Lord Cruddas, the president of a Conservative campaign group, has called on party donors to stop funding the party unless members are given a greater say in its operations. Speaking at a black-tie event of leading Eurosceptic activists and senior Tory MPs, Lord Cruddas stated that the Conservative Democratic Organisation, which he founded last year, should pressure the party to change and implement democratic reforms.
Former cabinet minister Priti Patel supported his call for the party to give members more power, stating that Conservative members “need to take back control” and suggesting that the party’s credibility to govern has been undermined. The Conservative Party has yet to comment on these statements.
The CDO is backing demands for more membership control over the selection of parliamentary and leadership candidates. Unlike Labour and the Liberal Democrats, Conservative members have a limited democratic role in the party’s internal processes. The group believes that the Conservative Party has dismantled the powers of its members in favor of centralized control.
Lord Cruddas has previously donated millions to the Conservative Party. His call for donors to withhold funding could be a significant blow to the Tories. Other influential figures on the right of British politics, including Nadine Dorries and Jacob Rees-Mogg, have also backed the CDO’s call for democratic reforms.
The presence of the CDO at the Conservative Party conference is just one of several headaches for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, with his party hit by divisions over tax, the HS2 rail line, and net zero, which could impact the party’s chances in the upcoming general election
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More