As a member of the Conservative Future (CF) executive, I got to learn how the Party works from the grass roots up.  I got to hear from senior politicians, think tanks and was encouraged to stand for council, which I did when I was 21.

I see my new role as Vice Chairman for youth as making sure CF is involved with the Party at every level.

CF should not exist as a talking shop or a policy factory. Our role is to drive forward the Party’s campaigning effort at a local, regional and national level, helping to deliver David Cameron’s message to the electorate and bring about real change for the country.

Engagement and activity are key. We need to make sure that members of CF are engaged with the Party at every level, from local fundraisers to the Party leadership. And we need to ensure that CF members play an active part in campaigning, social and political events.

CF is a terrific campaigning organisation. I am incredibly grateful to the many CF members who have campaigned for me since my selection in 2006, and who continue to do so now that I am a busy local Member of Parliament.

Many candidates up and down the country rely on CF members to help them distribute literature and canvass. But we all know that campaigning activity has to be enjoyable. To that end we need to make sure that conferences and social events happen on a regular basis to keep CF a truly fun organisation.

I hope that while I am the Party’s Vice Chairman for Conservative Future, we can make sure CF gives young people today the same opportunities that helped me on my political journey.

February saw YBF visit us in Newcastle and provide us with some media and campaign training. Training was delivered to activists from Sunderland, Newcastle and Northumbria and other areas of the North East with ages ranging from Sixth Form Students to Post-Graduates. This training became invaluable to CF members when they were campaigning throughout the local and European elections and the media training paid off during Party Conference with members being interviewed for prime time radio and news programs.

Conservative Future has also almost tripled the number of branches that it has in the Region over the course of the last year. We now have branches spanning from Sunderland to Newcastle and Blyth to Morpeth and Hexham . We also established a Regional Executive consisting of the Regional, Branch and Area chairmen and also a media officer and a graduate officer. The Executive has made it a lot easier to organise ourselves so we are working effectively and providing help where it is needed the most.

The summer saw three of our members, including myself, travel to Washington DC with YBF to take part in media and campaign training and to also attend the Young Americans’ Foundation Conference. The media training consisted of spending time in a real television studio practicing being individually and in groups. We also took part in sessions to learn more about online campaigning and activism, speech writing and public speaking and preparing press releases. This was all information that we have been able to bring back to the North East and share with other members of CF.

The year ended in a charitable way with an event organized in order to raise funds for St Oswalds Hospice, a local charity which saw members of CF attend as well as MEP’s and Parliamentary Candidates. £80 was raised for the charity which provides care and support for those in need of Hospice care. We also took part in the Operation Christmas Child shoebox appeal which involved filling a shoebox with small presents which will then be sent to under privileged children around the world. Twenty shoeboxes were filled and delivered to the organizers, Samaritans Purse.

Make no mistake – this battle is going to be tough, but I know that our activists are ready for the challenge ahead. As a member of the National Executive Committee for Conservative Future, I have the privilege of working with seasoned campaigners across the country and I can confirm that their commitment and dedication is second to none.

We are lucky in that our Party Chairman puts good, solid campaigning at the very heart of his strategy, and this sets a good example for all of use. Our by-election and mayoral victories over the last few years were not achieved through Conservative members sitting back and hoping for the polls to swing. We prevailed in these challenges because our party proved that it was hungry to bring change and ready to help pull Britain out from Labour’s catastrophic failures.

Our youth movement has already managed numerous regional campaign days of the last year, helping top candidates in crucial seats to get the message out. Recently, our team has lead weekly telephone canvassing sessions at CCHQ’s GenEVA centre, strengthening campaigns across the country and adding real value to the Conservative Party’s campaign machine.

Indeed, Conservative Future is an addictive organisation, and one, which many activists regularly give up their evenings and weekends for on a completely voluntary basis. I even know of activists who are so dedicated, that even when they reach their mid-thirties they still simply cannot leave Conservative Future alone. These examples prove that our members always put the needs of their party first and with this winning formula I know that we can all pull together and make a huge impact on the campaign trail.

The election countdown has already begun and Gordon Brown and his underlings are already plotting for numerous ways to bring us down. So let’s send this crumbling Labour Government a message through our campaign activities and show the party and our country that Conservative activists take nothing for granted and are ready for the hard work ahead to bring real change for the future.

Patrick Sullivan is a member of the National Executive Committee for Conservative Future and author of the Sullivan’s Diary blog

As keen supporters of the work that Help4Heroes carries out in supporting injured servicemen and women, we were delighted to have raised such a respectable amount for the charity whilst having a great time in the process. “I know that the money raised will make a real difference to somebody’s life”, said Conservative Future member and Charnwood Borough councillor Stephen Hodgson.

We hold regular and diverse events and have become invaluable in Nicky Morgan’s campaign to become the next Conservative MP for Loughborough, frequently organising campaign days, helping the local Conservatives to stay in touch with local voters. “We have worked hard this year to support Nicky Morgan’s campaign and the annual Christmas Dinner was a great chance to relax after a busy year. It’s fantastic that we could also use the event to raise money for Help4Heroes. I know that this money will really help the charity to continue their hugely important work helping injured troops and their families”, concluded Stephen Hodgson.

This project has been running for nearly twenty years and has delivered millions of shoeboxes to under-privileged children in Europe, Africa and Asia.  Children are presented with boxes regardless of their background and faith.    The project is very simple.  You take a shoebox, wrap it up in Christmas wrapping paper, decide whether it is for a boy or a girl and fill it with goodies.

Members from Conservative Future all across the Region participated in making up the shoeboxes and we made over 20 all together.  Individual branches organised ‘Shoebox nights’ which saw members bringing individual shoebox fillers including toiletries, sweeties, hats and scarves, toys and colouring pens and paper.  These nights proved to be very successful and members were certainly spurred on by the promise of warm mince pies!

It was extremely pleasing to see so many members, including their friends and family, getting involved in this charity project.  It is very different to the campaigning and social events which we usually take part in.  CF have the power to make a huge difference in our communities and by taking part in voluntary and charity projects such as these we can truly make a difference.

I’ve been National Chairman of Conservative Future now for 18 months and I think my biggest achievement has been the introduction of Regional Chairmen. A typical ‘Region’ is several counties and we have Regional Chairmen who cover areas in Wales and England (Northern Ireland coming soon – CF Scotland is a separate autonomous group).

We gave them control over the regions they run and took ‘power’ away from the National Executive that I chair. So far this has been a great success.

In the North East there are now 12 active CF branches – and the team up there, under Emma Carr’s stellar leadership, have shown that the North East is not a ‘no go’ area for the Conservatives.

In Yorkshire, Philip Smith has got a great structure up and running alongside a very good working relationship with the professional staff – they work very closely and have already made a huge difference to our electoral success.

In the South West of England James Morton’s team have got branches setup in nearly every constituency of the region – these are all active and sustainable.

And in London the team under Clare Hilley’s leadership are now holding weekly sessions for CF members in the GenEVA phone centre, supporting target seats across the UK.

This shift of power has allowed each Region to gain its own identity, and I know that each one is in a better position now ahead of the upcoming General Election.

Conservative Future is at its best when led at a local level; the work our Regional, Area and Branch Chairmen do is a major credit to the Conservative Party, and will be crucial to our chances in a few months time.