One member One Vote

 

Here is the speech I gave to the Tory Party conference in 1997 mentioned below in the article "From the Grass Roots".

From The Grass Roots

 

FROM  THE  GRASS  ROOTS

(These are the writer’s personal views and not those of COPOV members)

During the last twenty or so years I have periodically visited Buckinghamshire and attended COPOV meetings organised by a wonderful couple John and Caroline Strafford.  The meetings have always been interesting and informative but given John’s vast knowledge of the inner workings of the Conservative Party and intimacy with its Leadership how could this not be so ?  

A few months ago I happened to light upon a video of a much younger John Strafford speaking at the 1997 Conservative Party Conference.   Reduced to 165 Conservative Members of the House of Commons in the May General Election of that year  when the party had suffered its worst defeat since 1906 John urged the party to adopt a new constitution and one in which the members were given a much greater say in both the leadership and in the making of policy. A message which has apparently gone unheeded in the twenty five  and more years since. And yet for me as some one who for nearly twenty years has been a  constituency party member but has never held  an office or been a councillor the catastrophic defeat on the 4^th of July  last year did not come as a surprise.

The seeds of the destruction were sown over thirty two years ago on black Wednesday 16^th  September 1992 when even though interest rates were raised for a short time to 15% the pound fell out of the ERM. It was at that stage that many Conservative members and voters rejected a  European project  intent on implementing full monetary, economic and political union. For the next twenty four years even though the party had two horses each pulling in different  directions ;a facade of unity was maintained only to be shattered by a referendum in which 70% of the membership voted to leave the EU(not the EEC) and 70% of the Members of the House of Commons voted to remain.   The subsequent 2017- 2019 Parliament served only to confirm that a House divided  against itself cannot stand.

In the writer’s lifetime spanning nearly eighty years there have been twenty one General Elections and I have voted in fifteen, eleven of which were for the losing Conservative candidate. The Conservatives may have been the natural party of government but this was always dependent on the voters in England,  both Scotland and Wales continually voting  for left wing parties.  On only three occasions since 1945 has the party won a majority of 100 or more. Harold Macmillan’s victory in 1959  was won against a weakened Liberal Party who only contested around half the seats ; Margaret Thatcher’s in 1983 and 1987 as a consequence of the Falklands War and the rise of the SDP/ Liberal Alliance taking thousands of former Labour voters.  In addition over the last forty years the Labour Party has elected four leaders none of whom was considered Prime Ministerial material by the wider electorate.

It remains to be seen whether Boris Johnson’s  80 seat majority  in  December 2019 was the Conservative  equivalent of Custer’s Last Stand.   But the omens are not good.  With the lowest number of Members of the House of Commons and the lowest percentage  share  of the electorate  at a General Election in its history the party is fighting for its very existence The four and a half years from January 2020 were absolutely disastrous and irrespective of the rights and wrongs of Liz Truss’s forty nine day premiership our record for economic competence was shattered for the second time in thirty years.

 Levels of  unsustainable immigration  both legal and illegal together with the ‘woke’ agenda  of radical progressivism (which the party in fourteen years of government did little if anything to alter) and the rise of the populist  Reform Party led by political bruiser Nigel Farage could well seal its fate and as to whether the party can continue to be a political force on the centre right of British politics.

For that to happen it would mean a radical shift in terms of policy and one of the reasons the writer has not renewed his  party membership is because of what he calls the ‘John Strafford Experience’ a situation whereby  you can write many pamphlets and speak at countless meetings up and down the country regarding your ideas for reform only for them  to be filed away  and forgotten about by those  who hold senior positions at the top of the party.  The eminent historian Dr. David Starkey  who in his recent podcasts is calling for the next government to introduce what he says is ‘The Great Repeal Bill’ reversing most of the constitutional vandalism of the Blair/Brown years would no doubt be regarded by those in authority as ‘a swivel eyed loon’

The writer is just one of the millions in the U K who believes we are now governed by an unelected  virtue signalling Elite who are(to quote the great USA classicist and historian Victor Davis Hanson) ‘never subject to the ramifications of their own ideology’.   Douglas Murray’s book ‘The Strange Death of Europe’ published in 2017 was a warning as to what had happened over the previous twenty five years and the rise of Islam, but nothing changed and millions more have arrived on our shores since.

The United Kingdom’s (is there such a country now ?) position, both economic and cultural, is perilous and unlike in May 1940 we have no Winston Churchill whose total commitment to the cause and powerful oratory gave his people courage and hope in their darkest hour.

Thirty or so years ago there was a programme on television ‘What has become of us ?’  This was about a United Kingdom in the process  of slowly emerging from the ‘Have it so good’ of the nineteen fifties into the ‘swinging’ nineteen sixties. It was at a time of much optimism. The question is even more relevant today yet the future is so uncertain that one can only live from day to day in a country completely unrecognisable from that of sixty years ago.

‘Wanting our country back’ as the saying goes  is no longer a feasible option.  Whether we enter a new dark age remains to be seen but  if so what will it be like ?

24^th March 2025

The Right Kind of Candidate!

 A great weekend at The Freedom Festival at the University of Buckingham organised by the Margaret Thatcher Centre. I raised this question with Mike Rouse of GBPAC. Click to see it

The Chairman's office reply!

 Dear John,

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to send in your feedback to the Co-Chairman, it is greatly appreciated. Please be assured that your comments and suggestions have been passed on for consideration. 

 

We are undergoing the biggest change to CCHQ in a generation, rebuilding and renewing it from the ground up. Your continued support and suggestions will enable us to do just that. This is just the first step, but an important one. 

 

Thank you again and do stay in touch.

 

Best Wishes,

The Executive Office

 

Letter to the Conservative Party Chairmen

 The following was sent on 12th March 2025 and was acknowledged.   If I get a response I will let you know.

 For Attention Conservative Party Chairmen, Nigel Huddleston, Lord Johnson of Lainston, Chairman of the National Convention, Julian Ellacott 

                                                                                                                              

Dear Sirs,

In an article published by Conservativehome yesterday the Leader of the Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, asked for comments regarding the reform of the Conservative Party.   I attach herewith my paper on reform.   I would welcome your response and comments.

Yours sincerely

John E. Strafford

Chairman

Campaign for Conservative Democracy

Seven Steps to create a democratic Conservative Party, fit for the 21^st Century

Introduction

1)     Party Membership is 131,680 as per the Leadership election of November 2024.   Approx. 10-15% are activists, i.e., approx. 20,000.   To run a national ground campaign in a General Election you need approx. 500,000 members or 50,000 activists.

2)     The last General Election at which we had 500,000 members was in 1992.   In the last 25 years we have had 25 Party Chairmen who have presided over a declining membership and done nothing about it.   The last national membership campaign was in 1988.

3)     Per the Feldman Review (2016), 290 Constituency Associations had fewer than 100 members.   Only 50 associations have more than 500 members.   These figures will now be considerably smaller!

4)     Research has shown that people join political parties for social reasons, and in order to participate in decision making, either by voting on policy or voting for those that make policy.

5)     There is  huge gap between the views of the Parliamentary Party and the Voluntary Party, e.g., 60% of Tory MPs were in favour of remaining in the European Union, whereas 70% of members wished to leave the European Union.

6)     Many members feel that as they elect the Leader they should be the people who decide whether to get rid of the Leader, not the MPs.

7)     Party members feel that a large part of the parliamentary party no longer support the traditional Conservative Party values of small state, low taxation, strong defence, strong law and order, individual freedom and liberty.

8)     Since the Party Constitution was created in 1998 it has grown with more and more centralisation and power grabs by vested interests, both at National Level and at local level.   CCHQ, the Parliamentary Party and Constituency Chairman have taken more power.   An indication of this is that the last amendments to the Constitution in 2021 were passed by the National Convention (which consists primarily of Constituency Chairmen) with 94-98% agreement, a Stalinist result but indicative.

9)     The Constitution of the National Union of Conservative Associations pre 1998 was 29 pages in length.   The Party Constitution when introduced in 1998 was 43 pages in length.   Today it is 58 pages in length an increase of 35%, but this only tells part of the story for within the Constitution are sub committees which meet in secret and change the rules whenever they so wish which members have no knowledge about either before they are implemented or after implementation but with which they have to comply.   Each year the Committee on Candidates which consists of appointed people unaccountable to the members, alter the rules by which Parliamentary Candidates and local Government candidates are selected.   The latest rules on the Selection of Candidates are 55 pages in length.   Members have had no say in these rules, but have to comply with them.   The 1922 Committee rules for the election of the Leader are five pages in length. They are changed without any reference to the members.   For example in 2016 only a Proposer and Seconder were required for an MP to put his name forward as a candidate. In 2019 this changed to eight Nominations required.   In 2022 20 nominations were required. In late 2022 100 nominations required.

It cannot be right that the Constitution of the Conservative Party can be changed by secret sub committees of the Party Board and the members of the Party have no say in the changes made.

Finally, Article 17 of the Constitution gives the power to the Party Board “to do anything which in its opinion relates to the management and administration of the Party”  This makes the rest of the Constitution irrelevant.   This cannot be right and must be changed.   The Board used this clause to justify imposing parliamentary candidates on constituencies.

 The Seven Steps to Reform

1)     The Chairman of the Party Board, Two Deputy Chairmen, Treasurer, Chairman of the Candidates Committee and Chairman of the Policy Forum to be officers of the Party on the Party Board, elected by and accountable to Party Members, and to present Annual Reports to an Annual General Meeting to which all Party members are invited.

 The Accounts of the Party to be adopted at the Annual General Meeting.

 The clause in the Party Constitution (Article 17) which gives power to the    Party Board “to do anything which in its opinion relates to the management and administration of the Party” to be deleted. The Party Board to have a majority of voluntary Party members.

 This is to ensure that those in control of the Party’s organisation are accountable to the Members of the Party.   The Party Board to have a majority of Members elected by Party Members.   Article 17 of the Constitution as it stands makes the rest of the Constitution irrelevant.   In an emergency the Board may respond but any action taken should be ratified by the Members at the following General Meeting.

2)     The Party Constitution should be capable of being changed by a motion at the Annual General Meeting of the Party, by Party members on the basis of One Member One Vote with a 60% majority of those voting.

 At present there are parts of the Constitution which get changed without the members having any say and have no knowledge until the change is published.   For example the Rules on the Selection of Candidates are changed almost every year by the Candidates Committee and members have no say in these changes.   Similarly the 1922 Committee can change the Rules for the Leadership election without the members knowing until the change is published as a fait accompli.   Sub Committees of the Party Board or indeed the Party Board itself should not be allowed to change the Constitution.   They can make recommendations but it is up to the members of the Party to agree rule changes.  

3)     Constituency Associations should have the right to determine who their Conservative Parliamentary Candidate is, with minimum interference by CCHQ.   This includes both selecting and deselecting candidates and selecting or deselecting their Member of Parliament   Any member of the Party should be able to apply to be the candidate.   Local candidates i.e., those resident in the Constituency, should be invited for interview by the Executive Council.

Where a Constituency Association passes a motion of no confidence in their MP in General Meeting they should be able to immediately start the process of selecting a new parliamentary candidate.

 CCHQ would have an advisory role for the conduct of due diligence which must be carried out before the Candidate is finally elected.   There would be safeguards for Constituencies where their membership is below 150 members.   This restores the autonomy of Constituency Associations and is back to the situation prior to 1998 when the new Constitution was implemented.

4)     The Spring Conference should be a policy conference where Ministers would listen to members ideas on policies in their subject area selected by motions submitted through the Executive Council of local associations.

 This Conference is not to determine the policy of the Party but to demonstrate the views of the Party membership to the Leader.

5)     The Party Conference should be controlled by a subcommittee of the Party Board consisting of a majority of voluntary members of the Party.   There should be motions for debate and votes taken on those motions.

 The motions submitted by the local associations through their Executive Councils should be printed on the Party web site at the time the Agenda for the Party Conference is published.   Pre 1998 the Party Conference was run and controlled by the voluntary Party.   This change reverts back to that position.

 6)     The Rules for the Election of the Party Leader to be incorporated within the main body of the Constitution.

At present the Rules for the election of the Party Leader are controlled by the 1922 Committee which can and does change them without any reference to Party members.   For example in 2016 only a Proposer and Seconder were required for an MP to put his name forward as a candidate. In 2019 this changed to eight Nominations required.   In 2022 20 nominations were required. In late 2022 100 nominations required

 7)     A Constitution Commission should be immediately set up to propose changes to the Party Constitution with the remit that it should be a democratic Constitution with the emphasis on directly involving members of the Party on the basis of One Member One Vote and to report back by 31 August 2025.

 There are many areas of the Constitution that require reform.   For example: Regional Officers should be elected by and accountable to the members of the Region at an Annual General Meeting of the Region to which all members residing in the Region are invited.

The Rules of Local Associations need reform particularly relating to the suspension of members and the selection of local government candidates.   Should Executive Councils be based on branches or wards.   Is there a conflict between Councillors who are the local political voice of an Association also being Constituency Chairmen responsible for the organisation in the Constituency?

Do Federations of Constituencies add another layer of bureaucracy or should Constituencies be encouraged to share resources whilst retaining their autonomy?

Objects and values of the Conservative Party should be included as an appendix to the Constitution.   At present they are called for but nowhere defined.

 

Does the Reform Party need Reform?

 

Does the Reform Party need Reform?

By

John E. Strafford

 

The Reform Party was a limited company (the Reform UK Party Limited) with a share capital of fifteen shares. Nigel Farage owned 9 shares in the company, giving him a controlling majority of 60% The other shareholders were Richard Tice, who held a third, 5 shares, and Party Treasurer Mehrtash A'Zami who held 2 shares.

On 10^th February 2025 it was announced that a new company had been formed to take control of The Reform Party.   The new company called Reform 2025 Ltd is a company limited by guarantee.   It has two Guarantors, Nigel Farage and Muhammad Yusuf.

The Reform Party currently has five MPs in the House of Commons.  The party also holds representation at the local government level, with most of its local councillors (approx. two thirds) having defected from the  Conservative Party to Reform UK. Following Farage's resumption of the leadership just before the General Election of 2024 there was a sharp increase in support for the party. Following the election, it was the third largest party by popular vote, with 4,117,610 votes achieving 14.3 per cent of the vote in total. Since then it has gone from strength to strength.   It’s membership is now over 200,000, more than double the Conservative Party membership.

Reform UK’s conference in September 2024 voted to give members more control over the party’s policies and leadership.   The question is “was this achieved”?

A resolution to approve Reform UK’s new constitution was passed by a show of hands at the party’s conference in Birmingham. Members voted to adopt the new constitution, which sets out party rules and the responsibilities of the leadership.

“We have come of age and we are a properly constituted party,” Nigel Farage said, with him claiming he is "giving ownership of the party and the big decisions over to the members".

Not quite, see below:

The party’s chairman Zia Yusuf (Muhammad) said the party would become a not-for-profit organisation governed by the party’s new rulebook, with no shareholders.

Under the new constitution, the party's board and the leader are responsible for setting policy, with input from members at conferences.

Members will be able to remove Farage - or any other party leader - in a no-confidence vote.

A vote can be triggered if 50% of all Party members write to the Chairman requesting a motion of no confidence.

Not credible.   If a no confidence motion was tabled and looked as though it might pass Reform 2025 Ltd could threaten to disband the Part or actually disband it whilst retaining all the data in the Party!

Reform MPs can also force a vote of no confidence if 50 of them, or 50% of them, write to the chairman requesting one. But this only applies if there are more than 100 Reform MPs in Parliament - a high bar.

The Reality

The Reform Party was owned by Reform Party UK Ltd, the controlling shareholder of which is Nigel Farage, so at any time Nigel Farage had the power if he so wished to dissolve the political Party.   The Reform Party was in effect controlled by a Dictator.   At any time Nigel Farage could sell his shares and another Dictator could take over. The shareholders could not take a profit on their shares because in the Articles of Association of the company it states:

Not For Profit

The Company is not established or conducted for private gain and shall not pay any dividend to any member: any surplus or assets remaining when the Company is dissolved or wound-up shall be donated to such charity or not for profit organisation as the Board shall determine.

Of course the shareholders can always change the Articles of Association!

This situation changed when Reform 2025 Ltd was formed and the Reform Party was in effect transferred to it, but the Party’s Constitution has not been changed so where do we stand now.   In effect, the Reform Party is now owned by Reform 2025 Ltd which has two Directors and two shareholders who are limited by guarantee, so we have moved from a Dictatorship to an oligarchy of two people!

So if  the Reform Party wish to be a democratic organisation how should it’s constitution be changed?   I set out below the changes required for the Reform Party to become a democratic organisation.

This is a draft proposal and comments or proposed alterations are welcome.

                          Reform Party Constitution

1                                      INTERPRETATION

Delete 1.4 “Rules” means Rules made by the Board under this Constitution.

Insert  1.4 “Rules” means Rules under this Constitution.

2                  NAME AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PARTY

Name

Delete 2.3 The Party exists as a Limited Liability Company registered with Companies House (Registration Number xxxxxxxxx) in accordance with the Companies Act 2006.

3                                  ACTIVITIES OF THE PARTY

Delete 3.4.8 undertake any or all lawful activities under the Companies Acts.

4                                              PARTY MEMBERSHIP

Delete 4.1 “by the Board”

Insert 4.1 after made “by the Party in General Meeting”     

Delete 4.3 after vote in “ such”  and after “ballots” delete  “as  the Board shall in their absolute discretion decide.”

5          PARTY ORGANISATION AND PARTY CONFERENCE

Delete “5.1 The Board may from time to time make rules concerning the organisation of such Party structures which are not provided for in this Constitution.”

Conference

Insert 5.5 “Motions to change the Party Constitution shall be implemented if passed by 60% of those present and voting.”

EGM

Delete 5.5 “fifty per cent (50%)”

Insert 5.5 after at least “five per cent (5%)

6                            THE PARTY BOARD (BOARD)

Delete 6.1 after of the Party “in particular for the purposes of company law.”

Powers of the Board

Delete 6.2.7.

Composition of the Board

Delete 6.3 “normally”

Delete 6.3.1 “and on the List elected in a party wide ballot

Insert 6.3.1 after Good Standing  elected at an Annual General Meeting of the Party to which all members of the Party are invited.

Delete 6.3.1 “Board may”

Insert 6.3.1 after are invited “The members of the Party in General Meeting shall”

Insert 6.3.4 after Chairman; “two Deputy Chairmen, Chairman of the Candidates Committee, all of whom shall be elected by the Party members in General Meeting.

Insert 6.4 after appoint “two”

Delete 6.5 “Party Chairman”

Elections and term of office

Delete 6.15 “2 years” and “at the discretion of the Party Leader”

Insert 6.15 after term of “3 years”

Suspension/expulsion from Board

Insert 6.23 after expel a “appointed”

No confidence motions

Delete 6.28.2 “50%”

Insert 6.28.2  after by “5%”

Delete 6.31 “Board”

Insert 6.31 after by the “Party in General Meeting”.

7                                      THE PARTY LEADER

Status

Delete: 7.3.2 “shall, subject to the approval…………an EGM of the party.”

Election

Delete: 7.5 “Upon the passing…………..of its passage, (the initial Leadership Term)”

Delete 7.6.3 “The Board may make Rules concerning eligibility, nomination and election of candidates for Party Leader.”

Delete 7.7 “ The Board may………….post of Party Leader”

Insert 7.9.1 “If only one nomination is received then a ballot of Party members will be conducted to confirm the appointment of Leader.   If confirmation does not receive over 50 % of those voting, the process for electing a Leader shall be started again.”

8                                  THE PARTY CHAIRMAN

Status and duties

Delete: “8.1 The Chairman appointed…………….. a full time employee of the Party.”

Insert: “8.1 The Party Chairman shall be elected by the members of the Party at an Annual General Meeting of the Party to which all members are invited.”

Insert: 8.1.1 The Party Chairman shall make a report on the state of the party organisation at the Annual General Meeting of the Party.

12                                              CANDIDATES

Selection of candidates

Delete: “12.10 The Board……………organisation of candidates.”

13                THE CONSTITUTION; APPROVAL AND AMENDMENT

Delete: 13.4.2 “50%”

Insert: 13.4.2 after request of “5%”

14                                              PARTY RULE BOOK

Delete 14.1 “may, in the absolute discretion of the Board”

Insert 14.1 after Rulebook “will”

Delete: “14.2 Notwithstanding……………of this Constitution.”

 

 

Reform's shift to a non-profit, member-owned structure would limit its ability to distribute profits, requiring all funds to support its political objectives, such as campaigning and member engagement, potentially driving a focus on grassroots mobilization and efficient resource allocation.

At present as a non-profit Company limited by guarantee, Reform 2025 Ltd must comply with strict financial transparency and governance rules, influencing its strategy to prioritize accountability and public trust to maintain credibility ahead of elections.

 

A LOOK AT THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY BOARD

 

A LOOK AT THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY BOARD

By

Joanna Reeves

The Party Board is the ‘supreme decision-making body in matters of Party organisation and management’, according to the Conservative Party constitution. Furthermore, ‘the Board shall have power to do anything which in its opinion relates to the management and administration of the party’.

I recently wrote about the structure of the Conservative Party to cast some light on an area that is not immediately clear, even to members. The Parliamentary Party, the Voluntary Party and CCHQ are the three main elements of the Party; the Party Board ties them together and overrides all else.

According to John Strafford, an expert on the Conservative Party Constitution, the Board of the Conservative Party ‘under clause 17 can do anything they want, and do. They are all-powerful and completely unaccountable to ordinary Party members.’

And yet the Board is barely heard of and certainly not understood. As ever, I say to anyone who wants to know how the Party works, start by reading the Constitution. For the purposes of understanding the board, turn to Part IV: The Board of the Conservative Party, to be found on page 3.

The Party Constitution sets out Board composition and purpose (see clause 12). The first aspect to note is that the Party Leader is not a Board member, although the Leader has the power to nominate Board members (12.10), has the authority to approve certain other members and is invited to attend all meetings of the Board. 12.1 states that the Party Chair is the Chair of the Board and Chairs in the Leader’s absence. This implies that the Leader chairs Board meetings if he or she is present, despite not being a member of the Board. This does seem unnatural and is certainly unexpected. To note also, the constitution provides for the Party Chair (singular) to be a Board member, although 12.10 provides for the Leader to nominate a Board member, which presumably allows for the current situation of two Co-Chairs of the Party serving on the Board.

Other points to note are that ‘the Chairman of the Scottish and Unionist Party’ (12.6) and ‘the elected Chairman of the Welsh Conservative Party’(12.7) are included on the Board. That the Welsh Chair is elected and the Scottish Chair is not required to be is an interesting anomaly. According to the Scottish Party Constitution, the Scottish Party Leader is elected by members on a one-member-one-vote basis, with the Chairman appointed by the Scottish Leader after consultation with the UK Party Leader. Meanwhile, Schedule 8 of the Conservative Party Constitution declares that the Chairman of the Welsh Conservative Party shall be nominated for election and elected by members of the Area Councils in Wales (and may not hold the post for more than three consecutive years).

There is no representation for Northern Ireland or England on the Board, which seems to be a further anomaly. It has been speculated in conversation that it is only the nations with devolved government which have Board representation, but I have found no text supporting this. Northern Ireland Conservatives do not appear anywhere as a separate body so I understand that to explain why there is no representation for them on the Party Board. In the case of both Scotland and Wales, the representative is effectively the Regional Chair, but no other Regional Chairs have seats on the Board.

The role and responsibilities of the Party Board is set out in Clause 17 (see page 4, Constitution) To me, Clause 17 seems to suggest that the intention of the constitution is that the Board should support and guide the Leader. The clause provides a comprehensive list of responsibilities, which cover (amongst other things) all of the management and administration of the party, oversight of the approved candidates list and the governance of membership. It is well worth taking a look.

In conclusion, the Constitution of the Conservative Party makes clear that the Party Board is the seat of the power of the Party. Anyone wishing to understand how the Party functions should make themselves familiar with who is on the Board, and why. With great power lies great responsibility so scrutiny of the Board is not only reasonable; it is imperative.

With the Party Review underway, and with Kemi Badenoch elected Leader on a platform of seeking ‘renewal’, now seems to be the time to consider the composition and remit of the Board in order to move forwards in the best way possible. Understanding the status quo is the place to start. Given the magnitude of the failure that culminated in the emphatic general election defeat of 2024, and having replaced the Leader, it is vital to scrutinise how the Party functions. The apex of the structure of the Party – that is to say, the Party Board – is the point from which all else flows. Maybe no change is necessary, but on the other hand, maybe it is. Let’s make that a conscious decision and put unflinching scrutiny at the heart of our renewal.

© Joanna Reeves 2025, all rights reserved.

 

Critical Questions for Nigel Farage of the Reform Party and the Conservative Party Chairman

 

An update on the following article first posted on 21 June 2024

Critical Questions for Nigel Farage of the Reform Party and the Conservative Party Chairman

British political parties are traditionally formed as unincorporated associations composed of a membership, rather than established as corporate entities.

Rules are usually set out in a written constitution, while party affairs are handled by a committee chosen by members - like that of Labour or the Conservatives.   However this is not the case with the Reform Party.

The Reform Party is owned by Reform UK Party Ltd, so who controls the Reform Party?

The Reform Party is a limited company (the Reform UK Party Limited) with a share capital of fifteen shares. Nigel Farage owns 9 shares in the company, giving him a controlling majority of 60% The other shareholders are RichardTice, who holds a third, 5 shares, and Party Treasurer Mehrtash A'Zami who holds 2 shares.

What does this mean?   Mr Farage is able to remove Mr Tice as director, and take the decision to unilaterally dissolve the organisation, making him the party’s ultimate decision-maker.

It also means that Nigel Farage could sell his shares and whoever bought them would take control of the Reform Party.

Mr Farage claimed Reform UK would “democratise over time” after he was accused of running a “one-man dictatorship”.

The reality is that at present the Reform Party is a one man dictatorship and that is unacceptable in a democracy.   So the question is “Nigel Farage, will you commit to a date by which the Reform Party becomes a democratic organisation in which ultimate authority rests with the membership on the basis of one member one vote?”.

The other question which needs a reply is addressed to the Conservative Party Chairman.

“Why does the Conservative Party not attack the Reform Party for being a dictatorship?”.   Is it perhaps that the Conservative Party is also a dictatorship run by an elite oligarchy that has taken all the democratic rights that the Party members had prior to the introduction of the new Constitution of the Party in 1998 e.g. Selection of Candidates, Motions at the Party Conference etc?.   So Party Chairman, when will the Conservative Party bring in a new democratic Constitution in which the ultimate authority rests with the membership on the basis of one member one vote?.

i am on a roll! Another like from Robert Jenrick MP

 

Robert Jenrick

liked your repost

Saw this yesterday. Jaw dropping In 2020, Starmer signed a letter opposing the deportation of 50 criminals to Jamaica. I was there when he did Following this, seven of these individuals committed further crimes in the UK, including violent assaults and drug-related offences https://pic.x.com/Gir0vzLkD0