Name: Joe Frake
Role: Vice Chairmen for South Yorkshire CF

What makes you a Conservative?

I’m a Conservative because I believe strongly in personal liberty and individual and social responsibility, and because I’m a meritocrat – I believe in hard work, sound money and the right to enjoy as much as possible the fruits of your own labour, and also to work hard to improve the quality of life of yourself and your family in the long-term without the state punishing success or discouraging personal advancement and aspiration. I believe we all have the right to own property and the right to go about our daily lives without unwarranted intervention by the state. I’m also a Conservative because I believe in the right of the individual to be different – we’re all (thankfully) unequal, but we are all equally important.

What are you currently working on?

I’m working on getting our CF ready for the General Election. We’re reaching out to new members, and helping the Penistone and Stocksbridge local association get Spencer Pitfield elected as South Yorkshire’s first Conservative MP for years in the beautiful constituency of Penistone & Stocksbridge. We’re working really hard there and we’re hopeful we can win.

Who is your political hero?

I have different heroes for different reasons. Margaret Thatcher saved this country from socialism and left it stronger, richer and with more belief in itself. John Major proved the doubtful many wrong when he, a man from a working-class background and with no university education, became Prime Minister and won the largest ever popular mandate in Britain’s electoral history. And Winston Churchill of course was the right man in the right job during World War II. I also admire Vaclav Klaus, the first Prime Minister of Czech Republic following the collapse of communism, for his commitment to reforming the Czech economy. Naturally, I may disagree with some of the views of my ‘heroes’, but generally they’re a great bunch!

When do you think the next General Election will be?

I honestly don’t know. We Conservatives need to be ready whenever Brown calls that election. If I had to guess, though, I’d go for May 6th. It should have been this year, though! Brown was talking nonsense when he said a general election “would cause chaos” – that was an insult to all our intelligence.

Why should people get involved with organisations like Conservative Future?

Conservative Future offers young people the chance to get involved in real politics and help bring change to their communities and country, and you get out what you put in. I’ve made some very firm friends in CF – fantastic people whom I hope to still know and perhaps even work with years into the future. We don’t just campaign, we socialise and debate with one another. Being a member of CF should mean far more than just being campaign cavalry, and I’m proud to say that Sheffield CF isn’t. We work hard and play hard, and I’m confident members of CF across Britain will look back on all their hard work one day and say it was all well worth it.

Related posts:

1. 5 minute Q&A with…Will Stobart