Conservative Party leadership candidate, Tom Tugendhat MP has today launched a survey to empower Conservative Party members to provide direct feedback on what members think is required to overhaul Conservative Party Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) in Westminster, and wider Party structures, to ensure they are fit for purpose.
The survey is the first step in Tugendhat outlining his plan for overhauling the Conservative Party and the need for the Party to refocus on its members, activists and associations. He argues that only once that has been achieved will the Party be able to return to a successful operating model; one that acknowledges that members are the bedrock of the Party, without whom we cannot win any of the elections over the next five years.
Recognising that the Party hasn’t been listening to its members, has failed to deliver on their priorities and let them down, the survey will ask members for their views on how we can rebuild an effective campaigning operation at every level of our party. This will include questions on candidate selection, the Party’s training offers, the role of the Voluntary Party and elected officials, campaigning on the ground, associations’ powers and the internal structures of CCHQ.
Tugendhat has made it clear that the Conservatives lost hundreds of seats during the most recent general election because the Party was too focused on factionalism and infighting, rather than delivering on its promises. That is why this leadership election is about choice. A choice to turn the page, unite the Party and make sure it is ready to fight, and win, not only the next general election, but every other election in the meantime – including locals and those being held in Scotland and Wales in 2026. Or whether we stay with more of the same infighting and broken promises that will inevitably lead to the same defeat.
In recent weeks, he has been speaking to members from across the UK, including – but not limited to – those in Wales, Scotland, East Anglia, the Midlands and the Lake District. During these visits he has apologised to members who feel ignored and has promised to put them back at the heart of the Party, with their voices not only being heard, but protected.
Similarly, he has also argued that for too long the Party’s national infrastructure has been hollowed out, with more and more power moving to Westminster away from the members. He has said the Party needs a deeper relationship and understanding of its members, which goes beyond just sending emails asking for money. This means empowering members through associations on the ground, rather than imposing decisions from Westminster.
Launching the survey, Shadow Security Minister, Tom Tugendhat said:
“The Conservative Party is the most successful electoral party in history for a reason. Our success is down to our hardworking, dedicated members and activists who give up weekends and evenings, walk hundreds of miles canvassing and work tirelessly to champion conservative values on the doorstep.
“These are the people the Party in Westminster let down. We chose to fight each other rather than taking the fight to Labour. Despite how integral they are to our Party, we took them for granted, continuously dismissed their voices and made them feel forgotten.
Local associations were hollowed out and overpowered by an out-of-touch CCHQ whose main interaction with members was an email asking for money.
“This has to stop. We need to draw a line under the past and focus on the type of change that will put a Conservative government back into power in five years’ time and ensure we are able to deliver for the whole of the UK.
“This is why I’m launching a new survey. I want to hear from our members about what changes need to happen to turn our Party into an election winning machine. I’ll listen to what they tell me. I’ll publish the results – and then I’ll release my plan for true reform at CCHQ. Then, if elected leader, I will bring the change to CCHQ that it so desperately needs.”
