Shadow Defence Secretary Visits New Forest

Almost 200 Forest Conservatives packed into the Lyndhurst Park Hotel for the visit of Nicholas Soames who received a standing ovation after his speech on Friday 19th February. Invoking the spirit of his grandfather, Sir Winston Churchill, Mr. Soames stressed the "profound and clear choices" facing the country at the forthcoming election and the 'irrevocable commitment' of the Conservatives to deliver their policies according to a strict timetable for action.

New Forest East MP, Julian Lewis, shadow minister for the Cabinet Office, introduced the speaker by describing the "effortless sense of direction and tremendous fun" which Mr. Soames had brought to the Conservative defence team on which they had worked together. Responding, Mr. Soames paid tribute to the work of Dr. Lewis in drafting many of the defence policy papers which the Conservatives had adopted. He expressed great pride on behalf of the whole party at the fact that New Forest West MP, Desmond Swayne, had served with the Army during the campaign in Iraq.

Turning to the state of the Labour Government, Mr. Soames denounce it as "totally unreliable and totally untrustworhty". Ministers' double standards over the release of documents under the Freedom of Information Act was only the latest example of their slippery and dishonest behaviour - and the country was getting utterly fed up with it.

As far as defence was concerned, the "well-meaning but hopeless" Geoff Hoon had lost the battle with the Treasury and was proposing dangerous reductions in the Army, the Royal Navy and the RAF. The Conservatives were promising extra defence funding to make good such losses at a time when the armed forces " have never been busier nor faced more serious threats."

The Conservative Party, said Mr. Soames, had been in power longer than any other in modern political life. It was pledged to restore the unity of the different parts of the United Kingdom which had been weakened by Labour's "constitutional vandalism" and the Party must show that it had "the guts, will, discipline, ambition and determination to win."

Concluding, he recalled Sir Winston Churchill's tribute to the "wise and kindly way of life" which Britain enjoyed under its system of constitutional monarchy - a golden heritage which only the Conservatives would honour and reinforce.

A vote of thanks was proposed by Mr. Swayne for what he described as an inspirational address. Over £800 was raised from the event for the election fighting fund, including £150 for a bottle of House of Commons brandy which was auctioned by Dr. Lewis.