By-election for Chair

Last night we held the By-election to replace our Interim Chair Chris Etheridge.

Felix Bungay, Will Barr, and Jon Waghorn stood.

The results were:

Felix: 10

Will: 6

Jon: 2

RON: 1

Congratulations to Felix for becoming the new Chair.

Saturday's Compaigning for Julian Sturdy

This Saturday we spent the day campaigning with the local association for Julian Sturdy. There was a good turnout; it's good to see so many freshers getting involved with campaigning. Afterwards we headed to the pub for much needed drinks and warm food. If you want to join us campaigning then please get in touch -- there are sessions every week and Julian is always happy to sort out transport and drinks for us.

(By Anna Appleton)

TruBlue Tories

On Wednesday 4th November, 15 York Tories decided to showcase their 'Tru' colours and paint the town blue. They embarked upon the Micklegate Run before ending up in Tru nightclub. 
The Tories were only encouraged by the prospect of a prize for the most 'blue' Tory. The said award was won by Ralph Buckle, our very own outcast, who dyed his hair blue for the occasion. 
After a lengthily session in the favourite Tory hotspot, Reflex, most Tories headed on to Tru until closing. Apparently the night was only remembered by a few. Notable are the fresher who didn't make it home until 10.30am and a certain postgraduate mathematician who is still perplexed as to how he ended up in a negative clothes situation the next morning.

(By Sarah Megarity)

Debate Result

Ben Edwards (proposition) and Sam "Stroppy" Westrop (opposition) debated the motion "This House believes that Pinochet's social policies were justified". The motion did not pass. The votes were as follows:

Debate Result

Chris Dale (proposition) and Alice Longhurst & Katherine Pott (opposition) debated the motion "This House believes in the restoration of grammar schools". The motion passed with the following results:

Selby campaigning

A few of us slid out of our beds for a 9am start campaigning for Nigel Adams PPC in the constituency of Selby, around 16 miles to the south. We managed to deliver several hundred leaflets (and met a few nice cats along away) before being treated to drink and a pub lunch. On the way back Chairman Anna Appleton was 'not amused' by Mr Adams' blasting of Green Day.  The blasting was meet with much applause by everyone else.

Summer Ball

The eve of our much awaited Summer Ball. For those who aren't aware, the York Tories host two balls a year. Obviously they're a notch above the typical 3 course meal in a standard hotel that other University societies are so keen on.

The ball was hosted in Barley Hall, a medieval townhouse right by the Minster. The ball started with apéritifs followed by a tasty meal with gallons of wine to go around. Former Chairman Ralph Buckle's speech was well received and awards where handed out, including one for 'Most inventive cocktail' which I [ed. Felix] was glad to win (ask me about it sometime). After cigars and port we lumbered round town going to Blue Fly, Reflex and then to a largely empty Ziggy's. Following this, several members decided a refreshing swim in the River Ouse was in order to cool off after all the excitement. Some overeager men decided to strip down to their birthsuits for a paddle around, much to the jubilation of all the females in the group. Those who survived the sight of that rambled around and all were invited back to the house of a society member for whisky and hoarse discussion. Cracking night. Wonder if we can top it next year?

Debate with Labour club: Equalities bill

We clashed with our rivals in Labour with a debate over Harriet Harmanperson's new Equalities bill. The horrible law was decided to be rubbish tat with a massive Conservative victory, heralding another point to the side of truth and justice! Members of the York Tories were quick to point out the great contradiction in the inequality brought by this bill and its great unenforceability. We welcome this event as part of an increased effort for more joint society socials. Naturally we also hope to convert a few Labourites to the winning team.

Real Ale challenge

We had a good go at a Real Ale challenge this week: as many different ales in as many different pubs as possible. Deuchars IPA was a bit of a favourite. Ziggy's rounded off the evening.

Schoolkids at Ziggy's

Last night we had a wonderful night out to Ziggy's. The theme? School uniform of course! The night started at Derwent bar before we crawled our way round town only to end up within the sweaty walls of Ziggy's. Our nobbly knees knocked up against the walls... nice.

New Chairman

Anna Appleton was elected as chairman of the society last Thursday. We wish her the best of luck and look forward to the remaining months of the year under her chairmanship.

As ever details of the committee (viz. images, brief descriptions, and emails) can be found on the people page.

Ralph Buckle's Resignation Letter

Ralph Buckle has has written a short response following his resignation. This is available online here.

Resignation

Ralph Buckle has resigned and is in the process of drafting a response. He continues to support the Conservative Party. The University of York Conservatives continue to support and campaign for our local Conservative candidates.

Debate Result

Thomas Cahill (proposition) and Simon Franzen (opposition) debated the motion "This House would criminalise abortion". The motion did not pass. The votes were as follows:

Debate Result

Felix Bungay (proposition) and Hedley Mellor (opposition) debated the motion "This House supports a federal structure for the UK". The motion did not pass. The votes were as follows:

Debate Result

Simon Franzen (proposition) and Paul Giannaros (opposition) debated the motion "This house would replace the Monarchy with an elected president". The motion did not pass. The votes were as follows:

Debate Result

Ben Edwards (proposition) and Laurence Chetwynd (opposition) debated the motion "This house would legalise heroin". The motion did not pass. The votes were as follows:

Debate Result

Gemma Tresser (proposition) and Anna Appleton (opposition) debated the motion "This house believes that women are more suited to the domestic environment". The motion did not pass. The votes were as follows:

News System Up

The new new news system is in place(ish). This means:

1. No more latin placeholder text scaring everyone
2. The University of York Conservatives website will be worryingly useful

Bug the Web Lord if you find any problems with it.