They’re right to ask the question. If the answer comes back that May’s plan is harming the Tory campaign machine and electoral prospects, what will they do?
One senior official put it to me starkly: “We should ask a question of the team – are you ready to fight another election in two years? If the answer is yes, then it’s a lie.”
Sir Mick Davis and David Brownlow will be charged with a review to “further improve” CCHQ and the Conservative campaign machine.
There must be more long-term focus if the Party is to win the 40 per cent or so of the vote in 2020 that it should be aiming for.
Support Groups. Policy Development. Backbench Committees. Lord Feldman’s Review. Campaigning. There’s plenty for them to do.
Priti Patel, Alok Sharma, Shailesh Vara – all have played a part in the big push among Indian-origin voters. It needs more money and support.
Number 10, Matthew Hancock, the Whips, Ministers themselves: all must ensure that Sir Humphrey’s grip is loosened.
There is a body to protect the Party’s long-term finances. We need one to protect its long-term electability.
To ensure our party is built to last, it must have a mass membership base.
In this mini-series, Mark Wallace and I will revisit three themes for reform that ConservativeHome has campaigned on before.
This by-election was ultimately won by the brute force of a massive activist turnout. It was a vivid demonstration of the importance of a party’s grassroots.
People don’t talk about Eastleigh much – but it should loom large in our minds.
Just as selections become more local, the by-election machine places more demands on candidates nationally.
After a recent trial, CCHQ are using a new tactic imported from the US.
It is expected to plan for the long-term as well as the short. It isn’t doing this – so change is needed.