Published by admin October 20th, 2008
in Conservatives Abroad.
The Conservatives Abroad Conference 2008 took place at the Crowne Plaza Europa Hotel,
Brussels, Belgium on Saturday 11th October.
Approximately 60 guests were present for the Conference and its events, the majority from overseas branches of Conservatives Abroad. These included delegates from Spain, France, Luxembourg, USA and
Australia. Additionally a number of London based members made their way to
Brussels, complemented by a strong local presence.The events commenced with a dinner on Friday 10th October at the prestigious Club des Officiers opposite the European Parliament. Pre dinner cocktails were hosted by The Conservatives in the European Parliament and the EPP-ED Group. Introduced by Philip Bushill-Matthews MEP, leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament, the after dinner speaker was the Rt Hon Francis Maude MP, who gave a description of how the Conservatives have changed, how we are ready for power and how Conservatives Abroad is an important element in helping us achieve that goal.On Saturday, Conference guests were welcomed to
Brussels by Timothy Kirkhope MEP, who introduced the the new Chairman of Conservatives Abroad, Caroline Abel Smith to chair the Conference. The first order of the day was to hear branch reports, which were given by representatives from Paris, Javea, Mallorca, L’Emporda, Washington, D.C. and
Belgium. The presentations were completed by an excellent powerpoint presentation by Alistair Kinloch from
Sydney, proposing a method of vote harvesting and inspiring further debate. The session was then rounded off by Philip Dunne MP, Conservative Party Vice Chairman with special responsibility for Conservatives Abroad, with some further discussion amongst delegates on vote harvesting and the right to vote.The keynote speech was delivered by Dr. Liam Fox MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, who presented a clear and at times stark account of the global threats to
Britain and western democracy in general. This led into a lively question and answer session, with delegates exhibiting a wide range of views and standpoints and Dr Fox robustly advocating his views.After a hearty lunch, the afternoon session continued with the debate on the European Union. Expertly moderated by Geoff Meade of the Press Association, the panellists Lorraine Mullally, Don Collier, Piotr Kaczynski and Jacki Davis provided a sharp and lively exchange of views on the Lisbon treaty, democracy and the EU and the future of the
Union. Ostensibly a 2 vs 2 debate, the panellists exhibited a wide range of views on the issues as did the conference guests when questions from the floor were taken.The final speech of the Conference was given by the Rt Hon Francis Maude MP, reiterating the excellent work of Conservatives Abroad and putting it into the context of the Conservative Party’s plans for government. Caroline Abel Smith closed the Conference, thanking the speakers and guests and looking forward to next year’s event, for which
Mallorca has offered to take on the great responsibility to organise the 2009 Conservatives Abroad Conference.Finally, the delegates were taken to the centre of
Brussels for a tour of the old city and an enjoyable dinner at Scheltema retaurant near the famous
Grand Place
.The British Conservative ASsociation in Belgium would like to thank all the guests and speakers for coming to
Brussels and for helping to make the Conservatives Abroad Conference 2008 a success.Pictures from the Conference are available at this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/conservativesabroad/
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