CHATHAM & AYLESFORD

CONSERVATIVE ASSOCIATION

Above: Tracey Crouch MP and Members of the Executive Council at her re-adoption meeting

Annual General Meeting

Thursday 27 March 2014 Aylesford Football Club

Forstal Road Aylesford

ME20 7AU

Chatham & Aylesford Conservative Association

Annual General Meeting Aylesford Football Club, 25 Forstal Road, Aylesford ME20 7AU

Thursday 27 March 2014

AGENDA

1) President’s opening remarks.

2) To receive apologies for absence

3) To approve the minutes of the Annual General meeting held on March 14th 2013

4) To receive, and if approved, adopt the Chairman’s Annual Report on behalf of the Association

5) To receive and if approved, adopt the Certified Accounts for 2013-14

6) To appoint the Association Certifier for the Accounts 2014-15

7) Correspondence relevant to the meeting

8) To agree the appointment of the Honorary President to serve until the AGM in 2015

9) To elect the Officers of the Association to serve until the AGM in 2015

a. Chairman b. Deputy Chairman – Political c. Deputy Chairman – Membership & Fundraising d. Treasurer e. Political Officer (TMBC wards) f. Political Officer (Medway wards) g. Fundraising Officer(TMBC wards) h. Fundraising Officer (Medway wards) i. Membership Officer

10) To appoint members of the Executive Council. The Executive Council is made up of; The Officers, 2 Representatives from each Local Authority and from each properly constituted Committee and Branch, together with MP, MEP and area representative. The AGM may appoint up to a further 15 members. The Executive may co-opt members to any vacancies not filled at the meeting, during the course of the year.

11) To appoint members of the Local Government Advisory Committee. 9 members may be appointed to this committee, one representing each local authority area and 6 further members.

12) To appoint members of the Kent Area Council.

13) To appoint members of the West Kent Executive.

14) Address by Tracey Crouch MP

15) Vote of Thanks

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE CHATHAM & AYLESFORD CONSERVATIVE ASSOCIATION ON THURSDAY 14TH MARCH 2013 AT THE AYLESFORD CLUB. Present: Miss Tracey Crouch MP, Mrs Joyce Gadd (President in the Chair) Mr P Homewood, Mr A Sullivan, Mr B Patterson (Kent Area Chairman) and 26 Members whose names have been recorded. 1) Apologies for Absence: Mr S Peachell, Mr C Gadd, Mr A Gulvin, Mrs P Gulvin, Mr N Day, Mr R Dalton, Mrs H Dalton. 2) Chairmans Opening Remarks: The President welcomed everyone and introduced Ben Patterson, Chairman of Kent Area. She specifically thanked Andrew Kennedy for his work for the Association. 3) Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 15th March 2012 These were agreed as a true and correct record . Proposed by Mr J Balcombe and seconded by Col M Clewer and signed by the President 4) Chairmans Report Mr Peter Homewood spoke to his report which is tabled. He also advised that Lordswood and Capstone had raised £550 in 2012. Report approved. 5) Treasurers Report The Treasurer presented the accounts for 2012 £1721 was the surplus on the year which is the first year there had been a surplus. It was noted that Chatham & Aylesford have paid their full contribution to the Police Commissioner election. One of only a small number of Associations which had done so. The balance for 2012 was £8.316. The accounts were agreed by the meeting. Proposed by Mr D Davis and Seconded by Mr J Balcombe 6) To appoint the Association Certifier of Accounts for 2013/14. It was proposed that should be Mr Adrian John. Proposed by Mr J Balcombe and seconded by Mr M Parry Waller 7) Election of Officers President: Mrs Joyce Gadd Agreed Chairman Mr Peter Homewood, there being only one nomination Mr Homewood was elected. Vice Chairman (Political) Mr A Gulvin, there being only one nomination Mr Gulvin was elected Vice Chairman (Fund Raising) Mr J Balcombe, there being only one nomination Mr Balcombe was elected. Assistant to DC Political (T&M) Mr M Parry Waller, there being only one nomination Mr Parry Waller was elected. Assistant to DC Political (Med) Mr D Brake, there being only one nomination Mr Brake was elected. Assistant to DC Fund Raising (T&M) Mrs J Bellamy, there being only one nomination Mrs Bellamy was elected.

Assistant to DC Fund Raising (Med) Mr D Wildey, there being only one nomination Mr Wildey was elected. Treasurer Mr A Sullivan, there being only one nomination Mr Sullivan was elected. Membership Officer, Miss A Moloney, there being only one nomination Miss Moloney was elected. 8) Election of the Executive Council Executive Council 15 Members may be elected. Mr M Franklin, Mr Tashi Bhuti, Mr D Davis, Mrs M Davis, Miss K Doody, Mr R Stone, Mr A Jarrett, Mrs C Gale. There are a further 7 vacancies to be filled. 9) Election of the Local Government Committee Mr N Day, Mr T Bhuta, Mrs M Davis, Mr M Franklin, Mr J Windsor, Mr R Taylor. It was agreed that Mr N Day should be the Chairman of the LGAC. 10) Mr Ben Patterson Area Chairman Ben congratulated Tracey Crouch on her continued high profile. Ben advised that Allan Sullivan now acts as Treasurer for the Area and Andrew Kennedy is a co-opted member of the Area Committee and is currently organising a conference. Following the Eastleigh By Election there was a poll to see how the voting would have gone if it had been a General Election. This showed that the Conservatives would have won. This type of protest voting by Conservatives is a significant danger for the KCC Elections and for the next Euro Elections. Financing the Euro Elections will be a significant challenge as the Area Committee is now almost out of finance. 11) Address by Tracey Crouch MP Tracey thanked all members and branches for all the work they do both politically and socially. She also thanked Councillors for their work. Tracey spoke about matters relating to the NHS, the Parliamentary Alcohol Awareness Committee and other matters. Tracey stressed the difficulty of working with a coalition and it is important to work for a Conservative majority. Tracey identified UKIP as a significant threat to the Conservatives but Labour is our target and we must not underestimate them. 12) Vote of Thanks, Peter Homewood thanked Tracey for speaking and for all her work and presented flowers on behalf of the Association. The Meeting closed at 8.34 pm.

Chairman's Report 2013/14

Our agent and campaign manager Andrew Kennedy is often fond of saying that "Chatham & Aylesford is a small Association which consistently punches above its weight". The past year has proved this to be true. We end our year having held onto our seats and share of the vote in the KCC elections, and in a comfortable financial position. Our fund raising has been consistently good, especially the Christmas Draw, which resulted in us receiving a congratulatory letter from Grant Shapps the Party Chairman. Another success was the summer tea hosted by Peter Homewood, an event given added enjoyment by it's "picketing" by a bunch of lefties from Chatham. We have provided mutual aid to other constituencies, and must have one of the best envelope packing teams in the Conservative Party. Thanks must go to Joyce Gadd for organising and hosting the packing events so well. Our Policy Forum has met regularly, giving grass root opinion to the Party centrally. Our contribution to the paper on defence was mentioned in the feed back from CCHQ. My thanks must also go to our able team of officers for all their help and support over the year as well as to our Professional Team, Andrew Kennedy & Jon Botten. We will soon be moving our Association office to the new facility in Paddock Wood, along with the other members of the West Kent Federation. Andrew Kennedy, Allan Sullivan and the senior officers of the other associations have worked hard on this project, which I am certain will give us a competitive edge in next year’s elections. A few months ago, the Executive Council readopted Tracey Crouch as our candidate for the General Election. Tracey is now brimming with enthusiasm for the fight, and tells me that she does not want to just retain the seat, but to annihilate our Labour opponent. That is the attitude we must go forward with for the next year, all our efforts must be focused on giving Tracey a thumping majority and returning a full slate of Councillors to TMB & Medway Councils. With many heartfelt thanks to you all for past efforts, and I am certain even greater ones in the next year. Adrian Gulvin

Current Fighting Election Branch Total December

Account Fund Agent & Ward 2012

INCOME

Subscriptions 3,510.00 3,510.00 3,691.24

Donations 4,412.00 1,184.00 5,596.00 5,135.00

Branch/Ward 3,814.90 855.56 4,670.46 5,126.95

Fundraising (Summer/Xmas Draw)

6,158.00 6,158.00 2,705.00

Other Fundraising 5,053.00 5,053.00 0.00

From MP for non-political services

0.00 0.00 7,352.00

Sundry income 920.80 920.80 1,247.20

£23,868.70 £1,184.00 £0.00 £855.56 £25,908.26 £25,257.39

EXPENDITURE

Office Rent 3,508.90 3,508.90 8,159.12

Telephone & Internet 275.58 275.58 481.82

Postage 1,953.74 453.00 2,406.74 2,336.97

Printing & Stationery 5207.54 1,668.00 6,875.54 4,564.61

Office Equipment & Expenses 550.36 550.36 663.90

Insurance 130.00 130.00 393.50

Electoral Register Conversion 552.00 552.00 552.00

Merlin Support 201.00 201.00 402.00

Consultancy 2,340.60 2,340.60 771.10

Membership Levy & Euro Sub. 1,267.75 1,267.75 262.50

Campaigning Costs 0.00 150.00 150.00 0.00

Branch/Ward 0.00 765.35 765.35 1,522.79

Fundraising (Summer/Xmas Draw)

2,899.00 2,899.00 1,345.00

Other Fundraising 2,844.34 2,844.34 36.30

Miscellaneous 0.00 0.00 95.00

Mackinlay for Kent Campaign 0.00 0.00 1,950.00

£21,730.81 £2,271.00 £0.00 £765.35 £24,767.16 £23,536.61

Income less Expenditure £2,137.89 -£1,087.00 £0.00 £90.21 £1,141.10 £1,720.78

Net Surplus for the year £1,141.10 £1,720.78

Opening Bank Balance at 01/01/13 6,235.39 824.50 268.65 987.74 8,316.28 6,615.74

Add/Less Income/Expenditure Diff. 2137.89 -1,087.00 0.00 90.21 1,141.10 1,720.78

Trans to F/Fund from Elect. Agent 0.00 268.00 -268.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Less Reduction of T & M Provision 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -20.24

Bank Balance at 31/12/2013 £8,373.28 £5.50 £0.65 £1,077.95 £9,457.38 £8,316.28

Bank Statement at 31/12/2013 8,373.28 5.50 0.65 1,077.95 9,457.38 9,892.39

Less cheques not yet presented 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -1,576.11

£8,373.28 £5.50 £0.65 £1,077.95 £9,457.38 £8,316.28

CHATHAM & AYLESFORD PROFIT & LOSS ACCOUNT

Period 1st January 2013 to 31st December 2013

CAMPAIGNING BY THE SEASIDE!

Eastbourne was lost to the Lib Dems in 2010 by just 3,400 votes. It is one of the Party’s top target seats, which we must gain to form the next Government. We have selected the excellent Caroline Ansell as our candidate. Associations in West Kent have been asked to provide campaign support to Caroline in Eastbourne. To maximise impact, the West Kent Campaign HQ will be organising a number of coaches before the General Election. The first of these will be on Saturday 7 June and our Team Leader will be Tonbridge & Malling’s new Parliamentary Candidate, Tom Tugendhat. The coach will have three pick-up points as follows: Blue Bell Hill Commuter Car Park at 8am Outside The Hilden Manor, Hildenborough at 8.30am Outside Tunbridge Wells Constitutional Club at 9am Arriving in Eastbourne at 10am There will be traditional door-to-door canvassing and/or leaflet delivery. Following campaigning activity, the coach will leave Eastbourne around 1pm dropping people off between 2pm—3pm. We are asking for a voluntary contribution of £5 per person towards the cost

of hiring the coach.

We need 50 volunteers to fill the coach and I hope you will join us! ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Name(s):……………………………………………………………………………Association:………………………………….. Email:………………………………………………………………………………..Mobile:…………………………………………. I/we will join the Saturday 7 June Campaign Coach to Eastbourne and will board at: [ ] Blue Bell Hill [ ] Hilden Manor [ ] TW Constitutional Club

Please return this form to West Kent Campaign HQ, Freepost MA 487, 91 High Street ME19 6BR

ANDREW KENNEDY’S SPONSORED SLIM

From 6 January 2014 to 31 May 2014

Target weight loss: 4 stone (56 pound).

Andrew Kennedy is seeking your support and sponsorship with an aim of raising £2,500, which

will be used to install an eight-line Phone Bank at the new West Kent Campaign HQ in Paddock

Wood. The Phone Bank will be available to all West Kent Associations to:

Assist with Voter ID in target council wards

Support identification and recruitment of members and helpers

Help GOTV for target wards and by-elections

Provide mutual aid to our 40:40 target parliamentary seats

£2,500 will pay for the installation of the Phone Bank and cover running costs for twelve months.

Sponsorship is invited in two ways, either;

X pence per pound lost during the target period, or

A lump sum to be paid only if the four stone weight-loss target is reached

Thank you in anticipation of your support.

——————————————————————————————————————————--

Name………………………………………………………….. Tel……………………………………..

Email address……………………………………………………………………………………………

I would like to sponsor Andrew Kennedy as follows

:

[ ] (enter amount) for each pound of weight lost within the target period, up to a

maximum of 56 pound (4 stone)

Or

[ ] (enter amount) if Andrew reaches his target loss of four stone by 31 May 2014.

Signed…………………………………………………..

Please complete form and return to Andrew Kennedy, West Kent Conservative Campaign HQ,

Freepost MA 487, 91 High Street, West Malling ME19 6BR. Thank you.