Maidenhead. Your Constituency Needs You!

Are you worried about the effect Brexit might have on jobs, the economy and public services?  Concerned about a third runway at Heathrow?


Theresa May has flip-flopped away from defending the interests of people like you in the Maidenhead constituency.

 
Julian Reid is standing as the 'alternative conservative' to garner enough votes to give Theresa a strong message that:

1. We don't want a hard Brexit
2. We don't want a third runway at Heathrow
3. In other respects "Maidenhead Matters Most":

• A&E facilities and other NHS services
• Train services from Maidenhead and Twyford - timing, capacity and cost
• Building lots of houses, but in appropriate places, not on Green Belt

Further  details are here.

We are looking for volunteers to join #TeamJulian, OnLine, OnFoot, OnCard:

• Some 200 people to knock on doors, distribute leaflets, and/or (if available on Thursday 8th) be a "teller" at your local polling station
• Around 20 Team Leaders to co-ordinate and help recruit the volunteers in their local ward
• People to spread the word through social media (and a few people to help run Julian's social media campaign)

If you care about Maidenhead and the country's economy, do step forward.  You don't need to live in the constituency.  Do contact us by email or phone.

Donations welcome too, to compete against the larger parties!

Thanks!

Maidenhead Matters Most

Julian Reid is The Just Party's candidate in Maidenhead.  Read all about it!

"Maidenhead Matters Most" - background and the 6 key issues for the constituency's residents.

"Candidates Rundown" - Who could beat Theresa May?

An Open Letter To Theresa May

Maidenhead Constituency

Dear Theresa

I lived in Maidenhead for 25 years, and voted for you each time between 1997 and 2010.  In 2015 I also voted Conservative.  But I won't be in 2017.

I met you in your constituency surgery.  You listened,  You understood a complex situation far quicker than most.  Impressive.  Indeed I was quite a fan.

Fast forward to 2017 and I am very concerned that the Conservatives have backed Brexit 'at any cost', and that you are leading this despite your Remain views last summer.  I still hold similar views against Brexit.  I am similarly concerned about Heathrow Terminal 3.  It seems to me that you have put your career before your constituents.

I founded The Just Political Party in 2014 due to concern about the lack of choice for voters in the centre such as myself.  The Conservative party had already veered right, and has since gone further.  The need for the new Just Political Party is now even greater.

Julian Reid is our candidate in Maidenhead for GE17.   It is rather coincidence it is your constituency.  For that reason we considered standing in an adjacent Remain-backing seat.  But Julian's business trip to the States meant nomination formalities could not be completed by the deadline.  That and a natural commitment to Maidenhead's constituents, especially when there is talk of bulding on the 'green lungs' of Maidenhead at the Golf Club.

Theresa, everyone expects you to win. But it is our aim to give you 'a run for your money', to allow constituents to show their displeasure at Brexit, and displeasure at Heathrow expansion.   But there is of course the possibility of beating you.

I thought you were the best candidate for the Conservative Leadership, in the hope and expectation of you softening the party's stance on Brexit.  Personally, I wouldn't want to trigger another leadership election, unless that meant a new leader coming forward who wanted a softer Brexit.

In that hope, Julian is competing to win as the 'conservative alternative '.

With my best regards
Chris

The Just Political Party - Why? What? Who? Where? How?

The Just Political Party website  is now complete:

• Home
• Contact Us
• Why Just?
• Aims and Values
• Maidenhead GE17 - background and our candidate Julian Reid
• Candidates Rundown - all 13 candidates reviewed
• Volunteer / Donate
• Volunteer
• Membership and Funding
• Donate Now

 Do take a look!

The Maidenhead Advertiser Writes

As soon as Julian Reid's nomination had been accepted, it was straight round to the offices of the Maidenhead Advertiser before their copy deadline.  Julian was now in an airport lounge, before a short business trip to New York.  Here is the article the Advertiser's journalist wrote as a result of their phone conversation and his letter published in the previous week's paper:

A businessman who has grown disillusioned with the Conservative Party is set to stand for election in Maidenhead for The Just Political Party.

Julian Reid a 72-year-old who works in financial services, describes himself as an 'alternative Conservative'.

He said "I have come to the conclusion that unless you are in support of hard Brexit or the third runway at Heathrow you've got nobody to vote for."

"Flip-flop May as I call her is not the person to be negotiating Brexit."

"I think people in Maidenhead deserve to have an alternative Conservative contestant."

The party was founded in 2014 by Chris Challis, from Ascot, and aims to be a 'truly centrist party option for voters'.

Chris said "The Just Political Party was founded to provide voters with the positive choice if you believe in a strong economy and a caring society."

Mr Reid lives in Windsor Great Park with wife Rosa and has two adult children, Sarah and Thomas.

www.TheJustParty.org.uk

Note:  The Just Political Party is bringing together Conservatives and Labour moderates . Hence the twin colour ribbons in our rosette. We are recruiting from Labour's ranks too.  Watch this space!

Do you ever want to vote for "None Of The Above"?

Now you can truly vote for "None of the above".

The Just Party was formed precisely becuase the founder didn't want to vote for any of the main parties.  He felt a new party was needed.

Now you can go to www.NoneOfTheAbove.co.uk and go straight to The Just Party website.  If you live in the Maidenhead constituency you can vote for The Just Political Party on 8 June.  For None Of The Above.

Enjoy!

TOO LATE for Prospective MPs. But not too late for the future.

Deadline: 4pm Thursday 11 May 2017

Thursday 11th 4pm. Today.  That WAS the deadline for candidates for the 2017 General Election.  In practice that meant by 2pm at the relevant local authority, armed with 10 constituents' signatures, the other forms and £500 deposit in cash.

Now that deadline has passed, we're looking to the future.  

The Just Political Party stands for:

1. A Strong Economy
2. A Caring Society
3. Anti-Brexit (or at least a Soft Brexit), because of the way Brexit is expected to undermine the first two aims

The snap election has given us very little time to get ready.  Nonetheless The Just Political Party has a candidate registered in Maidenhead. We are now looking for more candidates for future elections, be they:

• Existing MPs from Conservative or Labour parties, principally those in the attached list who backed Remain
• New talent for Remain seats where a Leave candidate is expected win i.e. which have lead candidates from Conservative or Labour parties. 

Now the nomination deadline has passed, it is about looking to the future. The aim is to bring together moderates from all sides of the political spectrum, be they Labour, Conservatives or not politically aligned.

If you are an MP on this list attached, or backed Remain, you are likely to fit better into The Just Party than your existing party.  You'll also have far greater influence on policy and the manifesto.  This list includes:

1. Ex Conservative Cabinet Ministers, such as Nicky Morgan 
2. Current Cabinet Ministers, who were staunch Remainers, including Philip Hammond, Chancellor (but rumoured not to be for much longer).  
3. Senior Labour MPs in Corbyn's "hostile" group, such as Harriet Harman, the former acting leader, and leadership candidate Liz Kendall
4. Those in Corbyn's "core group negative" such as leadership candidate Dan Jarvis
5. Those in his "neutral not hostile" group, such as Angela Eagle

If you've been an MP, you could stand for The Just Party in your existing constituency.  Do get in touch.  Do speak to some of the other MPs on the list first, and potentially get a group of candidates. You can appoint your own Leader.

Further notes for Labour folk

Further notes for Conservative folk

There are some other constituencies where the incumbent MP campaigned for Brexit, and so would not be suitable as a Just Party candidate.  So new talent is invited to apply for future elections for:

• Windsor
• Wokingham 
• Other Remain seats where the recent MP is Labour or a Tory leaver

There's also senior figures such as Alastair Campbell and George Osborne who may not want to stand, but could take another role, perhaps as Chairman.

Or if you know any of these people, please bring this to their attention.  The challenge of growing The Just Party is ongoing.  Thanks!

The Just Party is recruiting

More about The Just Party

Snowballing. The Just Party support accelerates.

Chris Challis, the founder of the Just Party writes:

I belong to one of the Toastmasters speaking clubs.

Tonight I was the Toastmaster (Chairman) for the meeting. I was absolutely delighted when the evaluator said I have "charisma". I say that because I'm going to be chairing a lot of rallies and public meetings for The Just Political Party.  I'm really looking forward to it.

There were three members who are voters in Maidenhead.  All voted Remain last year.  All were keen to support the Party, including one who immediately offered to give out leaflets to customers in their business premises.  Wow!

There were also members who live in the Windsor constituency.  One of which had been a young Conservative, and at the time of the referendum last year was involved in an Anglo-Irish organisation.  Concerned both about the direction of the EU on the one hand (as many of us are), and the Northern Irish border on the other, he also finally opted for Remain.  Sadly it is too much of a rush for him to stand for The Just Party in the Windsor constituency as the "Alternative Conservative", but maybe next time.

The snowball of support is setting off. The tight deadline today, 4pm Thursday may stop us getting many more names on the ballot papers.  But The Just Party movement is on a roll.  Watch this space!

The Just Party is recruiting

The Just Party - The Story So Far

People have been asking how the Just Party came about and for what it stands.  Founder Chris Challis writes:

Genesis

Two years after I graduated from Cambridge, I woke up one morning with the idea of moving from London to Oxford.  I joined a fabulous firm there, and became First Prize Winner in the final Chartered Accountancy exams for the Thames Valley area.

Roll forward to the autumn of 2014.  It was conference season for the political parties. Again I woke up with a thought. There was none of the principal parties I wished to vote for.  My vote could only be a tactical vote AGAINST what I didn't like.  A valuable aspect of our democracy, but was not good enough.  So I started a blog that afternoon with an article bemoaning the situation.

That was a Friday.  On the Saturday morning  Mark Reckless stood up at the UKIP conference to leave the Tories, and triggered a by-election.  Not in any old constituency. My home town of Rochester and Strood.   What an incredible coincidence.  An omen!

My grandfather, Frank Mason, had been a union leader at Chatham Dockyard and a Labour activist in Strood.  Yet I knew from my gran that he would have turned in his grave at the unions' antics during  the 70s.  Today he would be called a Progressive on the centre left.

I'm more aligned to business and the pursuit of wealth. But still intent on social justice and a Caring Society looking after those that need it.  For that you need a Strong Economy to provide enough tax receipts.

Circumstances were such that I was just coming free from a client project at exactly the right time to stand as an MP. I um'd and ar'd to the very last hour for nominations. Maybe I would never get another chance.  I owed it to Frank to at least attempt to defeat someone from the right of the Tory party.  Go.

Of course an independent in a by-election doesn't stand a chance.  Especially when UKIP were bussing in dozens of supporters to knock on doors. and both UKIP and the Tories were spending a fortune on leaflets and adverts.   Confined to bed with a virus the last two days of campaigning, the fact I got any votes at all was a welcome surprise!

But it was a great experience. I met and had long chats with lots of very interesting people, from the CEO of the local Housing Association about affordable housing, to an incredible army character with experience in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. And I learnt that social media alone isn't enough!  This experience is what lies underneath the approach to GE17.

I had registered a political party for the by-election, bvut it was not approved until after the result..  The Just Political Party was put on hold.

The Following Two Years

Talking to people, it was clear I was not alone.  Lots of people feeling they had no direct representation for their views, principally:

1. A Strong Economy based on businesses
2. A Caring Society providing a comprehensive NHS and other public services
3. After the 2016 Referendum, concern about Brexit, and how it would undermine the first two aims

If I was to do anything, it would be to develop the party into one capable of governing.  And one that would aim to soften or stop Brexit.

Then the penny dropped.  The Labour party is a coalition of left and centre left (Momentum and Blairite Progressives).  The Conservatives are also a coalition of the centre right and right (Cameroons and Tories).,  Notably it was leaders like Blair and Cameron who appealed to the centre who won general elections.  The vision was to split the two parties and amalgamate the two moderate groups into one centrist party.



Like this:

But I wasn't the only one. Daniel Boffey and Toby Helm of the Observer announced just after the Referendum that those very moderate MPs were planning some similar realignment.  Corbyn was distressing the Labour moderates, and Brexit was distressing the Conservative Remainers.  It takes about 6 weeks to get a new party registered, due to the various checks that need to take place.

So I offered The Just Party as the 'vehicle'.  But clearly there wasn't enough 'pain' for MPs to jump away from their exisitng parties.  The Just Party was put on the back burner till now.

GENERAL ELECTION 2017

There wasn't supposed to be another General Electioin until 2020.  Maybe The Just Party would field a couple of candidates then, and make a more serious attenpt at election in 2025.

A snap election in 2017 was always a possibility.  But I could make no preparations whilst commuting to work with a major quoted retailer.

Only when the election was announced could I see that the "pain" of Remainers on the left and right might trigger the plan announced last July.

Working just in my free time, setting up the website, blog and donations facility has taken until this last Sunday.  After putting out a few invites, serious recruitment from Monday.  Julian Reid, a candidate for my adopted town of Maidenhead was found that day. Time is running out for any more for GE17, but whilst there's time there's the possibility.

In any case this is just the start. Of something big. Very big!

#JustVoteJust

We're recruiting





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BREAKING Julian Reid is The Just Party Candidate for Maidenhead

We are delighted to announce that Julian Reid (JR) is standing as the official Just Party candidate in the Maidenhead Constituency.

He wrote a letter published in the Maidenhead Advertiser last week, under the title of “Alternative Conservative Representation Needed”.  Key points in his letter were:

• “I am concerned at the lack of a suitable Parliamentary candidate”
• “While this electorate voted ‘Remain’ by a majority… as we know fear of a ‘Hard’ Brexit is already weakening sterling, slowing both consumption and the economy, and raising inflation.”
• “Am I alone in considering an ‘alternative Conservative’, driven entirely by and representing specifically the needs of those in the Royal Borough, might better represent our interests?”

This clearly struck a chord with a number of Maidenhead voters, who contacted him and then put us in touch.  "Maidenhead Matters Most"

Julian Reid is:

1. An international banker with 40-plus years’ experience across Asia, the USA and Europe.  Awards include “Director of the Year” from “Institutional Investor” magazine.
2. Experienced and successful negotiator with numerous governments across Asia.  Julian is concerned about the way Theresa May is conducting negotiations so far.
3. Successful political experience in the defeat of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam by Malcolm Fraser in Australia in 1975

So Julian is a formidable opponent to our own Prime Minister in Maidenhead!

A banker named Macron has become President of France, representing a new party “En Marche!” which is very similar in outlook to The Just Party.  His appointment has opened the doors to a similar event here, with Julian becoming the MP for Maidenhead.

Note to Editors

The Just Party has a vision of bringing together “Compassionate Conservatives” with the “Progressives” from Labour.  Julian is clearly from the Conservative side, and we are aiming to recruit from the Labour side too. This is before and after GE17.

The Just Party in a Nutshell

From a little acorn a mighty oak can grow

What does The Just Party stand for?

1. A STRONG ECONOMY:  Supporting business and personal aspiration to generate wealth                        
2. A CARING SOCIETY: Strong public services with the NHS maintained as being 'free at the point of use'. But life isn't just about money. There's cultural matters too.
3. ANTI-BREXIT:  Brexit risks undermining both the economy and our ability to pay for public services, especially the amateurish way the negotiations have been conducted so far.  Every job moving ot the continent is tax revenue lost.  Brexit is also having profound negative affects on culture.  

A soft Brexit, remaining in the Single Market, is far preferable economically over a hard Brexit.  But let's stop wasting our time and so very much effort. Let's stop Brexit altogether.  It can be done democratically, legally and painlessly.

If you support these aims, then do please support us:

• The Just Party is recruiting
• Donate now
• Where we have a candidate in the General Election #JustVoteJust

Macron wins in France. What about the UK? We're recruiting would-be MPs.

The French President Macron started a new centrist political party "En Marche!" (Forward!) just a year ago. With no previous political experience, he is now President.  The impossible can happen!

Here in the UK we have a new ambitious centrist party, The Just Political Party, with virtually identical philosophy and aims. Except of course it's for Westminster.

From a standing start, we're keen to field Perspective Parliamentary Candidates (PPCs) in GE17.  We already have one nominated in Maidenhead.  Deadline this Thursday 11th 4pm, so get your skates on to find the best candidates, especially in constituencies that voted to Remain. The impossible can happen!


Why would The Just Party succeed in the UK's political environment?  Here's why, and how the MPs and members of existing parties could come together.

We are especially interested in former Tory and Labour MPs who no longer feel at home in their respective parties, and would like to stand under the @TheJustParty colours**.

1. Calling Tory MPs who supported Remain

2. Calling Labour MPs who supported Remain 

The special case of a Remain MP unlikely to change party is of course Theresa May in Maidenhead.  Here's a look at this constituency, which voted strongly to Remain.  Julian Reid is our candidate there.

The impossible can happen.  LET'S DO IT!  

Note to Editors: The founder of the The Just Political Party, Chris Challis, would be happy to be interviewed. Contact details here. 

 **The principal Just Political Party colour is Cyan, code 0 255 255)

 

 

 

 

How Do The Leading Parties Compare?

So often we hear people say "I'm not interested in politics.  They are all the same."

But the parties are not the same.  Quite the opposite.  And it matters to everyone!

Party	Policies	Brexit
Tories (Conservatives)	The Nasty Party	Brexit at any cost
Labour	Tax and spend	Support Brexit
LibDems	Middle of the road	Want a second referendum
UKIP	Single Brexit issue, despite attempts to broaden	Brexit at any cost
The Just Party	Centrist - Aspiration and social justice	Anti-Brexit - soften or preferably cancel it, democratically

The Greens also deserve a mention.  They have good policies on the environment and topics such as drugs laws which have significant cross-party support. But get them onto economic matters and they leave reality behind.

So if you voted Remain last June, and want a party long-term that combines wealth creation and spend on social justice, then do support The Just Political Party.