The Conservative Party must revive the CPC

 

On 16 March the ConservativeHome web site published an article by

Xander West

The Conservative Party must revive the CPC

My response is as follows:

Xander, I totally agree with you that the Conservative Party must revive the CPC,  but you are not correct when you say “However, after nearly half a century of prominence in Conservative politics, the CPC appeared to atrophy in its final decade or so, with the idea of education becoming more top-down than grassroots. Perhaps its consolidation into a directorate with the Research Department in 1988 crippled whatever independence and authority it still enjoyed, forcing a greater orientation towards merely reviewing official policy directions.” 

In the 1990s the Conservative Political Centre was very active. It had Regional councils where the officers were elected by and accountable to the members. The Chairmen of the Regional Councils were part of a National Committee. I was Chairman of Wessex in the 1990s. Whilst Chairman we had annual conferences including one where the Research Department Directors attended and made speeches and answered questions. There was also an annual National CPC weekend conference held at different venues and universities. They were attended by government Ministers. The National CPC had a meeting in 1994 at 10 Downing Street with John Major. It was as a result of this meeting that the process began for the Party to move towards a Constitution. At his request I did a paper for Major on the subject. We “prioritised the two-way movement of ideas between the Conservative leadership and membership by circulating responses from local branches on specific topics, to which the relevant minister or senior party figure would be obliged to reply and consider in their decision-making. CPC pamphlets were also produced to reach a wider public who might be sympathetic to conservative ideas or arguments”.

The whole thing collapsed after 1999 when CCHQ took total control of the CPC and Oliver Letwin was put in charge. No meetings were convened by CCHQ.   For over a year Letwin did nothing and allowed the organisation to collapse.

I am afraid there is no comparison with the CPF which is effectively controlled by CCHQ.   Those that run it are not elected or accountable to the ordinary members of the Party.

 We should go back to pre 1999 and there should be a National CPC Advisory Committee with the Chairman, two Deputy Chairmen and Treasurer elected by the ordinary members of the Party at an Annual General Meeting of the Party to which all members are invited.   At such AGMs the Chairman would report and be questioned about the CPC activities during the past year, and what it would do in the future.