A Light on the Structure of the Conservative Party

One of the most surprising aspects of the Conservative Party is that so few people know how the various parts of the Party fit together. And as well as being surprising, to my mind this cloudiness of function acts as a suppressant to the proper functioning – and success – of the Party. Time to shed some light.

First of all, a set text: the Party Constitution. The Constitution takes away the mystery and can be found here.

THE PARLIAMENTARY PARTY

…otherwise known as Conservative MPs and Peers. Currently numbering just 121 souls out of a total of 650, our MPs represent the specific constituency they stood for. At the same time, they take on roles to provide shadow government or, in the future we hope, government. Peers, ie members of the House of Lords, are very much part of the parliamentary party and they may serve as government or shadow ministers.

It is important to note the hugely significant role our 121 MPs play in selecting the party leader. When a new leader is needed, schedule 2 of the party constitution requires the 1922 committee to organise the selection of the candidates who be put to party members for election. If only one candidate for the leadership is provided, there is no need for any kind of vote. It is up to the 1922 and the Party Board to agree on the rules in each election. In recent contests the agreement has been for MPs to put two candidates for the leadership to members (although in the event that only one candidate has remained in the running, no membership vote is required). In recent leadership elections, members voted in 2024 (Badenoch v Jenrick), 2022 (Truss v Sunack) and 2019 (Johnson v Hunt); in 2022 (Oct) and 2016, when Rishi Sunak and Theresa May respectively became Party Leader and therefore Prime Minister, no membership vote was required as they were selected unopposed by MPs.

THE NATIONAL CONVENTION

The National Convention (NC) is the organisational structure of the voluntary party. I wrote recently about it here but in essence, it is a little-known body, powerful at the top, with extensive representation on the Party Board. The Chair has control of the Candidates Committee, which controls candidate selection. The Chair of the National Convention often receives a peerage, moving onwards to the House of Lords.

CCHQ

CCHQ is the paid professional hub of the party. Its main base is at 4 Matthew Parker St, just off Westminster Square, but there is also an office in Leeds. CCHQ has a structure just like any medium to large company, with a CEO, CFO and other roles. Central fundraising, campaign strategy, membership services, a digital offering and the administration of candidate selection are carried out from CCHQ. Their role is to support the Parliamentary and Voluntary Party.

THE PARTY BOARD

This is the body that makes decisions relating to the Party. The Constitution states:

‘There shall be established and maintained a Board of the Conservative Party (referred to in this constitution as “the Board”) which shall be the supreme decision-making body in matters of Party organisation and management… The quorum for any meeting of the Board will be eight.

Here’s who is currently on it:

Nigel Huddleston MP	Co Chairman of the Conservative Party and Chairman of the Board
Baron Johnson of Lainston CBE	Co Chairman of the Conservative Party
Julian Ellacott	Chairman of the National Conservative Convention and Deputy Chairman of the Board
Graham Edwards	Treasurer of the Conservative Party
Michael Winstanley	President of the National Conservative Convention and Conference Chairman
Fleur Butler OBE	Vice President of the National Conservative Convention
John Belsey	Vice President of the National Conservative Convention
Stewart Harper	Vice President of the National Conservative Convention
Cllr Phil Broadhead	Chairman of the Conservative Councillors’ Association
Alasdair Locke	Chairman of the Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party
Cllr Bernard Gentry	Chairman, Welsh Conservatives
Katy Bourne OBE	Appointed by the Board pursuant to Rule 12.12 of the Constitution, ie The Board may make one further appointment to its number, subject to the approval of the Leader.
Rt Hon Lord Forsyth of Drumlean	Chairman, Association of Conservative Peers
Bob Blackman CBE MP	Chairman of the 1922 Committee
Rt Hon Sir John Whittingdale OBE MP	Elected pursuant to Rule 12.13 of the Constitution ie Three Members of Parliament to be elected by the Members of the Parliamentary Party under rules determined by the Executive Committee of the 1922 Committee after Consultation with the Board.
Alicia Kearns MP	Elected pursuant to Rule 12.13 of the Constitution
Mark Garnier OBE MP	Elected pursuant to Rule 12.13 of the Constitution

Secretary to the Board	Roger Pratt CBE

OTHER GROUPS

Conservative Women’s Organisation exists to support and encourage women to participate in the Party and to move towards joining the approved candidates list. Women2Win exists to help women get elected once they are on the approved list. Men are also able to join and take part in the training each organisation offers. The CWO runs a structure mirroring the National Convention, with postholders from Area upwards being members of the National Convention.

Friends groups, such as Conservative Friends of Neurodiversity and Conservative Friends of Education, are special interest organisations, supporting Conservative principles, which may or may not be officially affiliated with the party. They have no role on the board or on the National Convention.

PARTY REVIEW

The General Election of 2024 was the worst defeat in the history of the Conservative Party. At Conference Sept/Oct 2024, the Party announced a review in the following terms (set out in full as the link to the review on the Party website leads to ‘error 404, page not found’):

‘Following our defeat in the 2024 General Election, the Chairman of the Party has decided that the review should be a root and branch review of each area of the Party, and not be limited to the election campaign in isolation.

Today the Chairman has announced that Lord Patrick McLoughlin and the outgoing chairman of the National Convention, Lord Peter Booth, will chair this review.

They will lead a panel of fellow Conservatives, and made up of a panel, which will be made up of:

Danielle Dunfield-Prayero, our General Election 2024 candidate in Wimbledon

Cllr Heather Williams, Conservative Group Leader on South Cambridgeshire Council

Anne Connell, East of Scotland Voluntary Party Convenor

Matt Vickers MP for Stockton South

Virginia Crosbie, former MP for Ynys Mon

Mehfuz Ahmed from London Area Conservatives

Lizzie Hacking of Next Gen Conservatives

Our new National Convention Chairman, Julian Ellacott

These appointments have been made following submissions from the Party Board.

This panel will draw up the wide breadth of experience and expertise from across the party, including from our membership, current and former MPs, peers, local and regional government, candidates, the National Convention, professional staff and even former members.

The panel will also be supported in their work by Dame Amanda Milling, former Conservative Party Chairman, and Stephen Massey, Conservative Party CEO.

The core themes of the review will be:

To determine the reasons for the Conservative Party’s long-term performance in all nations and regions.

To assess how the Party performed against different opposition parties, and how that should inform our future strategies.

To analyse how various elements of the campaign strategy (e.g. voter targeting, digital, volunteer engagement, communications/messaging) performed in practice and compared to the underlying plan.

To assess the role of the Parliamentary party since 2010, and its impact on elections.

To assess the motivation, strength and organisation of volunteers and members in the 2024 election.

Review the process of composing the manifesto and the impact of policies in the campaign.

To make recommendations for change and improvement in every area of the Party – the Parliamentary Party and other elected representatives, the Voluntary Party, and the professional organisation (including CCHQ).

In making these recommendations on improving the Party, the review will outline how it sees the Party can best:

Reconnect itself more effectively to our cities, towns, communities, citizens and country.

Establish a core credo of shared conservative values and principles and strategies to promote them in society.

Identify, develop and nurture the next generation of talented leaders and activists with a commitment to public service based on conservative values.

Equip the Party with modern, effective campaigning techniques and tools that are sustainable and deliverable.

Update the Party’s governance, at all levels, to provide a robust and representative foundation for the future.

The recommendations of the review will be tracked by the Board through to completion with rigour and scrutiny.’

Instructions for making submissions to the review are not publicly available but I understand that emailing [email protected] is one route. I am not aware of any other. The timeframe is ‘broadly speaking, the middle of this year’, according to the current Chair of the National Convention, but no methodology or milestones have been indicated to reach this ‘broad’ expectation.

NOW WHAT?

In my view, confusion over the Party structure, and where power in the Party lies, added to an inexorable drift towards the defeat of 2024. The Party Board, being the ‘supreme decision-making body’, must accept responsibility and the framing of the review’s aims must acknowledge this. In my opinion, only a professional review carried out by an independent third party, appointed by the new Co-Chairs of the Party, will carry the faith of Party members. And without the faith of members, what is left of our Party?

Joanna Reeves.