Our campaign has already got off to a flying start in the by-election caused by Owen Paterson’s disgrace.
The local party had already made impressive progress in this May’s local elections. They secured a clear second place and created many marginal Conservative-Liberal Democrat wards.
Now we have a brilliant opportunity to turbo-charge that growth in our support and to see just how angry voters are about sleaze and sewage. Ed Davey is already on his third visit there.
Whether it’s by helping in person, on the phones or with your wallet, please do help too. You can donate online or sign up to volunteer. Thank you!
Thank you also to Simone Reynolds and Simon Drage, respectively our candidate and agent for the Old Bexley and Sidcup by-election. More details here.
Have your say in how the party is run
There are two musts for how our party is run. It must be run in a way that is true to our values, and it must be run in a way that helps us work together to be successful.
Sadly, our 2019 General Election Review (the Thornhill Review) found major flaws in how the party operated. That cost us votes and seats.
Since its publication, the Federal Party has been making many changes in response, as I’ve covered in previous reports. But there is still important work to do.
One of the Review’s key findings was about the Federal Board itself:
There is no clear ‘leadership team’ where the three pillars of the party – political, operational, federal – can make cohesive decisions, simply, quickly, and effectively. The Federal Board – 40+ members – is not, cannot, and should not be that team.
So the Board is consulting on options for Board reform, and will put one or more to Spring Conference for members to make a decision.
As part of this we are running a consultation survey. Please do give your views via the consultation survey here.