Julian Ellacott is the new Chairman of the National Convention, and has served at all levels of the voluntary party over the past 25 years.
Today, I am pleased to launch the process for appointing the next Chairman of the Party’s Candidates Committee.
This is an important, albeit behind the scenes role, which oversees the process by which we approve and select our candidates. The holder of this role will play a major role in reviewing, updating and then operating the approval and selection process for our candidates for the next General Election (and not forgetting other elected roles too, such as Mayors and PCCs).
Although this role has been advertised at times in the past, my aim is that this will become the standard in future.
The changes to the Party Constitution in 2021 explicitly gave me, as Chairman of the National Convention, the right to nominate the holder of this role and as those who know me will attest, I am not one to promise jobs to people or make decisions in a smoke-filled room.
Therefore, rather than make my nomination in isolation I have decided to open this role for open application so that the full range of talent available within the Party is in play – a process which the Party Board supports.
As part of my election I pledged to do things differently, and this is one demonstration of this.
Open application followed by shortlisting and an interview is the right way to find the best person for this role, which requires an exceptional individual. They will need to understand the world of recruitment and people management, lead a team, manage a broad range of (mostly very vocal) stakeholders across the whole Conservative family, be able to commit significant time and energy to the role, have unimpeachable personal standards and strong credentials as a committed Conservative.
On top of this an open process will also strengthen the ultimate holder of the role – giving them a level of legitimacy which will help them act with confidence in making the difficult decisions required.
It will also not just be a case of “appoint and forget” – one of my requirements of the holder of the role will be to come to the National Convention at least once a year and be accountable to our Association, Area and Regional Chairmen for their actions, take on board their feedback and ensure that the Voluntary Party’s voice is at the heart of candidate selections.
They will also, of course, be accountable to the Party Board, Chairman and Leader.
This is not only my view – we know that all of the candidates who have stood for the leadership of the Party stated that candidate selection needs reform. Appointing a new Chairman of Candidates straight away will enable us to review and change the processes and then kick things off early enough to get candidates in place in good time for the next General Election – time is absolutely of the essence.
In terms of the logistics and timeline for the appointment:
- The role description can be found here
- Applications should be made by email to convention@conservatives.com, with the subject line “Candidates Committee”, and should include as attachments a 1 page covering letter and 2 page CV (as a single or separate attachments).
- The closing date for applications is Friday 15th November.
- Shortlisting, requests for further information, and due diligence checks will then be undertaken.
- Interviews will take place in late November.
- My nomination will be presented to the Party Board in early December for ratification.
I therefore welcome applications from any Party member of credible standing, who fulfils the requirements set out in the role description. All applications will be treated confidentially and will be assessed fairly.
By definition, most of those applying will be disappointed – in the past this would all have happened in the background and fewer egos would have been bruised. But the benefit of opening the selection out is worth it, and I don’t apologise for that.
An open process is one in which our members can have greater confidence, something that is currently lacking.
This is one step to rebuilding that confidence and putting in place the right candidates to win us the next General Election.
