The Lord Cruddas-backed Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO) has launched a petition demanding the membership gets to elect the next party chair. Launched last night, the group plans to send the petition to CCHQ, arguing members “should have the right” to make the choice, and will ask for a vote at the next National Convention if and when it hits 10,000 signatures. Signatories have to provide their Conservative membership number to qualify…

“After Nadhim Zahawi was sacked from his position as Conservative Party Chairman – there is a vacancy at the top of the party to fill, and we want the members to choose their party Chairman.

[…]

The Conservative Post and CDO advocates an elected Party Chairman, elected by members annually, one who loyally supports the Government but who represents the members’ views on how best to do so. Chairmen shouldn’t necessarily be in the Cabinet and not necessarily be an MP. They need to be politically astute but might be drawn from outside Westminster.

CDO will be proposing an elected Chairman as part of its recommended Party Constitutional reforms for discussion, consultation and proposed agreement at CDO’s first major Conference in May.”

According to the latest ConservativeHome league table, Ben Wallace, Kemi Badenoch and James Cleverly are still the darlings of the membership. They’re all pretty busy already. Might have to cast the net further afield. Lord Hague seems pretty chummy with the current No. 10 operation…