to complain to the Guildford Conservative Association about this kind of thing, for some strange reason the only reply I get is from Anne Milton's office. Now why do you think that is?
[Note for the record: After receiving no reply from the Guildford Conservative Association about recent smears, I finally managed to call - and get through to - Jonathan Lord on Friday. He was kind enough to put me on speaker-phone. Make of that what you will.]
(ahem)
And now, for no reason whatsoever, here are some of the individuals who posed as your average man or woman on the street, endorsing Anne Milton in her 2005 election literature...
Meet 'Jill' from Compton:
Jill appeared in Anne Milton's April 2005 election pamphlet and said: "Let's have Anne as MP. Let's get Matrons back in charge - Anne's a voice of common sense."
Ah, yes... common sense. Common sense would dictate that - if you had a vested interest or a close association of any kind - you would be careful to declare it in such situations. Perhaps this is why Jill took the precaution of using exactly the same photo on the Guildford Conservative Association profile page; she wanted to make matters as 'obvious' as possible to the general public upon her appointment...
On the Guildford Conservative Association website she is currently listed as follows:
Jill Eyles - Deputy Chairman (Membership and Fundraising) of Guildford Conservatives
Jill is married with four children and has lived in the Guildford constituency for nearly ten years. She has been actively involved with the Conservative Party for most of her adult life and has campaigned in Streatham, the old constituency of S.W.Leicester, Brentford and Isleworth, when she also stood as a candidate for the local council and now Guildford. She has been involved in fundraising for many years mostly for Arthritis charities and most recently CHASE, the Childrens' Hospice based in Guildford which has now built 'Christopher's' at Artington where she also works as a volunteer. Jill also sits on Compton Parish Council where she is responsible for planning matters.
Needless to say, none of this background information appeared in the relevant election literature.
But we're not done yet, folks...
Appearing right next to Jill (and the lovely Dora) is 'Jonathon' from Blackheath:
When appearing in Anne Milton's April 2005 election pamphlet Jonathon said: "Anne is great value. She'll be a great MP. She's done so much for local people."
Jonathon also appears on the Guildford Conservative Association profile page:
On the Guildford Conservative Association website he is currently listed as follows:
Jonathan Lord - Chairman of Guildford Conservatives
Jonathan lives in Blackheath and, in addition to leading the Guildford Conservative Association as Chairman, he is also chairs the Wonersh and Blackheath Branch. His key aims for this year are to increase membership, to raise the income of the Association through successful events, and to prepare all the groundwork for successful borough-wide election campaigns in both Guildford and Waverley in May 2007. Prior to living in Bramley then Blackheath, Jonathan was based in central London, where he was a Councillor for the Ward of Little Venice and Deputy Leader of Westminster Council. Born in Oldham, he also stood as the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Oldham West and Royton in 1997. Jonathan has over twenty years' of business experience in advertising, marketing communications and technology. As a Director of Saatchi & Saatchi, he ran campaigns for Hewlett-Packard across Europe and the Middle East. He is currently a Director of LastMile Communications Ltd.
Needless to say, none of this background information appeared in the relevant election literature.
But we're still not done, folks...
Meet 'Christine' from Stoughton:
Christine appeared in Anne Milton's April/May 2005 election pamphlet (you can download a copy of this as a PDF file here) right next to the even-more-lovely Kathy.
When appearing in this pamphlet, Christine said: "Anne got straight on to the police about the problems with vandals round here."
Oh, how nice... and yes, you guessed it, Christine appears on the Guildford Conservative Association profile page, too... and - like Jill - she has taken the precaution of using exactly the same photo. I mean, we wouldn't want to go swanning about deliberately misleading the electorate, now would we?
On the Guildford Conservative Association website she is currently listed as follows:
Christine Stacy - Deputy Chairman (Political) of Guildford Conservatives
Christine is married and has lived in Stoughton for nearly 40 years. Following a successful career in communications including service and personnel management, including as Branch Secretary for some years in a moderate trade union, she took early retirement. She is heavily involved in the voluntary sector working with the frail and housebound and was also a Governor at Northmead School in Stoughton for 8 years, including for 2 years the Chairman of Governors. Christine has a keen interest in the health service and thoroughly enjoys helping a local branch of a pensioners' organisation. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, gardening, good health and chocolate in moderation! She recently stood Conservative Candidate in the Guildford North division (Stoughton & Stoke) at the County Council elections in May 2005..
Needless to say, none of this background information appeared in the relevant election literature.
So that's three out of four current members of the Guildford Conservative Association who - before their appointment to this association - appeared in Anne Milton's 2005 election literature endorsing Anne Milton without declaring their past or current affiliations to this candidate and/or the Conservative Party (the only exception being the Right and Truly Honourable Lord Howell of Guildford).
Meanwhile, Conservative activists closely associated with Anne Milton continue with false claims that this weblog is the work of Liberal Democrats (and much worse besides) and when I choose to complain to the Guildford Conservative Association about this kind of thing, for some strange reason the only reply I get is from Anne Milton's office. Now why do you think that is?
[Note for the record: After receiving no reply from the Guildford Conservative Association about recent smears, I finally managed to call - and get through to - Jonathan Lord on Friday. He was kind enough to put me on speaker-phone. Make of that what you will.]
Labels: smear-blogs, tory ringers
