This article first appeared on Conservative Home (5 August 2024)
A month on, and the defeat at the General Election still hurts. It hurts to see what we said about Labour come true. It hurts that we were proved right.
But the time is coming to get on and rebuild. The next parliament will no doubt be hard for us as various factions make their argument but we need to come back together because there is a job to hold this Labour government to account. The country needs us as a strong opposition to challenge, to argue, to push back against Labour, which has yet to convince most of the country – even many who voted for them.
But a bigger job is to address the issues within our own Party, and get ready for the next election. A new leader needs a strong team to do that.
There are lots of reasons why we lost the General Election – and anyone who suggests it was just because of X or Y is kidding themselves. These have been explored on this site in the weeks since, and will doubtless continue to be – and that’s good.
The crux of my argument is that we lost, in part, because we were no longer ‘match fit’ to fight the campaigns we needed to. We lacked the financial clout, the campaigning heft, and the volunteering zeal to get our message out there – despite the valiant efforts of our voluntary party. At times it felt more like the Charge of the Light Brigade, than the battle of Rorke’s Drift.
Over the next few years, we need to focus on rebuilding our infrastructure. The structures currently in place simply don’t work, making us an ineffective unit for the daily grind of politics let alone the deeper fight against those diametrically opposed to us. We’re went armed with a blunderbuss whilst our opponents have precision-guided weapons. Even the Lib Dems, with their dodgy bar charts and dodgier stunts, came to the election better equipped. Much of this is a symptom of our culture, which has been allowed to dwindle into mundanity. So we need to reorganise from the bottom up, not the top down.
Much needs to change if we are to be fulfil our purpose, as a party of power. And I believe I have the experience and skills to help deliver the change we need to embrace. Here is how:
1. We need a fundamental, and comprehensive, review of the reasons for our defeat. It needs to take its time, and when it reports should include a clear action plan setting out what we will do as a result of its findings. It should be led by someone who can get underneath the skin of what went wrong – at every level.
2. The Party Board then needs to hold to account those responsible for delivery of the action plan, with clear targets and milestones against which to test progress. Targets and milestones, key performance indicators. Corporate structures, ensuring we build back better. On a commercial basis, for proven success rather than accept mediocrity.
3. As part of that, a whole-scale constitutional and governance review. That may sound dull, but it is the bedrock on which the Party is built. My background is in governance – so I know that getting governance right can pay dividends. It determines who has power to take what decisions, and where reference back is required. It stops conflicts of interest and misuses of power.
4. We must redraw the balance between the three wings of our Party (voluntary, professional, parliamentary). None exist without the others, but too often the tail has wagged the dog. Each has an important role – volunteers need to be supported, for example, in fulfilling legal obligations that we cannot avoid, but without volunteers the party is nothing.
5. We need to value our members, grow their number, significantly increase the proportion who are active in the Party – and focus their efforts effectively against what should be our only purpose: to elect as many Conservatives as possible to every level of government.
6. We need to embrace all the potential digital tools that are available to reach voters, identify our audience and bring them back to us. It’s telling that other parties utilised such technological approaches, such as digitally target ads outside of the Facebook ecosystem: we need to get wiser to it and integrate them into our comms and marketing plans.
That is why when the nominations open I’ll be putting my name forward for election to the Party Board as one of the Vice Presidents of the National Convention of the Party.
The National Convention is the representative body of every member of the Conservative Party, and members of the Convention (Association, Federation, Area and Regional Officers) elect five of its number to be Officers, and to sit on the Party Board.
Too many people speak about the importance of the voluntary party, and support it so long as we do what we’re told. They expect volunteers to turn up, week in and week out, in rain sleet and snow - but if they express a different view, or try to exercise their constitutional right to a voice then they’re sidelined.
I believe I’m ideally suited to meet this challenge, because I’ve done so many of the jobs that have shown me where the issues are and what solutions we can employ. I’ve been a volunteer at nearly every level of the party – an association officer and chairman, and area officer, and most recently a regional chairman. I’ve been a parliamentary candidate, led very successful local election and parliamentary campaigns, been an agent, and campaigned across the country - so I have firsthand experience.
In my professional life, I work daily with complex organisations – in education, health and the private sector. Advising on change, structure, and process – and turning round organisations where they are failing for one of these. The Conservative Party is one such organisation where change is needed to our fundamental building blocks.
The next few years are our opportunity. To do the groundwork, and to rebuild our foundations. If we are to make progress at the next General Election, how we start on that journey matters.
