Another fine mess! CCHQ

 

Another Fine Mess! 

 

On 28th February I received the following email from CCHQ Membership department.   This was the first reminder of my membership subscription.   To date no membership certificate has arrived in spite of the fact that having telephoned CCHQ immediately I paid by Barclaycard.   Incidentally, in the old days before CCHQ got involved with Party membership members were always given 3 months grace to renew their subscription before having their membership cancelled! 

“We’re contacting you regarding your membership of The Conservative Party. Unfortunately, we have been unable to process your last payment. 

There are many possible reasons for this. For example, you may have received a new card from your bank, or your card or bank mandate may have recently expired. 

To update your payment information, please contact us as soon as possible. That way, we can ensure your continued membership. 

You can get in touch by calling us on 020 7984 8036, Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm. Remember to quote your membership number: ********* 

If you do not update your payment information before 09/03/2024, your membership will be automatically cancelled. 

Please note, we may have already sent a membership certificate to your address – please do not take that as confirmation of payment. 

Thank you for all that you do as a member. Your support is vital to our success.” 

 

Imagine my surprise when I received the following email on 15th March.   I await with deepest breadth as to what happens next. Is there any competent department at CCHQ?.   Perhaps an elected Party Chairman accountable to the members would sort it out!  

 

Dear John 

Your membership renewal is coming up 24/02/2024 but don’t worry – you’re set to renew automatically. 

Your payment plan for your next membership year is: 

Standard Membership for Beaconsfield

£39.00

Your next payment of £39.00 will be taken around 24/02/2024. 

Thank you for your continued support. 

If you require any assistance, please contact the CCHQ Membership Team  

Kind regards, 

 
 
Sean Duckworth 
Head of Membership 

 

Conservative Party - another rule bites the dust

 In the late 1940s under the Chairmanship of Lord Woolton the Conservative Party brought in several reforms in its desire for equality.   David Maxwell Fyffe introduced the reforms, amongst which was to:

"Limit the amount of money a Member of Parliament could donate to his Constituency Association to £100."

This was done in order to stop the practise of wealthy people buying seats.   It led to the first Conservative trade unionist becoming an MP.

 We now find that Jeremy Hunt MP has given, over the last five years, no less than £105,261 to his local constituency party in Surrey  according to the Electoral Commission.

So when was the convention about £100 changed?

A Question to the Conservative Party Chairman! What was his reply?

 Putting a question to Richard Holden MP, Conservative Party Chairman, on 22 February 2024, at the excellent Chesham and Amersham Association dinner The question was: Under the Conservative Party Constitution it states that "The Leader shall determine the political direction of the Party having regard to the views of Party members and the Conservative Policy Forum" Now that there are no longer motions for debate at the Party Conference how does the Leader get the views of the ordinary Party Members? Needless to say I did not get an answer, although the Party Chairman said "What a great question!" and then proceeded to talk only about the Conservative Policy Forum!