Tory grassroots group a 'budget front' for Bring Back Boris Johnson campaign, MPs fear

A new grassroots Tory group pushing for more democracy in the party is “a budget front organisation” for the campaign to bring back Boris Johnson, some Conservative MPs fear.

The Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO) argues the party’s constitution must be overhauled to give members more say in how it is run.

Its leaders have accused Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of orchestrating his own coronation after being rejected by members – but deny the claims they are aiming to restore Mr Johnson to No 10.

One minister said the CDO “looks like a budget front organisation for Bring Back Boris”, while another MP said colleagues who engaged with the group were “insane”.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/PA Wire

The organisation is pushing to set up a branch in every constituency in the UK, forming a shadow operation that will seek to hold the official party accountable. However, one backbencher insisted “literally no one” was concerned about the potential impact of the CDO.

Peter Cruddas, the Tory peer who is the group’s president, denied the claim that it was aiming to bring back Mr Johnson. He said: “Our campaign is not about Boris and these comments are designed as a distraction from our main cause, which is to change the party constitution so that no future prime minister can ever be coronated in the future without the members having their say. Especially as Rishi was already rejected by members and they have been disenfranchised from the leadership campaign.”

David Campbell Bannerman, a former MEP who chairs the CDO, added: “This is not about one person or one policy. It is about long-term democratic reform of the party and putting members back in charge. The party system has been treating them with contempt.”

The group’s leaders have met Conservative chairman Nadhim Zahawi, according to a source who said he promised to consider their demands carefully and asked to receive updates on their work.

The CDO was started by grassroots news outlet Conservative Post, which organised a petition in the summer for Mr Johnson to be included on the ballot for the leadership election and now has the details of around 74,000 sympathisers.

Its backers claim that without an overhaul of the Tory party, it will shed millions of votes to Reform UK, which is the latest incarnation of the Brexit Party.

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs, has warned colleagues against fighting in public. He told the BBC’s Westminster Hour: “I think the objective should be to have those debates as much as possible privately and arrive at a position on which the party is agreed.”

His intervention comes after a period in which senior Tories, including Mr Johnson and Liz Truss, have put their names to rebel amendments designed to embarrass Mr Sunak into a policy change.