Thousands of Conservative members help organise and campaign for the Party on a voluntary basis. They run their local Associations and collectively give tens of thousands of hours of their time every year to help the Party. They campaign all year round, delivering leaflets, surveying and contacting voters in their local area. Our volunteers are also the people who raise the money to run the Party across the country, through membership subscriptions and holding local and national events. Discussion groups around political topics are also organised across the country and there are numerous specialist groups and committees based around community and other interests.
Each local Association corresponds to a single or group of parliamentary constituencies. While Associations vary in size, they all follow a similar structure. Officers of the Association are elected annually by local members to positions that include President, Chairman, and two Deputy Chairmen – a Deputy Chairman Membership & Finance and a Deputy Chairman Political. Most also have officers with specific responsibilities and an Executive Council, which draws representatives from the Wards and committees that cover their boundaries.
For organisational purposes, the country is broken up into Regions, with each Region containing a number of Areas. Both Regions and Areas also have a similar officer structure to constituencies – namely Regional and Area Chairman, and Deputy Chairmen for Membership & Financial and Political matters.
The National Convention is effectively the parliament of the Voluntary Party. It is comprised of all Association Chairmen, officers from the Areas and Regions as well as representatives from the Conservative Women’s Organisation. The Convention meets at least twice a year – usually during Spring Forum, with another gathering at Party Conference.
The most senior volunteers within the Conservative Party are the Officers of the National Convention; led by the Chairman, they represent the views of the Voluntary Party to the leadership of the Party. The Chairman of the Convention is also a Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Conservative Party. The President is the Chairman of the Party Conference and there are also three Vice Presidents. All five officers are elected annually and also sit on the main Board of the Party.
The Board is the ultimate decision-making body of the Conservative Party. It is responsible for all operational matters including fundraising, membership and candidates. It is made up of representatives from each section of the Party – voluntary, political and professional.
