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Preeti Patel today promised to “democratise” the Conservatives if she replaces Rishi Sunak as party leader.
The former home secretary has outlined her plans to hand more power back to the Conservative grassroots if she wins the leadership race over her five rivals.
He pledges to allow Conservative members to elect the party’s chairman, as well as to stop “parachuting” parliamentary candidates into safe seats.
Dame Preeti has close ties to the Conservative Democrats, which were formed to reform party rules after Boris Johnson was ousted.
The group wants a series of reforms that would allow conservative members to “take back control” by increasing their voice in issues such as policy and candidate selection.
Preeti Patel today promised to “democratise” the Conservatives if she replaces Rishi Sunak as party leader.
Dame Preeti is vying for the Conservative crown against her former ministers Kemi Badenoch (top left), James Cleverley (bottom left), Robert Jenrick (top centre), Mel Stride (top right) and Tom Tugendhat (bottom centre).
Dame Preeti is competing for the Conservative crown against her former ministers Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverley, Robert Jenrick, Mel Stride and Tom Tugendhat.
In an article for conservative home On the website, he criticised recent actions by “remote” party bosses.
Dame Preeti wrote: ‘Our members feel disillusioned and alienated from CCHQ, which has become a centralised organisation alienated from members.
‘Despite all the hours and effort our members put in, they have no voice, no appreciation for what they do and in some quarters they have even been denied the right to elect their parliamentary candidates.
“Meanwhile, national teams adopt a disconnected, one-size-fits-all approach, rather than a lively personal commitment to local needs.”
How will the Conservative leadership contest work?
September 2nd – MPs return to Westminster after Parliament’s summer recess
September 4th – A vote by Conservative MPs will reduce the number of leadership candidates from six to four
September 29th to October 2nd – Four rivals will try to attract party members to the Conservative conference in Birmingham
October 9th and 10th – A further vote among Conservative MPs will see the final four contestants become the final couple.
October 31st – Online voting for Conservative Party members will end.
November 2nd – The winning candidate from the membership vote will be announced and announced as the next Conservative leader.
Ahead of the general election, former party chairman Richard Holden, an ally of Sunak, was embroiled in furore over his selection for a key Conservative constituency.
He was previously MP for North West Durham and once claimed to be a “bloody North East loyalist”.
But Holden was at the centre of infighting within the Tory ranks after being “parachuted” into the Essex seats of Basildon and Billerey.
He subsequently contested the July 4 general election as a Conservative candidate in a constituency some 300 miles from his former seat.
Dame Preeti promised a “100-day plan and reform package for CCHQ” if elected leader.
He added: “I have been listening to our members for many years and I have always believed that there is a democratic deficit in our party.”
‘I will address this with a package of reforms, including a party chairman elected by the members.
‘They will be accountable to our members and work with the party board, cross-party representatives and our parliamentary team to restructure CCHQ, as well as being a voice for the grassroots at the top table when key decisions are made.
“Under my leadership, we will reform the system for selecting parliamentary candidates.
“The role of the central party will be different. I will end up with top-down lists imposed on associations from which candidates are selected and candidates are parachuted in.
“To instill confidence in rank-and-file workers, we must trust them to decide who will represent them.”
In a social media post promoting her plans to “fix” the party, Dame Preeti said CCHQ had “good, hard-working people” but described it as a “broken organisation”.
He added: “To hold Labour to account, it must once again become an effective political machine and a resource for local associations.”
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