The Conservative Party relies on the goodwill and enthusiasm of its members and volunteers in every activity it undertakes, with members leading the direction of the local party. The local party is split into several different levels:
Members
Local residents who pay £25 a year to join the Party through their local Association. Anyone under the age of 26 can join the Party for £5 and automatically becomes a member of the Young Conservatives.
People join for a variety of reasons from wanting to see a Conservative Government or council or supporting an individual candidate to someone who wants a social life through the many fundraising events or is passionate about creating and discussing policy. Members of the Conservative Party are entitled to vote in the selection of Conservative candidates for local elections, parliamentary elections and the leader of the Conservative Party. To find out more and to join click here.
Branches
Members in local area, such as a town, village or council ward, get together a form a branch. The branches organise a range of activities from fundraising events to campaigning, delivering leaflets and canvassing. The branch committee take on similar roles as the executive committee. Crucially the branch organises the selection of local government candidates for their area.
Association Executive
The Association Executive meets quarterly to decide which way the local association should go in fundraising and campaigning matters and is made up of nominated members from each branch and councillors. At the AGM the membership appoints a Management Committee to create a plan of how the association should move forward, which reports to the Executive who approve the new plan.
Conservative Women’s Organisation (CWO)
The CWO is a network that provides support for women, in all communities, to be politically active and to get elected at all levels of government, and to campaign locally, nationally and internationally on the issues that concern women. To find out more, go to the CWO website.
Young Conservatives
Young Conservatives (YC) is the largest political organisation for young people in the UK with over 15,000 members. Anyone who joins the Conservative Party under 26 automatically becomes a member of YC.
The YC work to ensure that young people get involved in politics and have a say on the issues that matter to them, as well as organising social events for younger people.
Membership costs just £5, if you’re under 26, or £25 if you’re older. As a YC member you have all the same rights as any other member. To see a full list of these rights click here.