Tory Democracy in action, or is it?

 The following letter has been sent to Conservative Party members in the Buckinghamshire Area inviting ordinary members to stand for election as an officer of the Buckinghamshire Area.   However  unless you are an officer of your Constituency or any other Constituency in the Area you will not be able to attend the meeting at which the vote will take place, or if there is more than one candidate for a position, you will not be able to vote for yourself!

The Area Council should invite every member of the Party to the meeting at which elections take place and each member should have a vote.   That is democracy!

Many years ago, after a Buckinghamshire Area AGM it was announced that that there was one position that there had been no candidate for, so I put my name forward to fill the vacancy.   Guess what? The Establishment very quickly found another person to put their nomination in who was on the Area Executive so was able to stand and vote for herself in the election.    That person was Emma Pidding, now Baroness Pidding who started her long ride up the greasy pole!    I somehow feel that I helped her on the way! 

Subject: Notice of the Buckinghamshire Area Annual General Meeting Dear*********,  Thank you for your continued support of the Party, and any activities through which you actively help the Party, such as campaigning or fundraising.    It is only through our members and volunteers that we can succeed in our ultimate aim of getting Conservatives elected at all levels, across the country.   Building a thriving and internally democratic Party is also important, to ensure that we run our own affairs robustly and transparently.    You may be aware that we hold elections at your local Association or Federation level, but we also hold elections at our Area level (which typically cover a whole county, or similar).   The roles of our elected Area teams are to co-ordinate Associations/Federations and take initiatives in respect of:   Sharing of resources between Associations; The finance and membership of Associations; The motivation and monitoring of the performance of Associations; The management and training of Officers of Associations; Campaigning and Conservative representation in National, and Local Government elections; Matters relating to Local Government; Assisting elected representatives and the professional staff with the co-ordination of local media relations; Resolving disputes within Associations and Branches thereof, including the investigation of breaches of Rules of Associations; The provision of assistance to, and the undertaking of activities within a Supported Association; Preparing and submitting to the Board an annual report on the activities of each Association within the Area.   Beyond these formal roles, Area Officers play an important role in representing the views of members upwards to your Regional team, and onwards to the Party Board, Chairman and Leader.   If you are interested in standing for one of the three Area Officer roles for this Area (Chairman; Deputy Chairman Membership; or Deputy Chairman Political), you will need the support of two senior officers from either your own local Association or one of the others in the Area.    You may contact them directly if you wish, or reply to this email (mario@mariocreatura.org.uk) and I can put you in contact.   The Area AGM will take place on Monday 28th September 2026, therefore the deadline for valid nominations is no later than 6pm on Monday 21st September 2026.    Only valid members of the Area Executive Council may attend the AGM, and have a vote

Yours sincerely,   Mario Creatura Deputy Chairman of South East of England