The Conservative Democratic Organisation is a grouping within the British Conservative Party. It is widely believed to be aligned with Boris Johnson.[1][2][3]
 | |
| Formation | December 11, 2022 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Peter Cruddas |
President | Peter Cruddas |
Vice President | Stephen Greenhalgh |
Chairman | David Campbell Bannerman |
Parent organisation | Conservative Party |
The CDO was launched on 11 December 2022, and is backed by the Conservative peer Lord Peter Cruddas.[4] Its website states that its mission is to "strengthen party democracy by ensuring the Conservative Party is representative of the membership and fairly represents their views",[5] and criticises the October 2022 leadership election process which led to the unopposed "coronation" of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister.[6] The party was also critical of Sunak's dismissal of Suella Braverman as home secretary in the November 2023 cabinet reshuffle, calling it "political suicide".[7] The group explicitly includes non-Conservative members.[8]
The CDO's first public conference was held on 13 May 2023 in Bournemouth. Priti Patel, formerly Johnson's Home Secretary, gave a keynote address in which she blamed Conservative losses in the 2023 local elections on a disconnect between leadership and the party grassroots and lauded Johnson as a "vote-winning political giant" who she felt was unfairly removed from power by Conservative MPs.[2][9]