The Conservative Democratic Organisation is about bringing back democracy into the Conservative Party. Here is the BBC take on it on the BBC News Website.
The Boris Johnson backers with a plan to save the
Tory party
By Sam Francis
Political reporter, BBC News
When a new campaign group for
grassroots Conservatives was launched last month, many saw it is a
thinly-veiled effort to get Boris Johnson back in Downing Street. Is there more
to it than that?
The Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO) was formed out of the
ashes of the Boris Ballot - the unsuccessful campaign demanding members get a
vote on reinstating Mr Johnson after he resigned.
The new group is campaigning for Tory members to "take back
control" of the party. It has been compared to Momentum - the Labour group
formed to back Jeremy Corbyn, another grassroots favourite who was unpopular
with many of his own party's MPs.
Those behind CDO insist it is not a Trojan Horse for a Boris Johnson
comeback, It is instead about giving Conservative members a bigger role
in how their party is run.
But the catalyst for the group's foundation was the anger and
disillusionment felt by some Tory members over the ousting of Mr Johnson and
Liz Truss. Twice in a matter of months MPs overruled the will of Conservative
members, according to the CDO.
'Save the party'
David Campbell Bannerman, a former UKIP MEP, who chairs the CDO, says a
backlash from ordinary Conservative members became "inevitable after the
way Rishi Sunak was appointed" as Tory leader and prime minister. Lord Cruddas became one of the most assertive voices in the loose
"Bring Back Boris" alliance this autumn
Like the other founders of the group - major Tory donor Lord Cruddas and
media entrepreneur Claire Bullivant - he insists it is not about bringing back
Mr Johnson right now.
"I'm a huge fan of Rishi. I back him as much as I back Boris,"
says Ms Bullivant.
"We just want to save the party that we love."
But save it from what?
Former home secretary Priti Patel has
publicly backed the campaign
Extinction, according to John Strafford - the CDO's constitutional
consultant, who has been campaigning for greater democracy in the Tory Party
for decades.
"I have never known disillusionment in the party to be so
high," says Mr Stafford.
"We're going to lose the next election by a landslide. If we lose
that badly our very existence will come into question."
Like all political parties, the Conservatives rely on a volunteer army
of members to go out in all weathers, knocking on doors and handing out
leaflets, to fight effective election campaigns.
Truss agenda
With the party trailing Labour by around 20% in the polls, and a general
election widely expected next year, they will be vital to Rishi Sunak's hopes
of remaining in Number 10.
Political canvassers are the party foot soldiers who volunteer to knock
on doors
But party members - who voted for Liz Truss's tax-cutting agenda -
increasingly feel out of step with the leadership's policies, according to John
Stafford.
They are also far fewer in number than Labour members.
The Conservatives don't release an official membership figure, but it is
thought to be about 172,000, compared with 432,000 Labour members.
There are many theories as to why Conservative Party membership has
dwindled over the years - from a peak of about 400,000.
Tory members have less influence over party policy than their
counterparts in Labour or the Liberal Democrats.
The CDO want to do something about this. It is also aiming to give local
party members more control over the selection of Parliamentary candidates.
'Not voting'
Mr Campbell Bannerman says he has emails that prove that the CDO has
already convinced people to return to the party from Reform UK - the new name
of the Brexit Party founded by Nigel Farage.
"We have given people hope to come back from leaving the party,
giving up and not voting," Mr Campbell Bannerman said.
But Reform UK leader Richard Tice - who campaigns for crackdown on legal
and illegal migration, lower taxes, and other policies likely to be popular
with right wing Tories - is not convinced.
"Fundamentally people join political parties because of their policies,
not because of the make up of their democratic choices," he says.
Ms Bullivant said she met with Nadhim Zahawi, the then Conservative
Party Chair
Under current rules Conservative Party members get a vote on the leader
of the party. But they only decide between the final two candidates left
standing after Tory MPs have had their say.
Members also get a say in their choice over parliamentary candidates
through local Conservative Associations - who can pick from applicants vetted
by Conservative Committee on Candidates.
But the CDO says this power must go further, giving associations
complete control over picking who they want to be their MP.
The CDO now has 1,700 activists and "a few thousand more
members," according to Mr Campbell Bannerman.
The Johnson effect
Whatever the project's ambitions Boris Johnson is still a central figure
in the CDO.
It grew out of the Conservative Post, a news website set up by Ms
Bullivant to counter what she saw as overly negative mainstream coverage of the
Conservative government under Mr Johnson.
The website is still running a "Bring Back Boris" campaign.
Mr Johnson also recently came out as one of the top names in a poll
among members on who should replace Nadhim Zahawi as Conservative Party Chair.
Last month Lord Greenhalgh, vice president of the CDO and former Deputy
Mayor of London under Mr Johnson, described his old boss as "electoral
gold-dust" who "will be back" for a second term as prime
minister.
David Campbell Bannerman served as a Member of the European Parliament
for UKIP
Several other developments in the campaign may give Rishi Sunak pause
for thought.
The group is focussed on expanding. Organisers say they have received
about 1,000 applications to serve on the executive of local branches. These
branches will shadow the Conservative Party associations that run operations in
the 650 parliamentary constituencies across the country.
The group has also talked about organising a vote at one of the three
annual meetings of the National Conservative Convention - the most senior body
of the Conservative Party membership.
Forcing any change in the party's constitution looks to be an impossible
task. This would need a two-thirds vote of the National Convention and Tory MPs
- along with the approval of the party's Constitutional College, made up of
MPs, Lords and party officials.
Listening to members
The CDO is hoping to avoid a run-in. There has already been a meeting
with Conservative Party headquarters who, according to Ms Bullivant, are
"actually being very receptive".
The Conservative Party would not confirm this meeting to the BBC. But it
did send a statement, claiming the party leadership "will always listen to
our members' feedback on how to improve our party".
"Membership of political parties is a good thing for our
democracy," the Conservative Party spokesman added.
The CDO does not lack ambition, with Mr Campbell Bannerman predicting it
will be around for "at least 25 years" if not 100.
Its longevity and influence will depend on how successful it proves to
be at reforming a political party that has been around, largely unchanged, for
far longer that.
