Tory members seek change in leadership rules
ALLIES of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss are spearheading a campaign to change Conservative Party rules so a resigning leader can be voted back in by members.
The proposal is part of reforms being worked on by the Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO) to allow members to “take back control”. It is likely to increase tensions with the parliamentary party, with MPs calling the idea “absurd” and “preposterous”.
The party’s constitution states that “a leader resigning from the leadership of the party is not eligible for renomination in the consequent leadership election”.
When Mr Johnson resigned last summer, supporters started a “Bring Back Boris” petition to have his name added to the ballot.
Those behind the campaign later set up the CDO with a mission to overhaul the party to give the membership greater control.
One of the reforms being considered is to allow a resigning leader to automatically add their name to the leadership ballot, so long as they had previously been elected by members.
Supporters of Liz Truss are also flocking to the new group. Andrew Kennedy, her leadership campaign’s national field director, is working in the same role in the CDO. Mr Kennedy said: “My wing of the party are fed up having our election victories taken from us.
“The members elected Boris, the members elected
Liz, and they were removed under pressure by those who didn’t support them. The members aren’t the problem, the MPs are.”
The change is likely to be resisted by MPs. A member of the Government said that the idea was “utter b------s” and “preposterous”.
“If you’ve lost the confidence of the parliamentary party, you cannot continue to govern,” they said.
They claimed that the CDO was a front organisation for those who wanted Mr Johnson to be leader again –
something the group denies.
The MP said: “A whole organisation set up to deify one individual is quite an interesting democratic organisation, isn’t it?”
When the CDO has agreed its reforms, the group will likely try to push them through using a clause in the constitution that allows changes to be considered if 10,000 members sign a petition to the party chairman.
Nadhim Zahawi, the party chairman, held a meeting with those involved in the Bring Back Boris petition in November, in which he acknowledged that they had made the 10,000 threshold.
However, he said that it was considered invalid because it would have involved a retrospective change to party rules.