Conservative Party - Hope for the future!

 

Speech to the New Forest Conservative Association 13 June 2025

Essential Changes to the Conservative Party Constitution!

The following changes to the Conservative Party Constitution are essential in order to create a democratic Party Constitution.   They were agreed overwhelmingly by the Conservative Democratic Organisation at its conference in the Bournemouth International Conference Centre in 2023 and have been approved in General Meeting by the Campaign for Conservative Democracy.   All Conservatives who wish to have a Democratic Party with a Democratic Constitution should support these measures.

 ·       The Party Constitution should be capable of being changed by a motion at an Annual General Meeting of the Party, to which all Party members are invited on the basis of One Member One Vote with a 60% majority of those voting.

• The Chairman of the Party Board, Two Deputy Chairmen, Treasurer, Chairman of the Candidates Committee and Chairman of the Conservative Policy Forum to be officers of the Party on the Party Board, elected by and accountable to Party Members·
• Constituency Associations should have the right to determine who their Conservative Parliamentary Candidate is, with minimum interference by CCHQ.   This includes both selecting and deselecting candidates and selecting or deselecting their Member of Parliament.  Any member of the Party should be able to apply to be the candidate. Local candidates i.e. those resident in the Constituency, should be invited for interview by the Executive Council.   Where a Constituency Association passes a motion of no confidence in their MP in a General Meeting the Association they should be able to immediately start the process of selecting a new Parliamentary Candidate.
• The Party Conference should be controlled by a subcommittee of the Party Board consisting of a majority of voluntary members of the Party and should have motions for debate and votes taken on those motions, with some motions selected by the members
• The Rules for the Election of the Party Leader to be incorporated within the main body of the Constitution.

Good News - Review of the Conservative Party Constitution!

 Julian Ellacott (Chairman of the National Convention) has written to all Party members as follows:

Conservatives

Dear John,   The Party’s Constitution, last updated in 2021, underpins the way the Party is run.   As with any credible organisation, especially one which aspires to run the country, it is a pre-requisite to be able to run our own affairs fairly, robustly and transparently.   Reviewing the Constitution is therefore important, especially following our defeat in the General Election last year. We have to learn from our past mistakes and apply those lessons to our own structure (just as we are doing in terms of our policy platform).   To that end the Party Board has instigated a thorough review of the Party’s Constitution, which will run into 2026 and involve all members and elected representatives.  A dedicated committee will coordinate this work and will consult on potential changes in various phases, each covering different topics.   At the end of it the changes will be put to a vote of the Constitutional College (in line with the terms of the current Constitution).   The members of the committee want to hear your views on which subjects within the Constitution you think need to be focused on most, as well as your views on high level principles for guiding the review. Please therefore complete this short survey.

 

We will provide regular updates on the progress of the review via the member email bulletin, but if you wish to receive more frequent updates you can also opt into this in the survey. Your local Association/Federation chairman will be involved at each stage, and will also be encouraged to discuss individual topics with local members throughout.   Thank you in advance for your participation in this important task.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Julian Ellacott  Chairman of the National Convention and Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee  This is excellent news.    First of all congratulations to Julian Ellacott for getting this important item onto the Party Agenda. I make the following initial comments: 1)    "A dedicated committee will coordinate this work and will consult on potential changes in various phases, each covering different topics." The "dedicated Committee" should include ordinary members who are not part of the vested interests mentioned in 2) below. 2) It states in the survey that the review will be implemented on 1 January 2027 We should aim to implement changes by 1 Jan 2026.

When the Constitution was created it took too long to review it, which meant that the members lost interest and the vested interests (CCHQ, Party Donors, Constituency Chairmen, Women's Organisation, 1922 Committee etc.) moved in to strengthen their positions to the detriment of ordinary Party members.

    3) The survey asks you to indicate how strongly you agree with making us a stronger campaigning force.   

Of course you have to answer "for the strongest possible", but what exactly does it mean?

    4) The survey lists a number of areas of the Constitution, and asks which three should have the highest priority?

They all should have priority but the three most important are 

a) Rules for the election of Leader

b) The Board of the Party

c) How future changes are made to the Constitution.

The most important issue is c) above

The new Party Constitution should be capable of being changed by a motion at an Annual General Meeting of the Party by Party members on the basis of One Member One vote, with a 60% majority of those voting.

In which case after the new Constitution has been agreed under the existing Constitution it should be put to a meeting of all Party members for approval, with the ability to move amendments to the Constitution at the meeting.

Battle For Monte Natale - Could the British Army fight it today?

 Speech given to the New Forest Conservative Association on 13 June 2025 questions the capability of today's British army.

Remember Margaret Thatcher

 The following speech was given to the New Forest Conservative Association on 13 June 2025 by John Strafford.   It recalls a speech made by Margaret Thatcher at the Conservative Party Conference in 1968.

Changes to the Selection of Conservative Parliamentary Candidates!

The following video is an extract from a speech given to the New Forest Conservative Association on 13 June 2025

 

What is in a name? Includes a trip down Memory Lane!

 The following speech was made to the New Forest Conservative Association on 13 June 2025:

What is in a name?   Includes a trip down Memory Lane!

Winter Fuel Allowance - A Conservative Approach

 The following speech was made at the COPOV Forum on 31 May 2025

Margaret Thatcher's speech at the 1975 Conservative Party conference!

Extracts from Margaret Thatcher's speech at the 1975 Conservative Party conference, shortly after she became the Leader of the Conservative Party.   She didn't wait four years before setting out what was needed!

Selection of Conservative Parliamentary Candidates (Episode 4)

 

Selection of Conservative Parliamentary Candidates (Episode 4)

By

John E. Strafford

The Party Review has set out 49 recommendations to improve the Selection of Parliamentary Candidates process.   Some are worthy of support, others need to be changed. The following are my comments: 

Making the Parliamentary Candidate selection fit for the future: draft recommendations from the Party Review

 Association selection stage

This section is a great improvement on the existing system and is to be commended.   Just a couple of small points, see below:

 25) The fundamental process should continue to be based on Sift Committee, Selection Council and Member Ballot stages. The whole process should not be rushed, enabling Associations to thoroughly assess applicants and involve members (3 months from opening applications to final selection should be the approximate average). 

 26) The Regional Candidate Co-ordinator should provide relevant Association, Area and Regional Chairmen with regular updates throughout the period leading up to and during selections within their respective localities. 

 27) Senior volunteers (Regional Candidate Co-ordinators and current or former Regional Off icers) must be trained and able to oversee selection meetings, so that there are no bottlenecks caused by lack of staff to oversee these meetings. 

 28) In advance of applications formally opening for a constituency, the Association should have the right to put potential applicants forwards for the approval process. 

 29) CCHQ/Leader’s Office/National Convention Officers to develop a short, engaging video setting out the responsibility which lies on the shoulders of those selecting someone for the whole constituency (who can win), the key attributes of successful candidates, illustrated by real examples, vox pops from voters as to what they value, etc, to be played at the start of Sift Committee and Selection Council meetings, and sent or shown to members prior to the Member Ballot. 

Total waste of time and money.   Members are not stupid.   This is patronising.  It is up to the members to decide what type of candidate they want.

 30) The Sift Committee stage should be changed as follows: i. The minimum sift committee size should be increased to 7, and Associations should be able to choose as many as 11 if they wish. Membership of the Sift Committee should not be restricted to members eligible to vote in the constituency – Executive Councils should be free to choose respected Party members in neighbouring constituencies, from the Area team, local PCC/elected Mayor etc if they wish. ii. Sift meetings should take place at a venue of the Association’s choice (within reason – including an online option for some or all participants). iii. Sift meetings should be chaired by the Regional Candidate Co-ordinator (or another senior volunteer appointed by them, e.g. Regional Officer or National Convention Officer), to ensure a balanced discussion. iv. The applicants’ activity records should be shared with the Sift Committee upfront, alongside their CVs. v. Sift Committees should be encouraged to put more applicants through to the Selection Council stage (between 5 and 10, plus 2 reserves), to give more choice and to give more applicants experience of the Selection Council stage. 

The Sift committee should be restricted to members eligible to vote in the constituency.   Others may be invited to attend in a non voting capacity.

 31) All Associations should be encouraged to hold campaign and/or social events, to which all shortlisted applicants be invited (without charge), to meet members before the Selection Council stage. 

 32) The Selection Council stage should be changed as follows: i. The meeting should be chaired by the Regional Candidate Co-ordinator (or another senior volunteer appointed by them, e.g. Regional Officer or National Convention Officer). ii. Selection Councils should be able to put either 3 or 4 candidates through to the Member Ballot (plus a reserve). 

 33) The Member Ballot stage should be changed as follows: i. As soon as feasible after the Selection Council (and no more than 2 weeks before the final Member Meeting) members should be notified by email of which 3-4 candidates they will choose from. ii. Require the candidates to publish a short leaflet (eg 2 sides A4), selfie video (eg 3 minutes) and social media links, emailed to all local members in advance. 5 iii. Give the final candidates a list of local qualifying members (with members given the ability to opt out in advance), and allow them to canvass members prior to the final meeting, to test campaigning ability and ensure members are engaged. (Appropriate safeguards would need to be applied to prohibit any form of “treating”, to enable members to opt out and to protect their data, and ensure as level a playing field as possible between applicants of different financial means. The Executive Council would be able to opt not to follow this but would need to have an explicit alternative plan to enable final candidates to engage with members.) iv. Pilot the use of online voting in some of the early selections (with the Associations’ consent), with the A4 flyer and video being provided to members first, followed by one or more hustings meetings, with the online voting opening thereafter. v. Consider using preference voting for the member ballot (this would be necessary for online ballots anyway, but could also be considered for in person ballots, to avoid having to hold multiple ballots). Post-selection 

 34) The Candidates Committee can permit variations to the process in the following circumstances: i. Upon request by Associations/Federations (e.g. potentially facilitating a modern equivalent to “city seats”, or other models). ii. Where an Association is in supported status, is in breach of any obligations under the Constitution, Board resolution or other regulations, or is otherwise not performing its basic functions. iii. Where the number of applicants and/or the number of members makes the default process unduly cumbersome (or if an Association wishes to opt in to a shorter process). 

 35) Imposition of shortlists for the Member Ballot must only be in exceptional circumstances (eg by-elections or after a General Election has already been called), and must never consist of fewer than three applicants. In such situations the views of the Regional Candidate Co-ordinator, Area Chairman and Association officers should be formally sought prior to the selection of the final shortlist.

Post Selection

36) Similar to the point made earlier relating to candidates pre-selection, candidates post-selection should be mentored – for example by a former MP, to guide and advise. 

 37) The Candidate Playbook must be reviewed to ensure that it contains in one place the core information which selected candidates need to know. This should initially consist of a general resource for all candidates, and then Associations should also be asked to produce one covering local specifics, ready for a candidate to hit the ground running. 

 38) Extend the “teams” arrangement (which was popular with candidates in the 2024 General Election) whereby clusters of neighbouring constituency candidates 6 support each other with mutual aid, ideally with one candidate being in a safe set, another in a target seat and the other 2 or 3 in development seats. This provided valuable experience for the development seat candidates and the reassurance of being part of a team. Phasing of the process 

If a Candidate wishes to devote all his/her time to their own constituency this should be accepted without being penalised.

Phasing of the process

 39) The reopening of applications should occur as soon after the May 2025 elections as possible. 

 40) Setting out the phasing of constituency selections should be a priority of the Candidates Committee once it has been reconstituted, taking into account: i. The views of Associations as to when they wish to proceed, and any specific local factors (involving the Regional Candidate Co-ordinators). ii. The winnability of the seat, with (in general) more winnable seats being selected earlier (taking account of data insights from and views of the CCHQ Campaigning Team). iii. A degree of co-ordination within each region, to avoid clashes (involving the Regional Candidate Co-ordinators). iv. The wider benefits of selecting some “no hope” seats early, to ensure an ongoing local presence in such areas, developing candidates for the future and (for example) reinforcing a positive impact on local election performance. 

 41) Selection cannot begin for an Association if the Association has unfulfilled obligations – for example financial, compliance or others set out in the “Defining an Association” document (or its successor). Post-election 

 42) References on unsuccessful candidates from Association/Area/Regional Chairmen and Regional Candidate Co-ordinator, senior staff , agents and others should be sought and kept on file. Feedback on non target candidates should also be sought from those to whom they gave campaign support. 

 43) A standard process for reviewing the performance of candidates, successful or otherwise, must be developed and implemented after each General Election. 

 44) The mentoring of candidates, previously mentioned, should continue in some form, for those candidates who wish to avail themselves of it. 

 45) The Board, 1992 Committee Executive and Whips should find ways of ensuring that MPs continue to engage positively with their Associations and continue campaigning post-election (reinforced by the Candidate Contract previously mentioned). 

 46) Sitting MPs should be requested to indicate, by mid-2027, whether they intend to stand for re-adoption for the next General Election (and if so readopted, they are required sign the same Candidate Contract as mentioned above). If no such indication is received by mid 2027 the Association is permitted to initiate a standard selection process, as set out above for seats without an incumbent (in which the incumbent would be able to take part). 

There should be no Candidate Contract!

Re-list processes 

 47) Former MPs seeking re-approval should go through the process as follows: i. The approval stage is a Full Assessment in person with the addition of specific focus added on their record of past campaigning (themselves personally, not just their Association), voting in Parliament, Association relationship and other relevant factors during their time as an MP. ii. The selection stage is retained unchanged. 

 48) Applicants on the list at the point of the 2024 General Election should go through the process as follows (with priority in terms of timing given to those who fought a seat): i. The approval stage is a Re-List Assessment, with specific focus added on their record during the 2024 General Election campaign. ii. The selection stage is retained unchanged. 

 49) Any applicant who has passed an emergency (Rapid Assessment) selection process as part of a Mayoral or Parliamentary by-election selection process should reapply through the Full Assessment process to get onto the Approved List for the next General Election.

All in all there are some good points in these recommendations, in particular where they improve democratic accountability, but there is also an increase in bureaucracy, and massive opportunity to manipulate democracy.   The points highlighted should be reviewed.