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.