Hannah David's article for CCA.Voice, the magazine of the Conservative Councillors' Association.
Since I was elected as the National Director of the Conservative Policy Forum (CPF), I have been guided by one central goal: to give every member of our party a voice in shaping Conservative Party policy. This is crucial.
As we brave hail, rain and snow to deliver leaflets and spread our message it is essential that we feel that the policies that we are promoting represent our views as Conservatives. Over the last few months, I have been building capacity within the CPF. I have joined meetings of Conservative Associations/ CPF Groups across the UK, and have signed up new members and groups on every occasion. Our first consultation paper on housing was published in March and we are currently working on a series of policy papers addressing the most important issues facing our country in the coming years.
In many policy areas, our councillors are at the coalface. They understand intimately the concerns of their constituents and have many important insights into how best to implement Conservative Party policy on the ground.
I was therefore delighted to run two workshops on planning at the annual CCA Conference. These events were both well attended and extremely successful. The discussions were detailed and sophisticated and will add much weight to the CPF output on planning issues.
I am grateful to the CCA and all of the councillors who have contributed to the work of the CPF over the past few months and look forward to building a strong relationship between both organisations during my tenure as National Director.
I am always interested to hear from councillors. Please do get in touch at [email protected], via conservativepolicyforum.com and follow us on twitter @ConservativePF and Facebook, and encourage others to do so!