PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL

Rules on the Procedure For The Regional Selection, Ranking and Adoption of Conservative European Parliamentary Candidates in England, Wales and Scotland for the 2014 Elections to the European Parliament

Issued under the Authority of the Conservative Party Board September 2012

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INTRODUCTION
You are about to start one of the most important and exciting activities in the electoral cycle and that is choosing a team of candidates to fight the Conservative cause in your Region at the next European Elections. What the Party needs most of all is people who can command respect locally, and in Europe, and win over voters who are not always Conservative supporters. We need candidates who are able to represent a huge variety of potential electors. This is why you will be selecting from a wide range of applicants, who will have different backgrounds, skills and experiences. For this reason, it is important to come to the selection process, not only with an open mind, but also with a systematic, objective and thoughtful approach to picking the right team for your Region. The Electoral Commission has proposed that at the European Election in 2014 each Region will elect the following numbers of MEPs to the European Parliament: North East: North West: Yorkshire and the Humber: West Midlands: East Midlands: Eastern: South West: South East: London: Scotland: Wales: (Northern Ireland 3 8 6 7 5 7 6 10 8 6 4 3)

The final list in each Region will be made up of re-adopted MEPs at the top of the list and the remaining places will be filled by the applicants in a postal ballot. These rules will assist you in the selection of your candidates and will ensure a uniform process and co-ordinated timetable across all Regions. Carlyn Chisholm Chairman of the Candidates Committee

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1.

TIMING The selection of applicants will take place between May and July 2013, culminating in a postal ballot in July. Field Directors will be responsible for co-ordinating the timing of the selections in their respective Regions in conjunction with their Regional Co-ordinating Chairman and the Candidates Team. They must seek agreement with the Candidates Team over the dates on which they intend to hold Regional Selection College (RSC) meetings, siftings and interviews. The Candidates Team will notify all sitting MEPs and those applicants on the European List that the period during which applicants will be able to apply is from 1st March and 31st March 2013. Applicants may only apply for up to 2 Regions. At the RSC stage candidates selected to be put forward to the postal ballot should be required to decide immediately if they wished to accept their place on the postal ballot - doing so would forfeit any subsequent interviews for a place on another Region's list. Applications should be made in writing to Gareth Fox at CCHQ, 30 Millbank, London SW1P 4DP enclosing a completed, standard CV template. Two signed copies should be sent (not emailed) and should consist of only the two-page CV and cover sheet. Applications that do not comply with this requirement will be rejected. The main home residence of the applicant must be included on the cover sheet. After the closing date all applications received prior to the cut off date will be logged by the Candidates Team and forwarded to the relevant Field Director and Regional Co-ordinating Chairman. The Candidates Team will ensure that applicants wishing to apply for places on Regional lists for the European Parliament will have the opportunity to go before a European Parliamentary Assessment Board (PAB) before the process of selection starts. Only applicants who have passed a PAB, and who are on the approved European Candidates List, may go forward to selection. A separate European List is established. European Parliamentary Assessment Boards will take place between June 2012 and January 2013. The membership of Regional Selections Colleges (RSCs) will be agreed by 31st March 2013. The European List will close by 31st January 2013. RSC Meeting One presentation on process; interview and ballot for sitting MEPs; decision on number of new applicants to interview and guidance to Sifting Committee on the attributes needed May 2013. RSC Meeting Two - interviews for the new applicants and a ballot to decide who goes to the postal ballot May/June 2013.

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Postal ballot to all members in July 2013 2 ballots: one for re-adopted MEPs and one for new applicants and any un-adopted MEPs. MEPs must advise the Candidates Team and their Regional Coordinating Chairman by 1st March 2013 if they wish to go forward for reselection. The Candidates Team will circulate a summary timetable of the process to everyone on the European List outlining the various deadlines.

2.

REGIONAL SELECTION COLLEGES Each Region shall establish a RSC chaired by the Regional Co-ordinating Chairman and shall consist of: The Regional Co-ordinating Chairman and Regional Officers; Former Regional Chairmen who conducted the selection process for 2009; Area Management Executive (Chairman, 2 Deputy Chairmen and Elected Additional Officers) All Westminster Constituency Chairmen; plus one extra constituency representative per 200 members. Such representatives to be chosen by the Officers of the Association. Membership to be determined by the number of members registered at CCHQ on 31st March 2013. For these purposes constituencies that are part of a Federation or grouping, would be treated individually and may send a representative to act as their Association Chairman throughout the Selection process. Federation or Group Chairmen wishing to participate would have to do so, as a nominated Chairman of an individual Association within their grouping or as an additional member The Party would set an appropriate deadline for the Field Director to establish the names of the RSC membership after which no substitutions could be made. Conservative Women's Regional Chairman and elected officers; Conservative Future Regional Chairmen and elected officers; Field Director or appointed nominee (non voting); In Wales the Welsh Board will be represented

If a Westminster Chairman was unable to attend any part of the process he or she could appoint their Deputy Chairman political to be a substitute for the entire process, or, if the Chairman is on the European List of Approved Candidates and wishes to be considered for that Region. The Field Director or appointed nominee to act as Secretary of the process. In Wales, the RSC would be made up of the Board of the Welsh Conservative Party, Constituency Chairmen, Conservative Womens Regional Chairman and elected Officers, Conservative Future Chairman and elected Officers, and the Director of Wales (non-voting).
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The first meeting of the RSC in each Region shall consider the selection guidelines, understand their responsibilities and how the selection process will proceed. RSCs cannot change the selection procedure which has been laid down by the Board of the Party. RSC Meeting One: A draft agenda and ballot paper for this meeting will be available from the Candidates Team Circulate the rules and explain the procedure for selection The Field Director will explain to the meeting the selection process Agree the number of new applicants to be interviewed. The RSC should put forward a sufficient number of suitable candidates over and above the number required for the List so Party Members have a choice for the List. The number of candidates put into the postal ballot, over and above the number required for the List would be determined by the Region in agreement with the Candidates Team Re-adoption process for sitting MEPs.

Sifting Committee A Sifting Committee, made up of Regional and Area Officers (the Chairman and two Deputy Chairmen only), to go through the CVs and decide on the applicants for interview. When considering applicants CVs, Sifting Committees should have regard for the need to present a well-balanced team in each region. RSC Meeting Two A draft agenda and ballot paper for this meeting will be available from the Candidates Team Interviewing new applicants Balloting the RSC Confirm names of those to go forward to the postal ballot

The quorum of all meetings of the RSC shall be not less than 20% of those entitled to attend. In order that all applicants are treated on a fair and equal basis, members of the RSC should not at any time engage in canvassing for or against any applicants or
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group of applicants, and must not circulate any material, either written or electronic pertaining to any aspect of an applicants application. To avoid any doubt on this point, members of the RSC should not engage in email, text, blog or telephonic communication about applicants. Any member of the RSC found engaging in such action will forfeit their place on the RSC. The decision of the Regional Co-ordinating Chairman and Field Director on this issue will be final. If an applicant accepts a place in the postal ballot in one Region they must immediately withdraw from the process in their other Region if they are still involved. 3 INTERVIEWING a) MEPs sitting MEPs holding the Conservative Whip as of 1st March 2013 MEPs seeking re-selection in their regions will appear before the RSC 1 in May 2013. Interviews will consist of a short presentation of up to 5 minutes followed by up to 25 minutes of questions from the RSC. Sitting MEPs are only able to apply for the Region that they currently represent. The order in which the MEPs are interviewed will be decided by the drawing of lots. The RSC will then hold a secret ballot once all the MEPs have been interviewed. This will determine whether or not an MEP is re-adopted. Agreement of 60% of those present at the meeting should be required for re-adoption. Re-adopted MEPs will be placed at the top of the regional list. Where more than one MEP is re-adopted, a postal ballot of members will take place to rank them. This will be a separate ballot from other applicants. If an MEP is not re-adopted they will have the right to be included in the postal ballot of party members alongside new applicants. b) New Applicants Interviews would be conducted by the full RSC2. Interviews should consist of a short address for up to 5 minutes followed by up to 25 minutes of questions from the RSC. A secret ballot will take place for all applicants. The postal ballot places will be filled by the applicants with the highest number of votes. c) Process

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All applicants should be treated on a fair and equal basis. The questioning process, in the first 15 minutes, will be at the discretion of the RSC Chairman and the standard questions will be chosen by the Regional Co-ordinating Chairman and Field Director, before the meeting commences, based on written suggestions from those attending the meeting upon arrival. Additional questions for the remaining 10 minutes should be selected by the Regional Co-ordinating Chairman on a first come first served basis. Timings will be very strictly controlled. All MEPs and applicants will be asked to turn off and hand in their mobile phones and other electronic communication equipment prior to the commencement of interviews. Sitting MEPs would be entitled to use MEP on both CVs and the ballot paper. Members of the RSC must be present to hear ALL applicants interviewed in order to vote. The RSC should put forward a sufficient number of suitable candidates over and above the number actually needed for the list so that party members have a wider choice. The number of candidates put into the postal ballot over and above the number needed for the list would be determined by the Region in agreement with the Candidates Team. This is due to the fact that list numbers vary considerably from Region to Region. The RSC's responsibility would be to put forward a balanced list of good, capable candidates from which the party members could choose. There will be no gender bias within the voting system. 4. VOTING AT RSCs a) MEPs Voting at RSCs will be by secret ballot. The results will be by simple majority of the votes cast for and against each sitting MEP. The agreement of 60% of those present at the meeting should be required for re-adoption. b) New applicants Voting will also be by secret ballot and the results will be by simple majority. RSC members will be asked to vote for the same number of applicants as are required for the List as agreed under 3c above. All votes must be used. Those who receive the highest votes will go forward to the postal ballot. c) Process RSCs will vote for the number of applicants equal to the total number of candidates required for the regional list, less any re-adopted MEPs. RSC members must use all their votes.
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The number of votes received by each applicant in the ballot will not be disclosed. If any applicants receive equal votes then the RSC will be re-balloted and if that process still produced a tie that the place will be decided by the flip of a coin. If at a later stage the list is exhausted, it may be necessary for the Sifting Committee of the RSC to reconvene to re-populate the list. In the event of any doubt about the validity of someones voting rights at the RSC the final determination with be that of the Field Director.

5.

POSTAL BALLOT A postal ballot of the membership of the Region will take place in which the membership will be asked to rank the re-adopted MEPs in one ballot and all the rest of the new applicants and un-adopted MEPs in another ballot. Where there is only one re-adopted MEP then no ballot ranking the MEPs will take place as he/she will automatically take the 1st ranking. Postal ballots will be conducted in each Region and organised centrally. Results will be declared on 31st July 2013. Any Party member who has been a fully paid up member of a constituency association for three months prior to the date of the end of the postal ballot (ie 31st March 2013) will be entitled to vote within their Region in a postal ballot. The fact that a qualified member does not receive a ballot paper will not invalidate the process. Nor will the member have a right of appeal should they not receive a ballot paper. In the event of any doubt about the validity of someones membership the final determination will be that of the Party Board. The period of the postal ballot will be between 5th July and 26th July 2013. All Party members will receive the following: A coloured ballot for ranking the re-adopted MEPs and a different ballot for ranking the new applicants and any un-adopted MEPs A declaration of identity A ballot paper envelope. A return envelope. A notice of voting procedure and closing date An appeal letter and donation form.

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An A5, colour election address, printed both sides printed in booklet form Applicants should not mention other candidates in their election address. Applicants will be required to submit their election address to the Candidates Team to check compliance with the rules and for printing.

The Party should provide information on line about the candidates as well as providing paper manifestos which would be circulated with the ballot papers. Access to candidates and their views should be encouraged by allowing links on their manifestos to their own websites.

6.

VOTING PROCEDURE FOR POSTAL BALLOT Members will only be permitted to vote once in one Region only even if they are members of constituency associations in different Regions or if they are members of multiple associations in a single region. Ballot papers will list applicants in alphabetical order. All votes must be used on the MEP ballot. Members would be required to rank all the MEPsin order of preference; 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc. (For example: if five applicants were presented you would rank from 1st to 5th or if there were seven applicants from 1st to 7th.) a) MEPs Votes will be allocated in order of preferences. For example in a Region where there are seven finalists, 1st preferences will be allocated 1 point; 2nd preferences 2 points, 3rd preferences 3 points , 4th preferences 4 points etc. The applicant with the lowest number of points will take number one on the list; the applicant with the second lowest number of points will be number two on the list etc. In the case of equality of points, the applicant with the most first preferences will be the higher on the list. If necessary, one goes then to second preferences. b) New applicants and un-adopted MEPs Members would be able to vote for up to the number of vacancies they need to fill on the list. So, for example, if there are five places to fill and eight candidates to choose from they may vote for up to five candidates. The ranking order of the candidates would be determined by the total number of votes a candidate receives. The candidate with the most votes being placed immediately below the bottom ranked readopted MEP, the one with the second

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most votes being placed next and so on until all places are filled. Those who do not reach the list would be reserves in the order that they come in the ballot. The votes in this ballot would be counted. The applicants will be ranked in accordance to the number of the votes they received. c) General The Field Director will be responsible to the Regional Co-ordinating Chairman and the RSC for the implementation of the total process including the overseeing of the arrangements for the postal ballot within their Region, in consultation with the Candidates Team. The Party Board will appoint a Returning Officer.

7.

THE COUNT The count will be conducted by the Electoral Reform Society at the Election Centre, 33 Clarendon Road, London N8 0NW. a) Count Process

Applicants will be entitled to attend the opening of ballot papers, specific details will be given by the Candidates Team at the start of the postal ballot process. b) Result

The final list will comprise, in order: i) ii) re-adopted MEPs, as ranked in the postal ballot all other applicants will be placed in the order of votes they received in the postal ballot

Decisions of the RSC and the outcome of the postal ballot are final and no appeals will be permitted. 8. ADOPTION OF THE LIST Once the result has been confirmed to CCHQ, the Candidates Team will notify each Field Director and Regional Co-ordinating Chairman of their respective results. Each Region will call together all the applicants and ask each in turn (starting with the 1st ranked) if they accept the ranking. They will be asked to sign an acceptance form confirming this. If an applicant rejects his/her ranking then his/her position will be offered to the next ranked applicant.
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After the rankings have been agreed, the Regional Co-ordinating Chairman will read out a statement to all the applicants. As Chairman of the Regional Selection College for the .. Region and with the authority given to me by that College I hereby declare that the Conservative Party in .Region, in order to establish a ranked list, adopts the Prospective Conservative Candidates in the following order. 9. DATA PROTECTION All selection procedures requiring collection of data will be carried out within the Rules laid down by the Data Protection Act. Such notice will be included in any proforma that gathers information stating the purposes to which the data will be used. Any data under the control of a UK Parliamentary Association or RSC will not be passed on to a third Party, including any of the applicants, MEP assistants, researchers, etc. All MEPs and applicants will be reminded of their obligations under the Data Protection Act in a memorandum from the Candidates Team. It should be noted that if an applicant is also an Association Officer, then that Officer shall not be entitled to have access to, or use any data belonging to their own or any other Association, during the period of the selection procedure. 10. TREATMENT OF APPLICANTS Applicants should be treated on a fair and equal basis. The standard CV template completed by applicants on the official form will be available to everyone attending the RSC. Other supporting literature or campaigning activity should play no part in the RSC procedure and applicants will enter the selection procedure on this basis. Regions are encouraged to organise an agreed number of Area hustings within each Region for giving opportunities to Party members to come and hear the candidates before the postal ballot takes place. They must invite all MEPs and applicants who are part of the postal ballot of all party members. They must consult and inform the Regional Co-ordinating Chairman and Field Director of the date of any such hustings in advance. Literature may not be circulated for, or by, anyone at these hustings. To ensure a fair and democratic selection process, the following rules for the conduct of applicants shall apply:

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Applications will be invited from candidates to apply for Regional Lists between 1st and 31st March 2013. Until 31st March 2013, MEPs may continue to issue newsletters and briefings to party members/personal contact lists. From 31st March 2013, MEPs and new applicants may not obtain or use copies of any membership databases nor use Party membership lists for the purposes of distributing literature in hard copy or electronic format. This also applies to any personal contact lists of party members that MEPs have been given in the past by constituencies or acquired from third parties. For the avoidance of doubt, from 31st March 2013: i) ii) All applicants are permitted to continue to help at any local or national byelections which may arise. MEPs are permitted to continue to respond to individual constituents queries (even where those constituents may also be party members) and to carry out their normal duties in the community as an MEP at events in their region organised by bodies other than the party and individuals other than party members.

Until 31st March 2013, individual MEPs may continue to issue personal newsletters and briefings to party members in the usual way through their private offices. In addition each region's team of MEPs will be offered the facility to send out one joint mailing to all party members in their region using the party membership database. This may be done during the period 1 January - 31 March 2013 and all MEPs within the region will have the opportunity to be included in this mailing. The Committee on Candidates reserves the right to remove an individual from the European candidates list if an allegation of misconduct is upheld. The Committee on Candidates will also monitor compliance with the rules and deal with day to day complaints, queries and concerns. Any allegations of breaches of these Rules will be investigated by a panel, set up by the Committee on Candidates, comprising of the Chairman of the Committee, the Partys Nominating Officer, the Head of Candidates, a member of the Committee on Candidates and a legal adviser.

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Appendix 1 General Care of Applicants Applicants have made a considerable effort to reach selection and therefore should be treated courteously and hospitably. When organising interviews, do: Inform all applicants of all interview dates immediately specify times and avoid keeping applicants waiting unnecessarily; arrange for an administrator, who shall not be a member of the RSC, to act as a meeter and greeter specify topics and speaking time for any presentation and notify applicants of the procedure for each meeting; confirm interview times; try to minimize interruptions during interviews: all mobile phones to be turned off; ensure that interviews are not audible to other applicants; provide somewhere private for applicants waiting for interviews; ensure that premises used for interviews are suitable for disabled access for the benefit of both applicants and members; Make sure there is a microphone and roving microphone for the RSC Ensure that applicants are told of all decisions as soon as possible

Questioning should not be hostile the Regional Chairmen should control members who heckle applicants or are otherwise discourteous. The RSC should be reminded that antidiscrimination laws might have a bearing on Parties selection processes.

To ensure best and proper practice, Regional Chairmen should always be alert to, and be prepared to, stop any discriminatory questions. (See Appendix II)
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Appendix II Discrimination Guidelines It is the job of every member of the Conservative Party involved in selecting applicants to ensure that the selection process is inclusive and free from discrimination (except in relation to the selection of women applicants where some degree of positive discrimination is permitted,) and benchmarks set by the legislation should guide and inform the selection process on basis of good practice. The general law prohibits discrimination on the following grounds: age disability marriage and civil partnership pregnancy and maternity race religion or belief sex sexual orientation

Discrimination may take the form of direct discrimination, which occurs where a person is treated less favourably than another on discriminatory grounds, or indirect discrimination, which occurs where an unjustified requirement or practice is imposed, which has a disproportionate impact on one group. RSCs should ensure that criteria used in the selection process are clear, relevant to the role of an applicant, and free from discrimination. An agreed set of questions should be put to all the applicants and no assumptions should be made, which could taint the process. RSCs should be circumspect in asking about applicants backgrounds and their personal circumstances, and should fully acknowledge and embrace diversity. Applicants should be asked if they have any particular requirements in relation to the interview process and these should be so far as is reasonably practicable. Selection criteria should at all times be applied consistently and fairly to all applicants. The Candidates Team within CCHQ is available to provide advice on the selection process, if assistance is required.

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