One year on
It's about one year on since I joined the Conservative Party. Here is a review of the costs & benefits it has brought me.Costs
* £15
* A few friends have wobbled in their friendship
* An increase in junk mail
Benefits
* A feeling of superiority in commenting on 'party affairs'
* No-one came around trick-or-treating on Halloween
Plus, from the website, the benefits are said to be:
* Voting rights
* Heartland
* Money Saving Offers
* Voting Rights -- These kick in after three months, so I missed the chance to vote on Michael Howard. Then again, so did everyone else*. The benefits of being the 'most open and democratic political party' eh?
* Heartland - This is the Tory party magazine. It's ok actually, though I've only received one copy. Can this be right? Surely in a year there should be more than one copy. Still that one copy gave me loads of laughs, what with the Private Eye piece, the Yoof vote piece, and the slimey interview with IDS, even though he'd been kicked out the day I received it.
* Money Saving Offers - Blimey I'd forgotten about these. The RAC discount is annoying, as I recently renewed by (rip-off) RAC subscription. The Jeroboams wine is interesting - it's not a discount but it's a contribution to party funds every time one buys wine from there if you tell them you are a member. A branch is opening less than 1 min from my house. Prepare for a blitz of Tory advertising on a party fat from my drinking habits...
Conclusion
Well worth the £15 it costs me.
* Actually I could be wrong here. A news story in October 2003 says, 'Howard has already said he is “eager and keen” to give the party’s 300,000 members a say'. What was the result?
posted by Matthew @ 9/08/2004 04:32:00 PM
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