This is why you need to join the Tory party

A few weeks ago, on a rainy Saturday evening in Mid Sussex, behind the closed doors of a community hall, 300 people were in the process of making a very important decision. The Mid Sussex Conservative Association was having its Parliamentary selection meeting.

The outgoing MP, Sir Nicholas Soames, had held the seat for 22 years and his replacement was the subject under discussion. Over thirty Conservative MPs are standing down at this election, meaning that similar selections have been taking place across the country. Everywhere, Conservative associations are scrambling to adopt their new candidate. But what sort of person should a new Tory MP be?

Despite being a member of this association for some years, this was my first event. It was something of an eye-opener. I took a seat at the back of the room and in front of me was a sea of grey-haired, white, middle class, over-60s, mostly men. There was little more than a scattering of women. You don’t realise how true the Conservative Party stereotype is until it is sitting there in front of you.

A survey of the demographics of Tory grassroots by Tim Bale, of Queen Mary University of London, showed that the average age of a Conservative Party member is 57. Four in ten Tories are over 65. The number in Mid Sussex is higher still.

Proceedings began and the three candidates made their pitches. Applause broke out at promises to “get Brexit done”, even in this supposedly Remain-voting seat. Asked what taxes they would cut, one candidate offered up the International Aid budget, to murmurs of agreement from around the room.

Immigration caps, curbs on house building, blocking the expansion of Gatwick all met with approval from the crowd. There was very little mention of access to childcare, support for teachers, climate change, or problems with mental healthcare provision.

Eventually Mims Davies, a resident, activist and former local councillor was selected. The votes she won will have likely given her a seat for as long as she care to stay in it — barring complete election disaster. And in that moment I was struck by just how much power rests in the hands of these Party members, all for the price of £25 a year. And they don’t only select MPs — it wasn’t long ago that they also chose the country’s prime minister.

The Conservative MPs that form the next Parliament will have signed up to back Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal. They will be overwhelmingly pro-Brexit and their views and voices will shift the party further away from its pro-European past. Those MPs reflect the views of the associations that select them; and when their views no longer align, they will face the threat of deselection.

Brexit has divided the country and mobilised huge protest movements — People’s Vote and Extinction Rebellion have over one million supporter’s on Facebook.

In contrast, the Conservative’s current membership is 180,000. If a fraction of those protestors were to pay £25 and join the Conservatives (it’s only £5 for those under 23), imagine what a different outlook the Party would now be facing. Would Boris Johnson be in power? Would the prospective MPs for Mid Sussex still be pitching their speeches at the 65-plus target market? Or would we see more progressive policies emerge?

Forget traipsing round London with a placard — sign up to a political party to get access to the votes that really do make a difference. Policy, it seems, really is made from the ground up.

When frustrated Millennials eventually outnumber the Boomers, very different meetings will take place behind the closed doors of those community rooms. But only if the Party works out how to entice those people in; I suspect the first step will be to make that room a virtual one. The Conservative Party of the future must find its own figure to inspire the next generation.