Conservatives look to cull local parties

I’ve written quite a lot about the current Liberal Democrat governance review, so interesting to see by contrast the ideas the Conservative Party is toying with:

David Cameron is planning to cull hundreds of Tory associations and strip local chairmen of their powers under controversial plans to rein in the Conservative grassroots.

The Daily Telegraph can disclose that up to 90 per cent of the country’s 650 Conservative associations could be axed…

Under the new plans, Tory associations could be merged into between 60 and 70 “multi-constituency associations” based loosely on county areas.

These new “super-associations” will employ permanent party staff, downgrading the role of association chairmen – the traditional lifeblood of the party.

The party’s membership lists will be run centrally from Conservative Central Office, further cutting out the traditional role of the chairmen and allowing the leadership to communicate directly with members.