Julian Ellacott: The most certain way to rebuild from last Thursday’s defeat is from the grassroots upwards

Julian Ellacott, Michael Winstanley, Fleur Butler, John Belsey and Stewart Harper are the five activists elected to the Party Board by the members of the Party’s National Convention.

These election results hurt.

We can’t sugarcoat that and we always knew this was going to be a difficult round of elections, not only having to defend our high point in 2021 after the vaccine bounce, but also because of the added drag of our final few years in government.

We lost great numbers of councillors, many of whom were utterly dedicated to serving their local communities.

We’ve lost friends and colleagues, who worked tirelessly in the best interests of their residents.  Four of us have been councillors ourselves in the past – we know the sacrifices involved, and we thank each and every one of our former councillors for their service to their communities.  As part of our rebuild, we need each and every one of you to stay involved and be part of it.

In 12 months’ time, we face another round of elections. We cannot be in this position again. We have to stand up, regroup, and not only put our best foot forward but entirely reorient ourselves.

For those crying out for things to change at CCHQ, we have to understand that, in parallel, we need to step up effect change too.  It is time for us to take the lead in our own domains. We all have a role to play, whether leading at Association level or just as ordinary members, as we have done for over a century – making us the most successful political party over that period.

We do not have a divine right to govern; we have to earn it as our forebears did. We have been here before and it means doubling down and working harder.

Associations need to work smarter, using effective campaigning techniques. The tools at our disposal can and will be improved, but we are not using them to the full as they are now.  Lynton Crosby’s mantra of not being able fatten the pig on market day is truer today than it probably was 10 years ago.  Getting out there and speaking to voters and gathering data now, not waiting until candidates are selected, let alone waiting until the start of 2026.  The (few) bright spots in last week’s results came from places where we worked hard over a long period of time.

Our MPs and other senior elected representatives also need to play a role – not just being visible campaigners in their own patches, but offering time to neighbouring areas where their visible support will make a difference.

We must also set ourselves the goal of speaking to each and every one of our members between now and Conference in October.  We should find out their views, ask how (else) they can help the Party, whether they can introduce new members, and thank them for their continued support.  Some Associations already do this routinely, with great success; we think it is vital that we all get into the habit – members are, after all, our bedrock, and mustn’t be taken for granted.

Alongside tending our existing members, we also need to reach out and ask new people to join us – strong pledges being a good starting point, and using all that the YCs, CPF, CWO and ‘Friends of’ groups offer as a hook to get people interested (all things which Reform lack).

Fundraising needs to be stepped up too – campaigning costs money, after all – but events also strengthen the bonds between us all, and give us greater motivation to get out there and win. It has been encouraging to see the numbers of events increasing since the end of the pandemic – we need to continue this trend.

All levels of the Party have a role to play.

Area teams need to lead, actively supporting their Associations, encouraging cooperation between them – and taking hold of dysfunctional or inactive ones. Regional teams need to make sure we have support in the right places, energising those without forthcoming elections to be supporting those with elections. We saw some excellent examples of this over the last few months but they were too few.  Our opponents still manage to mobilise across borders better than we do.

For our part, we are here to support all of the above, as well as:

• Ensuring feedback on the recent campaign from the front line is rapidly collated and fed through to the Board, Co-Chairmen and Leader – on what needs to improve, locally and nationally.
• Moving ahead with Party reform – bringing proposals forward for members to have their say on, then implemented.
• Reinforcing Conference a member-focussed event, with debates on topics put forwards by members and Associations.
• Driving forward the redesign of VoteSource, which is already under way, and bringing activists’ views directly into shaping its future.

Words are cheap – action shows our true grit, and we must redouble our efforts.

Associations should have all their candidates in place for 2026 by the end of June at the latest. There is no reason to delay. Similarly, selection for our 6 mayoral candidates for 2026 has now started – a great opportunity to involve members in the mayoral areas, who will have the final say on their candidates.  Once selected, these candidates will build and lead campaigns across their areas, and strain every sinew to win in 2026.

We are, fundamentally, a membership organisation – unlike top down Reform, where everything comes from the centre.  We fight for the people of this country, not for the ego of a man who has sought self-promotion for decades, and offers few (if any) real solutions.

We can’t stand by and watch – we must all roll up our sleeves and get on with the job.   We all know the ingredients of success – unity, passion, discipline and sheer bloody hard work.

For our part, as representatives of the members, we will work day and night, leading from the front.