James Cleverly: How I will reform our party to get back to winning ways

As we enter our first Conference in opposition since 2009, the Conservative Party is at a crossroads.

We have just suffered the worst election defeat in our Party’s history. While we might want to take our time to come to terms with that, time is not a luxury we have. If we are to get back to winning ways before the next set of local elections in May, we need to get to work.

To win the next general election we need to be fighting hard in over 400 seats. That means getting at least 300 excellent conservative candidates selected in our targets around the country in the next eighteen months. This is no mean feat, and there is more to do.

I know that morale is low.

Our Party has been torn apart by infighting, scandals and a betrayal of trust at the hands of those in Westminster. It has been more and more difficult to get people out to campaign and fundraise, and our local associations have paid the price. For that, I am truly sorry.

To all of our members and activists I would say that I get it.

You never really stop being Party Chairman; when I was in the role I saw how hard you all worked. I campaigned with you across the country and I was – and still am – in awe of the work that you do.

We need to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off. That starts with uniting as a party.

Not just in Westminster but across the whole party and all of its parts. We need more coordinated campaigning, and a better link between CCHQ and associations. Campaign managers were the backbone of our 2019 success in key seats, but we lost too many after the election. We must fund, recruit, and retain Campaign Managers nationwide throughout this Parliament and beyond. They should run ongoing campaigns on the ground and digitally, and support the voluntary party.

Campaigning can’t be a stop-start process. CCHQ must focus on supporting them through cutting-edge training in both traditional and emerging tactics to stay ahead.

I want to repair trust between members, associations and CCHQ. I’m painfully aware of how dysfunctional the candidate selection process has been. Every member must have a vote to select their parliamentary candidates. No more stitch-up selections orchestrated in the Westminster bubble.

That is why we need to move fast. Associations must be given the time to choose their preferred candidate. Candidates must be given the time to embed themselves in their constituencies. CCHQ should enhance the offer to candidates too, to broaden the talent pool.

There should be no need, and no excuse, to parachute candidates in. It doesn’t work for associations, members, or voters. The practice of holding back seats must be ended; members must always have a vote and candidates must be treated fairly.

Members should have input into more than just candidate selection too. I will work alongside the Conservative Policy Forum much more closely.

It should be even more of an asset to us in opposition, helping us to develop policies with real members’ input for our next manifesto and our next term in government. If elected, I will appoint a Shadow Cabinet Minister responsible for the Policy Forum to lead this work, and direct regular engagement between Shadow Cabinet Ministers and the Policy Forum.

I will make it easier and more appealing for activists to get involved and contribute meaningfully to our party, and be rewarded for doing so. My Shadow Cabinet would be appointed with the instruction to attend association events around the country. Likewise, Party Conference will be first and foremost about engaging with, and listening to, our members. Conferences will no longer just be speech factories – they’ll be interactive, policy-driven forums with proper debates and input from members.

We need to streamline CCHQ from a bureaucratic blob to campaign powerhouse by reorganising the centre. There must be more multi-disciplined staff on the frontlines, and we must maximise our incumbency efforts. We need to strip away the excess, focus on winning elections and holding Labour to account. We need to bring in specialists from outside of the Westminster bubble to help across the organisation, including with business engagement and to harness emerging technologies that can help us win elections.

The same principles apply for local government as they do for Parliament. I know how important it is that we ensure our local government base is supported. It will be critical to our fight back. We must make it easier to deliver local council selections and support our local candidates and activists with bespoke campaigning and training.

This must all be overseen by an excellent Chairman who’s role could not be more important.

I will ensure that the office of Chairman of the Conservative Party will always have the stature it had in Margaret Thatcher’s day. The Chairman will be sat next to me at the Shadow Cabinet table and their voice will always be heard.

I have been a Conservative party activist for almost thirty years. I stood on many occasions for local government, I was selected as an outsider for the GLA and I am the only former Chairman standing in this race. I know CCHQ, I know our party and the party knows me. I owe my journey from local activist to where I am now to this party and its membership. Without an enthusiastic and empowered grassroots, we cannot succeed.

Fixing our party will take work, and speed. We should not just worry about getting this wrong, we should worry about taking too long to get it right. We’ve all seen how badly Labour are doing already. We can’t allow any longer of this than is absolutely necessary.

We must choose a leader who knows how to overhaul CCHQ from day one, who can inspire the grassroots and who has done this before. Someone who can hit the ground running. In 2019, I got our campaigning machine battle ready for the General Election in which we won an eighty seat majority and got Brexit done.

I’ve done it once, I can do it again as leader.

My Chairman and I will streamline the machine and focus it relentlessly on winning, at the local elections in May and at every opportunity thereafter.

I am ready to deliver from day one in the job.

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