Retain the 'Freedom Torch' as the official Conservative Party logo

We, the undersigned, oppose proposals to change the official logo of the Conservative Party to a green and blue oak tree.

Firstly, the Freedom Torch is a symbol of our core strengths as a political party. It represents endurance, hope, freedom, our historic identity and British values. Most importantly, unlike an oak tree, it is unmistakable.

Secondly, in adopting an oak tree we are blatantly replicating the Labour Party in its introduction of the red rose as its party symbol in 1987. Rather than being a symbol of strength, the Labour rose is almost identical to the one found on the cover of Mills and Boon novels. It is difficult to take seriously, which perhaps explains why it has been largely absent from the Labour frontline since it rebranded itself in the mid 1990s. It is marginalised on the homepage of the official New Labour website and has also been missing from much of their literature in recent elections. Moreover, our party needs to demonstrate that it is producing its own ideas so that voters are re-engaged and have a clear choice at the next election. This is essential to reinvigorate British politics. With disillusionment in this Labour Government growing by the day we now have a clear chance to distinguish ourselves. We must seize it. The official Party logo will form a key part of this drive, we must not undermine it.

Thirdly, if the objective of adopting an oak tree is to stress our environmental credentials, it is a flawed one. The British public will judge this our strengths in this department on our policies and furthermore, we are not a single issue Party.

Fourthly, if the official logo of the Conservative Party is to be changed, Party members must be able to select its replacement from a shortlist in a national ballot. This is in keeping with the democratic traditions of our Party.