Daily Junction.mobi portalConservative membership has fluctuated significantly:
For comparison, the Labour Party has around 370,000 members (as of 2024), making it the largest party by membership in the UK.
The two-stage process has faced significant criticism:
Critics argue that giving members the final say allows them to choose ideologically pure candidates who lack broad appeal. Liz Truss is the prime example: she won the member vote with a hard-right platform (tax cuts, small state) but lasted only 49 days as PM before economic chaos forced her resignation.
The 6-8 week member vote period creates a leadership vacuum when the party is in government. During the July 2022 contest, Boris Johnson remained PM but was a lame duck, unable to make major decisions while Truss and Sunak campaigned.
The overwhelmingly white, older, southern, and right-wing membership is not representative of Conservative voters, let alone the country. This can lead to choices that alienate swing voters and minority communities.
To win member votes, candidates make pledges (especially on tax cuts) that are economically unviable or politically toxic. Liz Truss's unfunded tax cut promises won her the leadership but crashed the economy within weeks.
The 1922 Committee can change the rules between contests, creating uncertainty. The October 2022 rule changes (100-MP threshold, 1-week deadline) were seen as rigged to favour Sunak and prevent a Johnson comeback.
Labour uses a one-member-one-vote (OMOV) system where MPs, members, and affiliated trade union members all vote equally in a single ballot (with candidates needing 10% of MPs to nominate them). This gives members more power than the Conservative system but requires broader coalition-building.
The Liberal Democrats use a pure member vote—all members vote directly, with no MP filter. Candidates need nominations from 10% of local parties and 20 MPs/peers. This is the most democratic system but can produce surprise results (e.g., Tim Farron's 2015 win).
The SNP uses a member vote with candidates needing nominations from 100 members across 20 branches. The system is similar to the Lib Dems but with higher nomination thresholds.
Various reforms have been proposed to address the system's flaws:
Some argue that MPs should choose the leader alone, as they work with the leader daily and understand electability. This would speed up contests and reduce the risk of members choosing unelectable candidates. However, it would anger members who value their vote.
A hybrid system where MPs' votes count for 50% and members' votes count for 50% would balance parliamentary and grassroots opinion. This is used in some European parties but has not been seriously proposed for the Conservatives.
Requiring candidates to secure 33% or 50% of MP nominations would ensure the final two have broad parliamentary support, reducing the risk of members choosing a candidate most MPs oppose. The October 2022 contest used a 100-MP threshold (28% of MPs) for this reason.
Reducing the member vote from 6-8 weeks to 2-4 weeks would reduce instability while still giving members a say. Online voting (introduced in 2022) makes this more feasible.
Some propose an electoral college where MPs, members, and registered Conservative voters all have a say, similar to the pre-2015 Labour system. This would broaden the electorate but add complexity.
Conservative leadership elections use a two-stage process: MPs narrow the field to two candidates through elimination ballots, then party members choose the winner. The 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs sets the rules and timetable for each contest. Leadership elections can be triggered by a vote of no confidence (15% of MPs requesting one, 50%+1 voting against the leader) or by the leader resigning.
Recent contests have been accelerated or uncontested: Theresa May (2016 coronation), Boris Johnson (2019 landslide), Liz Truss (2022 member vote), and Rishi Sunak (2022 coronation). The process has been criticised for giving too much power to party members (around 170,000 people) who are older, whiter, and more right-wing than the general electorate, and for allowing members to choose leaders who lack broad parliamentary support—as seen with Liz Truss's 49-day premiership.
The system reflects an ongoing tension in the Conservative Party between parliamentary democracy (MPs choosing the leader) and grassroots democracy (members having a say). Future reforms may shift the balance, but any change will require navigating the competing interests of MPs, members, and the broader electorate.