Trust has broken down at Tory grass roots

Disillusioned activists want a principled and pro-brexit leader, and robust changes to how the party is run

Ijoined the Tory party seven years ago because, as the daughter of a builder and a stay-at-home mum with conservative views, I didn’t feel that people like me were represented in politics. Within weeks I was hooked. I loved talking to voters, and the sense of camaraderie among activists in my constituency, Corby, is strong. Campaigning to leave the EU was a high point; unlike those who exist within the Westminster bubble, we were confident we would win, as we understood the people’s enthusiasm for regaining sovereignty from Brussels.

How times have changed. Conservative Party members feel utterly disillusioned. They have lost all trust in the Prime Minister, and fear

she may now risk splitting the Tories by opting to soften her Brexit deal in order to pass it with Labour votes. They are also bitterly disappointed in Brexiteers who last week switched to backing her Withdrawal Agreement, after previously lambasting it as “vassalage”.

We activists are already detecting the early signs of a voter backlash. For the first time since June 2017, it now feels like support for the Conservatives is draining away. “I am never voting again” and “I am never voting Conservative again” are becoming depressingly commonplace phrases on the doorstep. Passing a softened version of the Withdrawal Agreement to “get it over the line” certainly wouldn’t make our job easier either; most Tory activists I know would not feel comfortable trying to sell to voters something that fundamentally is not Brexit.

We at the grass roots feel completely ignored, and believe that the party needs to consider sensible but serious reforms. Talk of this nature makes some MPS anxious. Many warn of the perils of a “purple Momentum” movement – the Right-wing equivalent to the revolt that swept Jeremy Corbyn to power. They claim that if Conservative members are given too much power to choose the leader, or their MPS, then the Conservatives, like Labour, could become unelectable. Some Remainer politicians have also criticised local organisations for moving to deselect them, talking of “witch-hunts” and “orchestrated campaigns”.

This reveals their poor understanding of the grass roots. Local parties are pursuing deselections in an orderly fashion. Dominic Grieve, for example, may criticise his Beaconsfield party, after last week losing a vote of no confidence brought by them. But he has systematically sought to block the honouring of the referendum, despite standing on a manifesto in 2017 that backed Brexit, and voting to trigger Article 50. It is not unreasonable for local members to challenge him on this basis.

Most Tory members also want to tweak, not tear down, the current party structures. For example, many of us would like to curtail the ability of the central party to parachute parliamentary candidates into constituencies, especially when their views don’t reflect those of locals.

Most Tory volunteers I know also recognise that a radical overhaul of our leadership election rules, such as allowing members a vote to decide on the shortlist, would be chaos. As Mr Corbyn proves, foisting an unpopular leader on MPS can lead to serious problems. Much better for the rules to be slightly altered so there is a minimum of three or four, rather than two names to choose from; that way it would be much more difficult for politicians to fix the shortlist to their pleasing, and block MPS who are popular with the membership.

Such a reform would, perhaps, have prevented the unedifying spectacle that unfolded last week: high-profile Brexiteers moved towards reluctantly backing a Withdrawal Agreement they hate, perhaps partly to curry favour with their colleagues, who will soon be whittling down the options for Theresa May’s replacement.

Still, members like me will choose the next leader from the MPS’ shortlist, ultimately having the final say. This means that “trust” will be at the heart of any leadership campaign: Mrs May’s successor will be someone whom the members like and can put their faith in, based on their commitment to Brexit and their past track record. Ambitious politicians would do well to remember that in coming weeks.