For decades, organizations like Young America's Foundation, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and the Leadership Institute have worked to organize, train and support conservative students on campus.
Conservatives in Britain, however, lacked similar organizations until quite recently, with the establishment in 2003 of the Young Britons Foundation, whose executive director, Shane Greer, writes about "winning on campus":
One of the biggest battlegrounds for conservatives in Britain is on university campuses. They've always been breeding grounds for the Left, but winning the minds of the next generation is crucial if the Party is to shift the centre ground to the right. The Left have for years been streets ahead of conservatives when it came to campus activism and winning the visual battle - when it came to presentation the Left reigned supreme.The posters, referring to YBF's hope of a better life for Britain under a Conservative Party government, are just the sort of attention-getting tactic Greer specialized in while promoting the video blog 18 Doughty Street -- which is what he was doing when I met him at CPAC in March. Here is an ad produced by 18 Doughty Street:
By its nature campus activism has to be fun, edgy, and of course exciting. So it's fair to say that the new YBF posters will prove just the ticket for university conservative groups across the UK:
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Here's Shane hosting an 18 Doughty Street discussion in May:
Shane, who comes from a working-class Ulster background, has visited the United States often in connection with the YBF's Summer in Washington program.
Perhaps the effectiveness of YBF activism -- and their clever new posters -- explain the Tory surge in the polls?
-- Robert Stacy McCain, assistant national editor, The Washington Times
Comments (5)
We love you shane.
Posted by Shane Fan 412 | October 16, 2007 2:07 PM
This is the way Conservatives have to go in the UK and I back and support Shane fully. "It is Time for a Change" but we have to do it professional way with both a young and broad appeal.
Posted by John Barry Sheffield | October 17, 2007 1:54 AM
As we become more educated we develop a consensus or egalitarian thought process in which everything can be accomodated. As we become experienced we develop a compliance thought process in which consensus is constrained by the reality, that you cannot be everything to everyone and that egalitarianism often turns into elitism. The YAF and YBF are just the compliance (reality check) segment of the consensus/compliance model. Hopefully the new crop of kids coming out our universities can solve the dyfunctional multilateralist issues that emerged in the 1990's.
Posted by Larry Stone | October 17, 2007 3:34 AM
Where did this Shane Greer chap come from all of a sudden?
Posted by Mike Rouse | October 17, 2007 10:01 AM
Originally Shane Greer is from Northern Ireland, he moved to England in 2001 to study law at the University of Liverpool, before spending a year working with a Disability arts charity in the city. However it wasn't until starting his master's degree at the University of Glasgow that he became actively interested in politics; after stumbling upon the political blogosphere.
Eight months into his masters Shane started to re-evaluate his original plan to work in international law, but with no particular idea about what he wanted to do with politics.
After reading a piece by Donal Blaney on ConservativeHome and noticing that he was the Chief Executive of the Young Britons Foundation, three weeks later he met with Donal.
Donal Blaney asking Shane what he wanted to do in politics, following saying "I'm not sure" Shane agreed to do an internship in the States, starting a few months later
Two months later (during which time Shane had completed his Master degree dissertation) and was in Arlington VA in the fundraising department of the Leadership Institute; an organisation that trains conservatives in political technology -- i.e. the skills and techniques that determine victory in political campaigning.
Three months later the internship's over and Shane was back in the UK starting work at the Young Britons Foundation as the Executive Director and at 18 Doughty Street as a Presenter.
This is taken in an edited form from Shane Greer's own Website - shanegreer.com
Posted by jaybs | October 18, 2007 5:03 AM