Kevin Foster was the MP for Torbay between 2015 and 2024
Our party faces a critical moment in its long history.
We are down to 121 seats. The last two years have seen thousands of local council seats lost. There are less than 50 seats between us and third-party status. Now is the time not for evolution, but for revolutionary change in how our party works. This is why I am backing Priti Patel’s hundred-day plan for reforming the Conservative Party.
Since joining in 1995, I have gone from being the new young conservative who helps deliver leaflets, to a Council Group Leader harrying a Labour council in the media, then an MP and Government Minister helping deliver our agenda nationally and then an experienced activist asked to mentor new candidates. In all these roles, being on the doorstep selling authentic conservative principles is my favourite part of the job.
The recent election campaign confirmed some hard truths about our party structure. After years of infighting at Westminster, plus a sense they were not just being ignored in the choice of leader, but often in selecting their candidate, a reduced number of members did not feel inspired to put the hard yards in on the doorsteps.
The failure to select candidates in many seats before the election was called and the attempts to impose favoured individuals at the last minute. It encapsulated to many a patronising Westminster-based view of members being people only of use to deliver leaflets, buy a raffle ticket or donate a few quid following an email from CCHQ. Yet these are the very people who form the bedrock of our movement, every day working to deliver core conservative values across the UK.
This leadership election is different to the last four. Our new leader will not be Prime Minister on day one. They will not be Prime Minister until 2028 at the earliest, likely 2029. A Labour government facing defeat would hold out till the bitter end. It will also be a while before the public is again listening to our policy ideas. So now is the time to tackle head-on the issues in our party structure, as Patel will do so we can be ready for government when the time comes.
An elected Party Chairman will give members real power over the structure and direction of our party machine. No more appointments of a friend who will tell a leader what they want to hear, but a strong champion of members able to speak truth to power at the highest levels of our party with a mandate to do so.
If members are to feel inspired, they must have a structure that ensures they have a say. My local Association recently decided to wind up a couple of badly attended branch committees and instead have a regular policy discussion night.
The result? A large turnout for a chance to debate the future direction of Torbay and the UK, rather than three people discussing the minutes of the last meeting. The same should happen at our Party Conference, which feels too much like a dull session for corporate lobbyists rather than the vibrant place of policy debate that Patel envisages.
Future candidates must be able to embed themselves in local areas and be supported to build teams around them. Patel believes this means members are able to choose their candidate, with CCHQ’s role being solely to vet and support the development of those on the list. Strong candidates are recruiting sergeants for our movement, providing a standard to rally around at a local level when the campaign work is hard and our opponents appear strong.
Associations must be better supported to build up their membership and campaign teams. Before Britain next heads to the polls, the Conservative Party needs to be professionalised as we approach crucial county council elections in 2025. Time is of the essence, but Patel has demonstrated she is prepared to work rapidly to get the Conservative Party match fit for the next election.
If you are an Association Chairman, you need to be thanked. It can be a role that causes many to question why they ever agreed to do it. Few seats now have a full-time agent or secretary, so often the Chairman ends up doing the work once they finish at work. We need to change this and ensure CCHQ is ensuring the grassroots are developed and growing.
Rebuilding a mass membership movement is not going to be easy, but it is possible. It will require leadership from the front. A leader determined to smash through any barriers put in her way to ensure members have their voice heard and our country has a Conservative Party it can again trust to deliver.
Having held virtually every role in the party from activist to Cabinet minister, Patel is the one to take our Conservative movement forward and drive the required change.
Party members want and deserve a leader who champions their values and beliefs. A leader who understands they are the bedrock of our movement, not just a source of raffle ticket sales. They will get that with Priti Patel as their next Party Leader.
Kevin Foster was the MP for Torbay between 2015 and 2024
Our party faces a critical moment in its long history.
We are down to 121 seats. The last two years have seen thousands of local council seats lost. There are less than 50 seats between us and third-party status. Now is the time not for evolution, but for revolutionary change in how our party works. This is why I am backing Priti Patel’s hundred-day plan for reforming the Conservative Party.
Since joining in 1995, I have gone from being the new young conservative who helps deliver leaflets, to a Council Group Leader harrying a Labour council in the media, then an MP and Government Minister helping deliver our agenda nationally and then an experienced activist asked to mentor new candidates. In all these roles, being on the doorstep selling authentic conservative principles is my favourite part of the job.
The recent election campaign confirmed some hard truths about our party structure. After years of infighting at Westminster, plus a sense they were not just being ignored in the choice of leader, but often in selecting their candidate, a reduced number of members did not feel inspired to put the hard yards in on the doorsteps.
The failure to select candidates in many seats before the election was called and the attempts to impose favoured individuals at the last minute. It encapsulated to many a patronising Westminster-based view of members being people only of use to deliver leaflets, buy a raffle ticket or donate a few quid following an email from CCHQ. Yet these are the very people who form the bedrock of our movement, every day working to deliver core conservative values across the UK.
This leadership election is different to the last four. Our new leader will not be Prime Minister on day one. They will not be Prime Minister until 2028 at the earliest, likely 2029. A Labour government facing defeat would hold out till the bitter end. It will also be a while before the public is again listening to our policy ideas. So now is the time to tackle head-on the issues in our party structure, as Patel will do so we can be ready for government when the time comes.
An elected Party Chairman will give members real power over the structure and direction of our party machine. No more appointments of a friend who will tell a leader what they want to hear, but a strong champion of members able to speak truth to power at the highest levels of our party with a mandate to do so.
If members are to feel inspired, they must have a structure that ensures they have a say. My local Association recently decided to wind up a couple of badly attended branch committees and instead have a regular policy discussion night.
The result? A large turnout for a chance to debate the future direction of Torbay and the UK, rather than three people discussing the minutes of the last meeting. The same should happen at our Party Conference, which feels too much like a dull session for corporate lobbyists rather than the vibrant place of policy debate that Patel envisages.
Future candidates must be able to embed themselves in local areas and be supported to build teams around them. Patel believes this means members are able to choose their candidate, with CCHQ’s role being solely to vet and support the development of those on the list. Strong candidates are recruiting sergeants for our movement, providing a standard to rally around at a local level when the campaign work is hard and our opponents appear strong.
Associations must be better supported to build up their membership and campaign teams. Before Britain next heads to the polls, the Conservative Party needs to be professionalised as we approach crucial county council elections in 2025. Time is of the essence, but Patel has demonstrated she is prepared to work rapidly to get the Conservative Party match fit for the next election.
If you are an Association Chairman, you need to be thanked. It can be a role that causes many to question why they ever agreed to do it. Few seats now have a full-time agent or secretary, so often the Chairman ends up doing the work once they finish at work. We need to change this and ensure CCHQ is ensuring the grassroots are developed and growing.
Rebuilding a mass membership movement is not going to be easy, but it is possible. It will require leadership from the front. A leader determined to smash through any barriers put in her way to ensure members have their voice heard and our country has a Conservative Party it can again trust to deliver.
Having held virtually every role in the party from activist to Cabinet minister, Patel is the one to take our Conservative movement forward and drive the required change.
Party members want and deserve a leader who champions their values and beliefs. A leader who understands they are the bedrock of our movement, not just a source of raffle ticket sales. They will get that with Priti Patel as their next Party Leader.