Pickles calls for Tory manifesto committee

THE Conservative Party should set up a manifesto committee and ensure every Cabinet minister fully supports its policies to avoid a repeat of the disastrous snap election, a review says.

It follows criticism from senior Tory figures about the party’s election policies, which were deemed a failure with the electorate after the party lost seats.

Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee, said the party must do more to attract new members and that MPS and ministers should have more of a say. He said: “For too many years it sometimes felt like the Conservative Party didn’t much like having members and that members were a little bit of an inconvenience. We’ve got to move on from that.”

His comments followed a review conducted by Sir Eric Pickles into the way the Tories ran this year’s election.

One of the central recommendations is for a new manifesto committee that would ensure all policies have the full support of the cabinet.

Sir Eric found that the election revealed “a clear campaigning deficiency” in the party and the need for “a fundamental re-evaluation” of the way it runs campaigns.

He called for changes to attract more young people and members of ethnic minorities to the party which should set up a “vibrant youth wing” and focus on building a strong base of support.