I attended my first full meeting as an elected member of the Board of the Conservative Party Board on Monday.
My first reaction to attendance at the Board is that this is a large group that reflects a wide perspective of opinion in the Party. The Board includes MPs through the chairman of the 1922 Committee, councillors, Peers, MEPs, the Party Treasurers, and currently three additional MPs who do not have voting rights.
Five members of the Board are elected by Party members, the chairman of the Convention Don Porter, the Convention president Simon Mort, and the three vice-presidents: Jeremy Middleton, Emma Pidding and me.
The Board is chaired by Francis Maude.
A range of critical issues were discussed at the April Board meeting. A more detailed report will be sent to members of the National Convention by its chairman, Don Porter in due course.
1. Selection of candidates for the European Parliament
Caroline Abel-Smith is the chairman of the National European Forum. This is a group made up of, essentially, all the Regional Chairmen of the Conservative Party. Caroline is a long serving party member, a distinguished former president of the Party’s National Convention and is widely respected as an experienced and safe pair of hands.
Caroline presented to the Board the paper of that had been agreed by the NEF and that we had seen for the first time just three days before the Board meeting. All Board members had been subject to considerable lobbying over the previous weekend from people both inside the Party and, extraordinarily, from people who are not even members of the Party! Our e-mail addresses had been published on a variety of website and we were firmly lobbied. That is politics. Along with all my colleagues on the Board I had taken wide soundings of opinion from across the Party on this issue and had heard a range of views. A robust discussion took place around the Board table, the conclusion of which was the adoption of the NEP paper with some amendments.
The Board agreed the following statement:
“The Board of the Conservative Party has reached a decision in principle on the method for selection of candidates for the European Parliament for the 2009 election. Sitting MEPs who have been re-selected following a procedure similar to that laid down in the Party’s constitution for Westminster MPs will be placed in ranking order by party members in a postal ballot. Members will also be asked to place additional candidates in ranking order.
In the wholly exceptional circumstances that there will be no sitting MEPs who are women seeking re-election, and for this selection process only, the top position in each region below any reselected sitting MEPs will be occupied by the woman candidate who gets the most votes in the postal ballot.
Detailed arrangements will be developed in the coming weeks."
2. Membership
It is intended to run a membership campaign between June and October on a local and national level.
3. May 2007 Elections
The campaign continues to focus on the NHS which is both the Party’s and the public’s priority.
A particularly strong report was presented by Lyndon Jones on campaigning in Wales ahead of the Assembly elections.
4. Finance
A discussion was held relating to Sir Hayden Phillips’s report on Party Funding. Our position remains that we want a cap on all donations set at £50k per year that applies uniformly to donation whether made by individuals, corporations or trade unions. Our fundraising focuses on a level well below this.
5. Parliamentary Selections
Shireen Ritchie and John Maples reported that the fourth tranche of selections will take place during the summer. Also, following the Assembly elections, target seats in Wales will commence selection during the early summer.
6. Conservative Women’s Organisation
CWO represents all women members of the Conservative Party, and is currently chaired by Lady Fiona Hodgson. The Board approved a new constitution for CWO.
