by George Freeman

With the Government locked down in Brexit negotiations and the task of modernising our Party’s campaigning and membership made all the more urgent by the appearance of Momentum and a rejuvenated Labour Party, I believe now is the moment that the Conservative party must embrace radical reform.

That’s why I’ve decided to step down from my role as Chair of the Prime Minister’s Policy Board to concentrate on my role as Chair of the Conservative Policy Forum (CPF), leading the work of party renewal.

I believe we can regain the political momentum by instigating a bold programme of Conservative Party renewal, with a new team at CCHQ to oversee the intellectual, organisational and cultural renaissance of a Conservatism fit to shape and lead us through the 21st century.

After the failure of an ill-conceived election campaign, an ambitious programme of Conservative Party reform would signal real commitment to learn the lessons and restore both the low morale, and falling numbers, of our membership.  Given the deepening disconnection between the Conservative Party and the new generation of aspirational voters under 45, the new intellectual battle of ideas reshaping our political landscape, this is now urgent.

I’m very grateful for all the many messages of support since my launch of Big Tent, the Capital Ideas Foundation, and the CPF Champions; and for my commitment to a programme of bold and inspiring Conservative Renewal based on a clearer vision of a compassionate, entrepreneurial, innovative and enterprising Conservatism which takes the structural deficit crisis and Brexit as a moment to embrace bolder reform to create and spread  opportunity more widely.

There has been a surprising amount of media coverage – the vast majority positive (!) – particularly the kind Daily Telegraph Leader acknowledging my commitment to 21st Century Conservativism (see below).

There is an exciting agenda ahead for the Conservative Policy Forum over the next twelve months, as well as the Big Tent movement and Capital Ideas Foundation I launched earlier this year.

Watch this space for further news. And if you would like to find out any further information, please do let me know.