The official rules for Conservative Associations’ selections of candidates has been published online containing “woke” elements.
The guidance states: “The Sifting Committee must comprise a minimum of one woman and one young person under the age of 30. The additional association members of the committee should reflect the different interests of the constituency, i.e. should have a balance of gender, age and ethnicity.”
This inclusion of diversity quotas, in official party guidance, comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has sought to separate himself from “woke” stances.
In his original leadership bid, which saw him come up short against Liz Truss just over a year ago, he spoke out against what he termed, “woke nonsense.”
Reacting to The Epoch Times over text, director of The Bruges Group, Robert Oulds commented: “I would actually like to see quotas in the Conservative Party for conservatives. I think it’s time that actual conservatives were recognised within the party.
“I don’t feel it’s [the Conservative Party] representing the country either. It’s certainly not reflecting the views that have given the conservatives their only majorities in living memory.”
Also included in the leak were rules allowing for MPs on the “displaced candidates” to go through to a final stage of selection for any seat in their region.
All “displaced MPs” are given an automatic right to go through to an interview stage at any seat. Those who fail to find a seat in time still have a chance to attain a position, by jumping the queue onto a last-minute selection short-list.
This favouritism towards existing party loyalists may be perceived by some to be a form of gatekeeping by the Conservative Party HQ, including a group intent on reforming the Tory Party selection process, the Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO).
This comes days after former MEP and chairman of CDO, David Campbell Bannerman, issued a warning to the Conservative Party after it blocked him from standing as an “approved candidate” in the general election next year.
Mr. Bannerman told the Express on July 28 that he had been approved by Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) as a “star candidate” and was given a “comprehensive pass” that normally would allow him to apply to stand as a candidate in any constituency.
His comprehensive pass also included a “deferral,” which to all intents and purposes means he is blocked from standing.
Speaking to The Epoch Times over text, Mr. Bannerman said, “I do hope we can come to a reasonable solution over this. The grounds for the strange category of ‘Comprehensive-Deferred’ seem to be unconstitutional and more about Number 10 politics than the best interests of the Conservative Party.”
On the ramifications of potential legal action, in his statement to the Express, Mr. Bannerman said that taking legal steps could, “injunct the entire candidate selection process until the matter is resolved, which would be very interesting and wouldn’t endear me. But legally, that is an option.”
When questioned further on this by The Epoch Times, he stated: “I reserve my legal rights, where I am advised I have a strong case, but await more news. I hope we can resolve this quickly and amicably."
The CDO, founded by Baron Cruddas, stands to reform the Conservative Party constitution and voting mechanisms, in an attempt to try and decentralise the decision making process.
In a statement released via its official Twitter page, the CDO posted a photo of a formal letter to Dougie Smith, a senior advisor to CCHQ, writing, “We’ve written to CCHQ’s Dougie Smith today to invite him to speak to #CDO on what he thinks is the right criteria for a Conservative Party Candidate.”
The letter contains an open invite to address CDO members on this topic, all of whom it claims take a “keen interest” in the process of candidate selection.
With this latest news coming at a time of focus on the prime minister, this latest friction between Mr. Bannerman and the Conservative Party may be exactly the kind of tension that the CDO is poised to highlight.
Mr. Bannerman cited one of the primary concerns of CCHQ’s due diligence team as being his social media presence, reporting that they had asked him to “be nicer about Rishi Sunak.”
The Epoch Times understands that Mr. Bannerman is waiting for further communication from the Conservative Party before coming to any decision.
The Conservative Party did not respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.
