Tag Archives: zac goldsmith

Young People In Politics: Ben Mallet Interview.

Posted on by

It takes a lot for me to be impressed by people, Ben Mallet scores on this point. He is smart, passionate and obscenely young ( Still in his teens!). Ben is one of life’s doers, and, I am almost certain, will one day be Prime Minister. Keep an eye on him.

Why did you go into politics and why conservative?

I got involved with the Conservative party from quite a young age, not because I was a political anorak (I would hope), but because I’ve always thought its really important for young people to take an interest in decisions being made by governments, that are going to affect people of my age, later on.

How do you think we get more people involved in politics?

I think the key to involving young people in politics, is acknowledging that the majority of young people are already interested in politics, just not the politics that we see on BBC Parliament.

If you were to ask one of my friends, “What do you think of the Coalition government?” then I would happily bet that they’re eyes would glaze over and they would have lost interest before you’d even finished the question. Where as, if you were to ask “What do you think of the Coalition government’s policy to increase tuition fees?” then you would get a completely different reaction- probably one involving a pretty lively response.

To give another example, I was at a Kingston council meeting last week and the Lib Dems decided that they were going to launch a motion stating their opposition to the rise in Tuition fees. The audience was mostly made up of local teenagers coming to hear the debate and three even got up to speak!

It’s all about making politics RELEVANT to young people.

Tell me about setting up the Richmond park CF
Richmond Park Conservative Future is a real success story, although not just my own. So many people worked to make RPCF what it is today- not least Zac Goldsmith.

Our underlying principle, as I’ve just stated, is making politics relevant to young people. As a result, we held Summer & Christmas parties, inviting loads of local teenagers to come and quiz Zac on what he stands for, as well as enjoying themselves. Combined, over 350 people came to these events. We’ve also held discussions with local politicians and events at the local universities.

We also teamed up with a local autism charity to hold a sponsored Fun-Run in Richmond Park, raising hundred’s of pounds for a really great local organisation.

How did you get involved with Zac Goldsmith

I first met Zac when I volunteered to work in the local association office- he had just been selected as the parliamentary candidate and was looking to really launch his campaign locally.
I got involved because Zac wanted lots of young people to get involved- and so the ball began to roll.

You got new 180 members at The Kingston Fresher’s Fayre. How does that feel?

I feel very humbled by it. It was a total team effort and there was a lot of effort involved. The explosion of young people’s engagement in local politics we witnessed wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for the energy displayed by Zac or the campaign team. I am honoured, however, to have acted as a catalyst.

Why do you think there is a stigma to being a Tory?

This is a question that a lot of people ask me- the truth is that the Conservative party has always had some “Marmite” tendencies- you either love them or you hate them. As a result there are some areas of the country and some groups of people who will always hate the Tories- for what they did decades ago that haven’t yet been forgiven.

The flip side of the coin is that there are some areas of the country and some groups of people who love the Tories.
The Conservative party is one of the oldest political parties in the world and so it’s history ultimately plays a big part in the party’s perception today.

Why are you a Tory?
I think its all about trust. When you strip off all the political party slogans, logos, PR machines and spin doctors, it all comes down to how each party treats people.

The Labour party doesn’t trust anyone. It doesn’t trust me to not be a racist or a nutter, so it imposes ridiculous political-correctness and health and safety laws. It doesn’t trust doctors, teachers or even the police to do their job, so it imposes layers of bureaucracy, targets and by-laws. It doesn’t trust my community to make decisions themselves so leaves the power with bureaucrats in Whitehall and doesn’t trust businesses to work effectively, so imposes heavy regulations and red-tape. And to fund all this centralization, they have to ask for huge amounts of tax on everything from Income to Bingo.

I believe that the Conservative party does trust people. Michael Gove’s plan to allow parents, communities or organisations to set up their own schools is one example of this. Another example is Andrew Lansley’s plans to give more power to doctors, or Eric Pickle’s policy to radically decentralize power to local councils. The Prime Minister’s Big Society is all about trust.

Thank you Ben.

Catch 21 Productions political interview: Zac Goldsmith

Posted on by

Here at Frost we think that great minds think alike. Which is why we were excited to come across Catch 21 productions. Catch 21 is a charitable production company which produces videos, events and programmes to help engage young people with politics www.catch21.co.uk Something Frost is also trying to do.

They recently interviewed a number of MPs that were elected this year. One of those was Zac Goldsmith MP. Frost loves what they are doing and thinks that you should watch the video below.

http://www.catch21.co.uk/2010/11/new-mpinions-zac-goldsmith-mp

Catherine Balavage

Roz Savage and Zac Goldsmith launch anti-plastic campaign.

Posted on by

When: 4th of November, 2010. 7pm

Where: American University, Richmond.

I was already anti-plastic before I went to hear this talk by Roz Savage and Zac Goldsmith. The event is by Greener Upon Thame’s, and Michael Glazebrook was on brilliant form. The videos I saw and the talks that I heard my anti plastic stance  tenfold. It is not a small issue. As well as bringing news of the launch of an anti-plastic campaign by Greener Upon Thames, with the help of  Zac Goldsmith and Roz Savage, Frost will be doing a series of articles of how you can be more environmentally conscious.

MP and  Pacific rower launch campaign to make Olympics plastic bag-free
Zac Goldsmith, MP, and ocean rower/ environmental campaigner Roz Savage have launched a campaign to make the Olympics 2012 plastic bag-free.
 
The duo are backing Greener Upon Thames and will unveil banners and bags, soon to be seen across London, declaring “London – shouldn’t we be plastic bag free?” The group fear that the Olympics could prompt the production of hundreds of thousands of promotional bags, which would be carried around the world, creating a global problem, and shaming the British capital.

The campaign, backed by politicians,  schools, more than 500 shops and thousands of London  residents, will call on the Government to rid the Olympic Park and the capital of  the polluting bags for the duration of the games to break the habits of millions of Londoners, and as a symbol  to the world.  
 
The move follows Roz’s latest – 8,000 mile – Pacific row, where she skirted the North Pacific Garbage Patch. This is an area of marine plastic pollution roughly twice the size of Texas, containing around 3.5 million tons of rubbish, including millions of plastic bags that kill animals and contaminate our food supply. 

Roz Savage has now rowed solo across much of the planet: she is the first woman to have rowed across  the  Pacific, adding to her 2005 solo crossing of the Atlantic. In 2011 she will be setting off to row the Indian Ocean before rowing the North Atlantic to return to the UK.

Roz   combines her epic adventures (she is one of the Top 20 Great British Adventurers) with raising  awareness of  the top environmental challenges facing the world today:  marine plastic  pollution, climate change, and habitat destruction. She is a United Nations  Climate Hero, a trained presenter for the Climate  Project, and an Athlete  Ambassador for 350.org.

Her Pacific row was a project of the Blue Frontier Campaign and she is an Ambassador for the BLUE Project. Her inspirational book, Rowing the Atlantic: Lessons Learned on the Open Ocean, came out in   2009.

Richmond Park MP Zac Goldsmith is a former editor  of  The Ecologist  magazine and author of The Constant  Economy  (2009), which looks at some key environmental problems and  provides a  programme for action.
 
In 2005 he was invited  to oversee the Conservative Party’s Quality of Life Policy Group,  which helped develop the  party’s policies on issues ranging from  transport, housing and energy to food,  farming and the countryside. 
 
Zac supports Greener Upon Thames, the Richmond and Kingston anti-plastic-bag campaign which is organising these  two  events, with help from the American International University and Kingston University’s Sustainability Hub.

Zac and Roz will also address an audience at Kingston University at 7.00pm on Thursday 11th November.

New play raises funds for Pakistani Flood victims.

Posted on by

An award winning play about Eva Shloss, Auschwitz survivor and step-sister of Anne Frank, is raising funds for the Pakistani flood victims. The play is supported by leaders from Britain’s Jewish, Muslim and Asian communities as well as other prominent figures, including Zac Goldsmith MP.

At a press conference Eva was joined by the play’s producer/director, Nic Careem, a Muslim. Nic has used the play to combat extremism across the U.K and in many other countries.

Dr. Eva Schloss, announced the special showing that will be on at the Garrick theatre in London. She made this comment:

‘ Many people were saved from the tragedy of the Holocaust through the action of others. A major tragedy is now unfolding in Pakistan with over 14 million people affected by the floods, who are at risk from diseases spread from contaminated drinking water and flooding after further rainfall. There is much we can do to help them.’

For tickets please go to: http://www.remotegoat.co.uk/event_view.php?uid=115080

All proceeds go to charity.

{Disclaimer: Frost’s editor – and writer of this article- is in the play}

Young people in politics, Part 1: Young Conservatives & Zac Goldsmith strike gold at Kingston University.

Posted on by

I recently joined the Richmond Park Conservatives and Zac Goldsmith at the Kingston University Fresher’s Fayre. Their aim? To start a Kingston Conservative Society. No mean feat since most people, when they are young, are incredibly left leaning. They need at least 10 members, or no go.

None of this is helped by the fact that, directly opposite, is the Socialist worker’s party, The Marxists and, less worrying, the Liberal Democrats. The Socialist Worker party chant, rather inaccurately “No Tory cuts!” When I point out to them it’s “coalition cuts.” I get a blank look.

Left to right: Editor Catherine Balavage, Zac Goldsmith, Ben Howlett.

The Project manager of the event is Gus Magalhaes. I interviewed Gus, 22, who”s Richmond Park CF is Canbury Ward Chairman and is policy formulator. He had some interesting things to say.

1) Why did you go into politics and why conservative?

I went into politics because I was passionate about making a difference in people’s lives and I felt politics was a good way to do this. I am a firm believer in giving individuals the opportunity to shape their own futures and this ties in well with the Conservative way of thinking with ideas such as meritocracy and entrepreneurship.

2) How do you think we get more people involved in politics?

I feel that in order to get more people involved in politics we need to engage them in issues that are relevant to their lives – a bottom up approach as opposed to a top down outlook. The best way this can be achieved is by inspiring localism as opposed to ‘big government’.

3) Tell me about setting up the Kingston Conservative society.

Setting up Kingston University Conservative Society was challenging, and at some points daunting, as in recent years it has failed to get off the ground but it has been worthwhile considering the numbers we have recruited. I am very proud of the society and of everyone who worked with me to achieve it success.

4) How big a help has Zac Goldsmith been to CF?

Zac Goldsmith has played a pivotal role in CF in Richmond as he has taken a keen interest in supporting its objectives and has provided vital support on numerous occasions. Zac himself has made CF a more formidable and respectable force within the Conservative Party.

5) You got 186 members. How does that feel?

Cracking! I am overwhelmed by the amount of students that signed up to the society over the two days of Fresher’s Fayre. This is a true testament to what I said before about engaging people in the right way in politics – you can get people interested in politics if it is presented in the right way. No one would have expected Kingston University to have delivered the biggest Conservative Society in London.

Gus Magalhaes

6) The Socialist worker’s party has been unpleasant. What is your reaction to people who automatically think all Tories are evil?

One of the great things about our country is that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, whichever side of the political spectrum that you may stand. Our challenge as Conservatives should be to continue to try and engage as many people in politics as possible.

7) What’s next?

The first and most important priority is to ensure that Kingston University Conservative Society continues to build on its recent success and build on its membership. After that, I would love to help in making Kingston – upon – Thames a Conservative seat once again.

Gus is joined by Ben Mallet, Nicholas Clarke, Ben Howlett – Who, a few days later, gets voted in to be Conservative Future Chairman-, Carrie Apples Symonds and Charlotte Borg. All young and passionate people who believe in making a difference.

I bring along Frost photographer, Anthony Epes to take pictures and the day ends up becoming an unqualified success. They get 186 new members. None of this is hurt by the presence of Zac Goldsmith. He pacifies the Socialist Worker’s party by listening to their questions and answering them with grace and dignity. He walks around the fayre and gives people his email address, invites them to have coffee with him. His manners stretch to the CF members. They are called ‘tory scum’ for two solid days and give it the contempt it deserves. One wonders why someone’s political believes means that can’t be friends with someone who has different ones. What a dull world that would be.

This is what Zac Goldsmith had to say about the fair: “there was real enthusiasm among students, but even so, I was amazed by the number of new members. I look forward to holding lots of events at the University.”

If you are a young person in politics and have a story to tell, contact info@frostmagazine.com

Zac Goldsmith on the Environment, Jemima and becoming an MP.

Posted on by

Zac GoldsmithI met Zac Goldsmith through a friend. I found him so inspiring and genuine that I helped out on his political campaign. Not only did Zac get in, but he has taken time out of his busy schedule to give Frost this interview.

1 ) It has been about five months since you got elected. How are you feeling?

I’m still wondering how it happened, but thrilled to be able to turn promises into reality. There’s lots to do, on so many levels, but I have already seen that it is possible to make a difference as an MP.

2) Has becoming an MP been like what you thought it would be?

There are no rules. There is nothing stopping a new MP flying off to the Caribbean the day after the election, enjoying the salary and expenses, and doing absolutely nothing of any value. That’s why we need a proper recall process, where MPs who have lost the respect of their constituents can be booted out. It is for an individual MP to decide what sort of MP they want to be. I am still learning the ropes and figuring out how to be most effective.

Zac Goldsmith with Frost Magazine editor Catherine Balavage

Zac Goldsmith with Frost Magazine editor Catherine Balavage

3 ) Your sister, Jemima Khan, put on her twitter that voting Tory was ’embarrassing’. Did you tell her off?

No! It was a joke that was picked up by a mischievous journalist. She was a huge help in the campaign, and canvassed regularly.  

4) What is the main thing people can do to help the environment?

What we do at home, at work and in our communities is important. But the real change is still going to come about because of political decisions, so the most important thing we can all do is get involved in politics – at any level. Even simply putting pressure on your MP is useful.

5) What do you think it the most pressing political issue at the moment?

The big long term issue, the cloud hanging over us, is the environment. We are cashing in the natural world and we cannot go on doing so indefinitely. But the immediate, overarching issue is the economy. If we don’t sort the deficit, we will be spending more servicing our debt than we do on education, and we would almost certainly see the cost of borrowing rise – for individuals and for businesses.

6) Why do you think you inspire young people so much? You had lots of volunteers who believed in you.

I had some wonderful helpers, and a magnificent team, which meant that the campaign was vibrant and fun. I was very lucky.

7) Do you think you it would have been harder to get elected without the scarily talented Ben Mallet?

Absolutely. Aged 15, Ben Mallet volunteered to establish a Conservative Future branch. By the time of the election, it was the biggest in England. I don’t know how he did it, but he is a phenomenon and a treasure.

8) Tell me the premise behind your book ‘The Constant Economy.’

Crudely speaking, it’s a guide to creating an economy that puts a value on valuable things, like natural capital, and a cost on pollution, waste and the use of scarce resources. It’s about learning to live within our ecological means. The chapters are organised as ‘steps’. Collectively, they would take us absolutely in the right direction. Individually, none of them would require political courage.

9) What are you first thought about parliament as someone who is relatively new to it.

The ritual, the atmosphere and the process is fascinating and sometimes stirring, but I sometimes wonder how much of real value happens in the chamber itself. When I first raised an issue, after my Maiden Speech, I felt I was shouting at a troop of giggling baboons on the other side.

10) What’s next?

Other than making the most of being in Parliament, being able to campaign on issues from the inside for the first time, I have no plans. I will simply do my best.

Thank you Zac.

http://www.zacgoldsmith.com/

Catherine Balavage's Top Ten Books.

Posted on by

I love reading. I have been known to read a book in a day. I also go through magazines and newspapers ferociously. At school I was actually made fun of for reading so much. I feel I got the last laugh. My top ten books are ever changing, but here is my current list. Read these books. They are amazing and will change your life. In no particular order….

“What’s left?” Nick Cohen
Nick Cohen is one of the smartest people I have ever met. I read this book long before I met him in person. Even it you do not agree with his political views, the sheer brilliance of his political argument wins you over. Nick has a brave voice and his compassion comes through in this book of his dissection of how the left lost it’s way.

“How Mumbo jumbo ruled the world.” Francis Wheen.
I am guilty of bulk buying this book and giving it as Christmas presents. Not only is this a great book, but I get the sense that Mr Wheen has a very good bullshit detector.

“ Midnight’s Children.” Salman Rushdie.
Fun, beautiful, erudite. Hard to choose just one of his books but I love this for the magical realism. Salman Rushdie is known as one of the greatest writers. And with good reason.

“The Count of Monte Christo” Alexander Dumas.
A roaring adventure book. Brilliant from beginning to end. Quite an achievement considering it’s over 1,000 pages

“A Much Married Man.” Nicholas Coleridge
This is one of my favourite novels. The story is about a wealthy man who constantly re-marries, hence the title. Coleridge is an amazing writer. Constantly noticing things about his characters and their lives. Beautiful and quaint.

“The Constant Economy.” Zac Goldsmith.
Goldsmith, who was editor of The Ecologist for many years, certainly knows his stuff. Here he maps out his ideas for a “constant economy” The most readable eco book I have ever read. Brilliant stuff. Now he is a member of parliament expect a much greener government.

“ Crime and Punishment” Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
I love this book. A darkly wonderful book about a young man who commits murder without remorse or regret. It becomes a book about redemption. “A new life is not given for nothing….” I read this book and I wish I could read it in it’s original Russian.

“Lazy ways to earn a living.” Abigail Bosanka
This may seem like a random choice. I have read this book three times. The first time during a hellish holiday in Spain. It is set in Edinburgh and it about a women who is fired from her job. She is highly educated but doing odd jobs to survive and bumps into someone she used to know…It is a book full of detail, knowledge, love and chess. I was on a film set recently and saw a women reading it . We instantly became friends.

“How to lose friends and alienate people.” Toby Young.
A funny and insightful book on publishing and media. Re-read it many times. You should as well. Young is a brilliant writer. He has a social conscience so the book is more than a shallow biography.

“Lord of the rings.” J.R.R Tolkien.
I read this book when I was 13. I eagerly awaited the films for many years. Fantasy writing at it’s best.

Now you have read mine, please send your top ten books to frostmagazine@gmail.com