The CPF congratulates Theresa May on becoming our new Prime Minister. We all wish her every success in leading the country through the exciting times ahead.
We thank David Cameron, on behalf of all CPF members, for all his work during his time as Prime Minister. He led us expertly through a challenging coalition Government to victory in 2015 and his commitment and leadership of our Party must be applauded.
As the new administration takes shape, we also thank Oliver Letwin for the enormous amount of work he has contributed to the development of CPF over the last few years. We look forward to working with the new CPF Chairman as the CPF contributes to the Party’s policy development process.
In the coming days and weeks, the Prime Minister and her newly-formed government will be putting together her policy agenda. Over the summer, the CPF Board will formulate a new discussion programme in line with that agenda. This will ensure that our policy discussions are relevant to the political landscape under Mrs May’s leadership. It is expected that the CPF will recommence its national programme again in the autumn. Our strength, as the policy forum, is in our ability to influence the policy agenda of the day and, moving forward, our discussion paper agenda must reflect this objective.
Now is a time for the CPF to grow and build – we have a big and important job ahead. We have a new Prime Minister leading us towards a “post-EU” political climate and CPF members will have a huge role in shaping this future direction. In the meantime, please can I encourage you all to use this break in the national discussion agenda to continue holding CPF meetings that focus discussion on local issues that you want to influence. This will help to ensure that the CPF continues to grow and is ready to hit the ground running in the autumn – ready to speak out with our strong and loud voice.
Thank you on behalf of us all.
Hannah David LLB(Hons) MSc
National (voluntary) Director, Conservative Policy Forum