There must be an angel (playing with my heart)

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“If men were angels, no government would be necessary” – James Madison 

www.cardiffangels.com

Another long awaited post from RRtW! This one is all about showcasing an exciting new project I’ve had in the pipeline and one which I can see catching on and transforming politics. This is all about Redmondism.

You can call it politics, you can call it playing a part in the community, the two things are one and the same in my book.

As many of you know, I have made a name for myself as an up-and-coming Conservative candidate. It happened almost by accident, I’m not interested in the label, what I’m interested in is making communities amazing to live in and showing what can be done when the government gets out of the way.

Since moving to South Wales, I have taken a shine to the stunning city of Cardiff, which is simply buzzing with community spirit from sports clubs to night clubs, student houses to castle turrets. It’s not a city, it’s a work of art. Somewhere you feel at home and away on holiday all at the same time.

I want to share everything and everyone this city has to offer; to keep it shining like a jewel in the crown of Wales. With a treasure trove of local activities on offer, all focussed on giving something back to the city, I have set up Cardiff Angels as a community hub to promote local groups and to crowd source new recruits. I can’t take any credit for all the work and graft that goes on at the grassroots, there are groups that devote daily love and attention to the gardens at Roath Park, the young people at the Cathays centre, the soup kitchen at Charles Street. What we can do, is we can spread our wings, and flock to help them. This is the power of crowd sourcing, to run communities and to bring them alive for everyone.

I firmly believe that passion beats policy, and a group of likeminded neighbours can be leaps and bounds ahead of local authorities. All the best big ideas in local communities come from inspired activists, people who get out of bed one day aching to get stuck into something special, something really helpful.

I’ve been volunteering since my schooldays, from science projects to charity shops, and in the last year or so I’ve seen some really incredible social entrepreneurialism which has harnessed crowd sourcing to huge effect.

One of the best examples is Crisis at Christmas, which is put on by homeless charity, Crisis, who source empty buildings and armies of volunteers on a large scale, to set up homeless shelters over the Christmas period every year, raising millions of pounds worth of manpower, food and accommodation, all on a shoestring budget. The key to their success has been the way the charity engages swathes of helpers through their channels of online communication, word of mouth, reputation and repeat business.

Getting a clear and simple message out to let everyone know how to join in, is all it takes to spark up a match between the help and the helpful.

The other huge inspiration for this project, was my involvement with grassroots group NYC MORE (marathon of relief efforts). New York City runner, Jaclynn Larington, responded to the cancellation of the marathon in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, by re-engaging runners on citywide relief efforts. Jaclynn came up with the idea one morning, in her pyjamas, and within a matter of hours created an organisation which mobilised hundreds of volunteers and busloads of supplies to devastated areas of New York City.

If we can achieve even a fraction of what I know is possible, we can help Cardiff shine brighter than a new penny, for the price of one.

How to be a Tory MP

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Article on becoming a parliamentary candidate, reposted from The Blue Collar Tory Blog

Insight into the parliamentary process from guest blogger and conservativesConservative candidate Katie Redmond.

For political parties, the 2015 General Election is just around the
corner and the time has come to rally the troops, count the campaign
teams and pick the prospective candidates. The Conservative Party has
identified a battleground of 40 target seats to win in 2015, most of
which, unsurprisingly, will target the Lib Dems. Our future Tory MPs
will be spending the next few months getting selected to stand in
their constituencies, so who are they and how does it all work?

The journey from licking the envelope on your Conservative Party
membership form to unfolding a ballot paper with your name printed on
it can seem a rather dark and mysterious one. As a recently approved
Prospective Parliamentary Candidate, allow me to shed some light on
how it’s done.

Firstly you need to be a paid-up member of the Conservative Party,
which costs a mere £25 per year and is worth it for the social scene
alone, we can talk politics later… So, once your form lands on the
desk at Conservative HQ, your membership card will be posted out to
you and your local association secretary will be thrilled with the
news that they have themselves a new member. Conservative Associations
are local branches of the Conservative Party, which run the grassroots
campaigns and fundraising events. They also have the power to select
the constituency’s parliamentary candidate.

As a Party member, you will be invited to participate in a calendar of
local events, from social to political. The old adage is true, here,
that you get out what you put in, for enjoyment and satisfaction of
belonging to a political party. You will also find that as a member of
the Conservatives, you will find more likeminded people across the
country than on match.com.

So, you’ve been to cheese and wine at the Councillor’s Christmas
nibbles, got your fingers nipped by a yappy dog while leafletting at
the letterbox, and knocked on more doors than your Avon lady – you’re
ready to start thinking about serving your people and standing for
election.

To run for election, either for a local council, or a parliamentary
seat, the first step is to apply to go on the list of approved
candidates. Competition for places on the list for local council will
vary wildly by constituency depending on how winnable the seats are,
whereas competition for the parliamentary list is consistently fierce.

Applying to the parliamentary candidates list is a multi-stage
process, beginning with an initial inquiry to the candidates
department at Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), sending a CV
and covering letter. You may then be invited for an informal interview
to decide if it is worth putting in a full application. If the
candidates’ team see your potential, they will send you a copy of the
application form, which consists of various questions relating to work
experience, political involvement and service to the community. Three
referees need to be nominated, at least one of which must be your
local association chairman or senior party official.

Once you send off the application to CCHQ, the candidates department
review your responses to decide whether to invite you for a formal
assessment called the Parliamentary Assessment Board (PAB). This is a
day long assessment of essay writing, public speaking, group
discussion and case work exercises. The Party, particularly the
Conservative Women’s Organisation run some fantastic training courses
to prepare you for the PAB.

If you are lucky enough to be invited to a PAB, you will spend a day
with around 6 or 7 other applicants at a hotel or conference centre,
where you will be assessed by a panel of senior party officials and
MPs. After the nail-biting couple of weeks, when the acceptance letter
arrives, you will now be free to contact local associations in
constituencies of your choice, expressing an interest in standing for
election.

Conservative associations put together shortlists of candidates for
selection and invite you for a selection interview, where an audience
of party members may vote on their preferred candidate. You will
answer questions on your past experiences, political views and your
local knowledge of the area, along with others on the shortlist – once
you have been selected as the winning candidate, you can enter the
election and break out the campaign boards!

Apocalypse Now?

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“Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it” - Leonardo Da Vinci

So this is the week we’ve all been waiting for…we’ve had it marked in our diaries for the past year and now for the final drumroll.

Monday: Buy milk
Tuesday: Post xmas cards
Thursday night: Office Christmas Party
Friday 21st December: “The End of the World”

Yes, the almighty apocalypse may well be upon us, so take it easy, have that extra mince pie and don’t rush to pay off your credit cards. The ancient Mayan calendar points to the date of “last creation” as next Friday. It doesn’t even leave time to catch the Eastender’s Christmas special.
Brace yourselves.

Amusingly enough, the Mexican Tourist Board announced hopes of boosted tourism, cashing in on the mystical appeal of ancient Mayan ruins. And it’s not only the Mayans who have alluded to 2012′s apocalyptic connotations.

An Indian guru has cited the year as a “deadline” for human enlightenment, which gives us another couple of months if we’re working to an Indian finish date. Legend would have it, that this year’s winter solstice (aka the shortest day) which falls on 21/12/2012 (spooky date…? nature’s soundcheck…one two, testing…)

Sorry, I was saying, the winter solstice will see the Sun aligned with the centre of the Milky Way, a celestial landmark. I am also wary of the dreadful omen of Patrick Moore’s death this week, which will surely signify the end of the universe, or at least The Sky at Night.

We have had a pretty ominous sort of year, checking off most of the 7 signs of the apocalypse, it would seem reasonably fitting to see 4 horsemen galloping over the horizon any minute now.

Let’s count them down, Top of the Apocalypse, in at number…

7 False Prophets – Press freedom has come into question with The Leveson Inquiry slamming Fleet Street for feeding us false and fictitious flannel.

6 Famine – Record numbers of Brits are flocking to food banks, with some families walking 20 mile trips for baked beans while living on the breadline.

5 Disease – We are tipping the highest level of HIV cases, one of the fastest spreading serious diseases affecting Britain.

4 War – Syria is still suffering an intense conflict, with no signs of a ceasefire, 40,000 lives have been lost and counting. The EU are reviewing an arms embargo as a desperate intervention measure.

3 Increase in Knowledge – UK Russell group universities have announced a groundbreaking move to offer free online courses online to students around the world, opening up access to education on a global scale.

2 Return of the Jews to Israel and reinstatement of Jerusalem: Following the UN’s vote to include Palestine as a member state, the Israeli cabinet has planned illegal settlements on the West Bank and East Jerusalem, jeopardising the resolution of a 2 state solution.

1 Locusts! Madagascar has called on the EU to provide emergency aid following a food crisis resulting from the onset of a plague of locusts.

Co-incidence?

Redmond Rated R

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“Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion is.” – Mahatma Gandhi 

We’re going to enter something extremely controversial. It’s a taboo subject. One which is harder to discuss in public than politics. I’m going to expose myself more than a Playboy centrefold. It’s not as easy as talking about sexuality, or drugs, or abortion. Those are all coffee table items. This is top shelf, under the counter, sensitive stuff.

I’m going to talk about religion.

Religion is the new taboo. We shy away from it, it’s embarrassing, it scares us. Bishops have been banished from the House of Lords, Churches are being bent over on gay marriage, Islam is a dirty word. Ireland would rather lose a mother than abort a foetus.

I bet there are more closet Christians than closet homosexuals.

It’s interesting to think that throughout human history, centuries of civilizations, across the globe have lived for faith. In the last eyeblink of our little island, we have binned it. I wonder why.

When I lived and worked in India, I was struck by many things - the smell, the seatbelt on my taxi ride, but above everything else, the power of faith. India is a deeply spiritual place. Walking down the High Street (always known as MG Road, after Mahatma Gandhi) you won’t see betting shops or nail salons. You’ll likely see a Church, next to a Mosque, with a Temple next door. The graffiti wall will be sloganed with bible quotes (and “please do not urinate here”).

Visit the home of any good Hindu and you’ll find an iconic symbol of an elephant-headed God, called Ganesh. If you’ve got a heavy day at work, a new challenge, or a trip to the in-laws; you don’t lie awake sweating in the dark, just tell Ganesh and have faith that he will clear your path. Sleep like a baby. Simple.

Now this all sounds completely nuts, I know. To a modern day Brit, it is. We have stiff upper lips and Richard Dawkins. We know about dinosaurs, cavemen and the Big Bang. All the stuff that got missed out before the “good book” went to print. So we’ve moved on, we’ve been to the moon, we’ve got science now. So don’t give us any just-so stories, because we just don’t Adam and Eve it.

In fact, we can run our country, make a living and do as we please without an imaginary friend in the sky. We can survive without it.

But we are throwing out the baby with the bath water. We are dismissing a part of human nature, based on DNA evidence. It’s like a bad Jeremy Kyle break-up. There is so much love, peace and happiness that comes with faith. Why are we ditching it all over some monkey bones and an oversized, EU science experiment?

Religion can be many different things to many people. But it has a common currency with the human heart, and that is love. The way we run our country is measured in economics of money, maybe it should be measured in the economics of happiness. We worship at the Bank of England where the Church of England used to be. Perhaps we’d do as well to print some more love, than print some more money.

Go West – The Power of Wales

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“It is harder to crack a prejudice than an atom” – Albert Einstein

Redmond returns with a rather long overdue blog posting, I do like to keep you all guessing! Actually I have a confession to make that writing is something I have spent most of my life avoiding.

When I was deciding which subjects to take at school, my Dad always encouraged me to become a journalist when I grew up. It would be a glamourous profession, interesting work, backstage passes, it was a hard sell. “It sounds really great, Dad, but you know, there’s just one thing I can’t stand, and that’s writing.” It was kind of a deal breaker, really.

So I followed my heart and courted a subject, which was beautifully crafted with numbers and embellished by drawings, Engineering. Incidentally, the word engineer, comes from the French for “ingenious” (ingenieux) rather than “engine”.

I digress… these days I am an Engineering Consultant by day and blogger by night, so perhaps have managed to fulfil both destinies. The great thing about blogging, you see, is that it can be picked up and written to, whenever the moment feels right, and I can share my thoughts and passions with the world web on a whim.

Having lived in Wales for well over a week, and as a major investor in the Severn Bridge in toll charges alone, I now feel well equipped to propose a Welsh economic and industrial strategy.

Since the dawn of time, the Welsh economy was built on mining. The Romans mined for Welsh gold, the Industrial Revolution was galvanised by welsh iron and steel production and Cardiff was on the map as the top coal exporter in the world. By the 1990s only 2 steel works were left in South Wales, the coal and iron deposits have been depleted and the mines closed down; slashing open a swathe of unemployment and pushing up power bills.

So we have 3 gaps here, we need new industry, we need new jobs and we need cheap electricity. And you know what, we can kill all three birds with one stone. We need to go nuclear.

Prime Minister David Cameron has been converting his political power into domestic power by clamping down on complicated energy tariffs. More significantly, though, he has announced a £700m investment in UK nuclear power from Japanese technology giant, Hitachi for 8 new reactors. This includes an expansion of the Wylfa nuclear plant on Anglesey, North Wales, a proposal rightly supported by the Welsh Assembly. It’s as good for jobs, engineering and cheap electricity as it is for Welsh pride – reinstating the power house of the West.

John Griffiths, the Welsh Labour environment minister, is sceptical. He echoes Alex Salmond’s ambitions in driving nuclear out of Scotland in favour of renewables. This is the wrong approach, as Germany is learning the hard way.

We need to recognise the opportunity here, Wales has all the ingredients for a long term nuclear economy. An abundance of coastline, an industrial workforce and a powerful national identity founded on powering our industrial roots. This is a win-win: we need nuclear, and we need it now.

NYC Runners Rally Round after Superstorm Sandy

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“We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.” – Ronald Reagan

New York has just survived one of the biggest storms to ever hit the USA, hurricane Sandy. Dozens of communities have been drenched, dismantled and desolate; family homes have been destroyed. The power outage has plunged people into darkness, the phones are down, it’s as dangerous to go outside as it is to stay indoors.

Flattened houses have seen families evacuated; for those that remain, homes have been condemned for restricted use. There is limited access to groceries and gas stations, for the lucky few that still have full use of a family car.

When New York City marathon officials started pitching up generators, water stations and food supplies in Central Park, ready for the runners, it left a bad taste in our mouths. The race, which was due to begin at the start line on Staten Island, would pass one of the worst affected areas in NYC. A disaster zone, left in a state of emergency in the aftermath of the superstorm, with people missing, stranded and in desperate need of supplies. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, realising the mounting controversy surrounding the marathon, called it right and called it off.

A volunteer group, New York Marathon of Relief Effort is shifting the focus of the marathon, using the spirit of challenge and endurance to help with the recovery efforts on storm wrecked regions. Hundreds of runners flocked together today, laying aside our lycra in favour of a philanthropic mission to help families pick up the pieces in the wake of hurricane Sandy. We sailed into Staten Island, took the railroad down to Oakland Heights and set to work armed with trash sacks, rubber gloves and Dunkin’ Donuts. An army marches on its stomach.

It was a day of mixed emotions. There’s a trail of destruction, unimaginable to the average Brit, to see the loss and destruction of homes, cars and family memories. Children laying out mud soaked albums of family photographs, plaster walls crumbling down onto sodden board games, storybooks and teddy bears. Gardens were buried in debris, dragged by flood water over lawns and fences.

Despite this, we can see that adversity exposes the best in us all. The strength inside us, that we never knew we had. The kindness of human nature displayed by hundreds of helpers, marching the streets to stock up supplies and pick up the pieces. It’s overwhelming to see so many people pull together in a crisis like this one and it makes me feel immensely proud to have been a part of it.

Tainted Blood

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http://www.justgiving.com/Katie-Redmond

My late Uncle Bill suffered from a rare bleeding disorder called Haemophilia. It’s a genetic condition, which makes it difficult for blood to clot. Usually when we stumble and graze a knee, or nick ourselves shaving, our blood will form a clot, we can put a plaster over it and forget about it. We heal up like magic.

For haemophiliacs, the bleeding can go on and on, meaning that simple scrapes can lead to large losses. It is common for haemophiliacs to need blood transfusion, they are some of your customers if you “pop out to save a life” at the local blood bank.

Luckily in most cases the blood will come from healthy happy people like you or I, although sometimes there can be a shortage of good blood. In the 70s and 80s, blood stocks were low and there was a huge shortage of safe blood.

My Uncle Bill was one of the unlucky guys who was transfused with contaminated blood which was supplied by companies from the USA who paid risky and vulnerable people to donate, such as drug users and former prisoners. High volumes of blood were contaminated with Hepititis C and HIV, both very serious and highly contagious diseases.

Uncle Bill tragically passed away after contracting HIV as well as Hep C and developing cirrhosis of the liver, this all happened when I was very young. All I have are memories of an incredibly doting Uncle and an inspirational man who kept fighting until the end. His widow, my dear Aunt Linda has worked tirelessly in his memory to expose his story and to support others who have been affected.

The Haemophiliac Society continues to support and represent people like Bill and our family through practical advice, emotional support and counselling as well as parliamentary lobbying on contaminated blood products.

On November 4th 2012 I will be running one of the toughest marathon courses in the world – New York City. I would love to take this opportunity to raise awareness and funding for The Haemophiliac Society, so please do sponsor me and help me smash my target.

Love from Katie xxx

Cartel of the Champagne Socialists

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“If you‘re not a Liberal in your twenties you haven’t got a heart; if you‘re not a Conservative in your forties you haven’t got a brain.”

Britain woke up this morning to record high employment figures. We got out of the right side of bed today and our eggs were sunny side up on the breakfast table. 30 million in work – the highest since records began – coupled with a 71% employment rate, better than before hash Brown’s economic crash in 2008. Just when we thought we were toast, we’re really bringing home the bacon.

So why is it, that now we’re cooking with gas, our North of England, Labour’s heartland, is still flat as a pancake? With business rates as cheap as chips, Labour local authority leaders have egg on their faces for failing to appetise employers in their region.

Since meeting my boyfriend, a proud Geordie lad, (why aye, pet – y’areet?) I have enjoyed spending time oop North and have found it to be a vibrant, hardworking and patriotic asset to our country. It saddens and surprises me in equal measure to see jobs pages offering peanuts, the dole bill boiling over, while Council socialists swill champagne.

South Tyneside saw youth unemployment running at 15.3% last January, almost twice the national average and ranking highest in the region. The safe seated Labour-led local authority have rested on their laurels. Council executives, with snouts in the trough of the public purse, guzzle six figure salaries. What do they have to show for it?

Not a sausage.

Green up North

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“Britain can deliver” – David Cameron

You will all be on the edge of your seats, eager to hear the Redmond review of the Conservative Party Conference. My eagle-eyed readers, watching from home, will have been fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of your favourite Tory, live in the audience during Cameron’s speech. I was dressed immaculately in an expression of deep concentration, propped up by a few paracetamol to remedy the morning after the night before.

A merry gathering it was, during the course of the conference I must have drunk my bodyweight in complimentary Chardonnay; chatted to a host of heroes from the mighty Tim Montgomerie of Conservative Home to defence secretary Philip Hammond and, most of all, Conservative party activist of 30 years and part of the conference furniture, Robert Winfield.

There is a fighting spirit amongst the party, to gear up and rally the troops to take power in 2015 and wipe out the mellow yellow, cuddly coalition. Shapps’ punchy opener as party Chairman ginned up the grassroots; Boris stole the show, proclaiming London’s place on the world stage, a speech which would have suited him in a tri-cornered hat and clanging bell, ringing out that Britain means business.

And business is exactly what we need to deliver. Labour kicked the economy into the long grass; Conservatives will spark up growth by throwing logs onto the fire of the powerhouse in the mighty North.

We can all preach these lofty ideals, and I must admit to being somewhat of a political dreamer visionary. Really, you are all just wondering, what does this all mean, how does it affect us, and what the **** can we do, sat here at home. Well I want you, my friend, to think global; act local.

Point 1. In order to run a tight ship and to get our wheels in motion, we need a majority Conservative government. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again until I am as blue in the face as my blue rosette, the future is Conservative. If you want to earn a good living, pay off a cheap mortgage, get your kids to do well at school etc. etc. Vote Conservative. Get your friends and neighbours to vote Conservative. Give them a lift to the polling station. Pat yourself on the back.

Next. David Cameron is out and about around the world, selling Britain. He is bringing business into our country. Business, jobs, and money. He will need somewhere to put it, and has made abundantly clear, firstly that we will build up the North of England, also that the time will come when we need to sacrifice some green belt. So, if you are a councillor, polish up your “Approved” stamp in the planning office, if you are a NIMBY then learn to love the industrial landscape, proud in the knowledge that you are overseeing the growth of our great nation.

Green belt is something we need to quickly let go of, we need to build business and we need to build housing. If we don’t, then we will soon tire of the grassy view from our window, as we gaze out of it from the unemployment of our sofas. To those of you who adore the countryside, I put it to you that with a growing economy, we will have more than enough disposable income for a family jaunt to the warm and sunny wine regions of France, who will be more than desperate for the tourism once their country is rendered skint by socialists.

The North of England. We need to start migrating up North, in droves. The South East is overcrowded, overpriced and overblown. Business can boom by packing itself into a lorry and motoring up the M1. There are a zillion an abundance of Enterprise Zones, we’ve got 24 of these nationally, well over half of these are up north of the Watford Gap and offer discount business rates for setting up shop. We get more bang for our buck by nudging up North. Living costs are lower, recruitment is cheaper, the air is cleaner.

As an Essex girl, I have long been indoctrinated that “It’s grim up North”, I can happily testify to the contrary, having had the pleasure of being welcomed to “God’s own Country”, otherwise known as Tyneside, by my own dear beau, Cllr Pottsy. A most beautiful, affectionate and faithful region of Britain at its best. I am a shameless evangelist of Northern Soul, we have a powerhouse in the North East, a heritage of fortresses, industrial foundations and patriotic pride, which will serve as the greenhouses and growbags to fertilise our future economy.

The grass is greener up North, its the North that will shoot, blossom and bloom and it’s the North that will deliver a Conservative victory. The next election will be won, and it will be won not from the playing fields of Eton, but on the hills and dales of our Northern towns.

UKIP if you want to.

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“A good party man puts his party above himself and his country above his party.” - Winston Churchill

UKIP have kicked off their annual conference with some strong signals that they’re the rising stars of the right wing. Farage has demanded a referendum promise on the EU “written in blood” in return for a deal with the Conservatives at the next general election.

Whilst the Conservative Party remain ambivalent towards the euroskeptic ensemble, it would take a strong U-turn from Cameron’s “fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists” remark, to entertain a pact with UKIP.

With UKIP polling at 12%, Lib Dems limping behind by 2 points, it’s time to take them seriously. Cut the Clegg coalition, a Tory-UKIP hitch would be a win for both parties. We share a swathe of right-wing rhetoric and tap a varied voting base. Conservatives can bring UKIP into centre ground, whilst UKIP can do the talking on risqué business. We can take a tougher line on Europe, on crime and on cuts, without Lib Dem meddling.

Let’s remember the battle is not yet won; the right-wing has its work cut out to win this country round and get us back on our feet. UKIP are a fighting force yet to grace the green benches; it would take a landslide away from the Liberals for UKIP to cut into the commons.

We have a tough job on our hands to wipe up the deficit and rebuild the British economy, Europe needs to prove its worth. An EU turn would be a radical move by a centrist coalition, UKIP has the unique freedom to speak our minds without prejudice.

UKIP: The Conservative Party can EU-se it or lose it!