ConservativeHome can reveal a letter signed by 32 senior activists, including the chairmen of key marginals and target seats across the country.
Plus: should the Prime Minister resign? Who should succeed her? And which of the possible Brexit end states do our panel prefer?
The legacy of past disorganisation in our Party’s machine even affects those at the top.
A national membership system is a good start, but it must be accompanied by pro-active engagement from local associations.
Plus: Should the Prime Minister resign? If so, when? What will the result of the next election be? How are Cabinet ministers performing?
A focused and accountable drive to build the grassroots is required. It can be done, but it requires difficult questions and honest answers.
The Party’s main problem isn’t having too many applicant members – it’s having too few present ones.
We gather the turnout – particularly among young Tories – is set to rise, and there will be more opportunities for members to speak from the stage.
It might even make things worse to spend Party funds to simply repeat the same messages, so long after the summit.
We know more today than we did yesterday – and we aim to know still more tomorrow.
Momentum’s leaders taught supporters to reject any criticism, and encouraged a siege mentality. Now they are under attack by their own grassroots.
Also: candidate applications are set to open in Peterborough, in preparation for a possible forthcoming by-election.
Conservative Association Chairmen reveal what happened in yesterday’s conversations with the Prime Minister, her Chief of Staff, and the Party Chairman.
Having begun with an apparent assumption that Conservative members would simply swallow what they were given, May’s team is now forced to make up lost ground.
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?