Conservative Women's Organisation

Conservative Women's Organisation Scotland operates in Scotland. The Chair of CWO Scotland sits on the CWO National Executive.

The youth wing of Conservative Women's Organisation is called Conservative Young Women.

As with all political parties, membership has declined and the CWO had about 5,000 active members in 2012 (although not all women party members are actually CWO members, they must join separately). Attendance at the CWO Annual Conference has been between 300 and 750 in the past five years.

It also sends delegates to the National Conservative Convention, the parliament of the party's voluntary wing (Voluntary Party).

History

The National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations' Central Women's Advisory Committee (CWAC) was formed in 1908 and officially founded in 1919, although not affiliated to the Conservative Party until 1928. Its roots go back to the Grand Ladies Council of the Primrose League of 1885. It changed its name to the Women's National Advisory Committee (WNAC) in 1951 and again to the Conservative Women's National Committee (CWNC) in April 1982. It changed to its current title in April 2007.

In the latter half of the 20th century, the CWO had more than a quarter of a million members and became the largest women's political organisation in the Western world. For several decades, the women's organisation's annual conference was regularly held in the Royal Albert Hall in London.

The CWO celebrated its centenary in 2019 at its conference at Methodist Hall in London on 9 March 2019. The organisation created a supplementary centenary logo, which includes a primrose, in reference to its roots in the Primrose League – and uses the suffragette colours of purple, white and green.

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Purpose

According to its website, the CWO is:

The grassroots network that provides support and focus for women in the Conservative Party
Reaching out to women in all parts of the community
Campaigning on issues of particular concern to women both nationally and internationally
Encouraging women to be politically active and to get elected at all levels
Ensuring that the women's perspective is taken into account because women see things differently from men
Helping the Conservative Party capture the women's vote

Organisation

National Executive

The CWO Executive Committee has responsibility for the overall management of the organisation and is composed of:

CWO officers (president, chairman, 3 deputy chairmen, treasurer and deputy chairman Europe)
European Union of Women (EUW) British Section Officers
The 12 regional chairmen plus 2 additional executive members (AEMs) per region
Up to 8 co-options
Up to 8 additional members

National officers

The national officers for 2022/3 are:

Regions

East Midlands
Eastern
London
North East
North West
Northern Ireland
Scotland (as Scottish Conservative Women)
South West
Southern
Wales
West Midlands
Yorkshire

Each of the 12 regions are broken into Areas (roughly by county), with each having their own Area Chairman with responsibility to the Regional Chairmen. An affiliated (or recognised) Conservative Association women's group, known as Association CWOs or Conservative Women's Constituency Committees (CWCCs).

Affiliation and constitution

The organisation is officially affiliated to the Conservative Party. Its last constitution was ratified by the CWO AGM in March 2007 and ratified by the Party Board on 7 April 2007. A revised constitution was ratified by the CWO AGM on 29 March 2014 and ratified by the Party Board on 28 April 2014.

Elections

National and Regional elections take place at Annual General Meetings before 30 April each year.

Policy and research

CWO Forums

Although the organisation primarily represents the views of the women grassroots members of the Conservative Party, it is also involved in policy and research, which particularly affect women in the UK. It does this primarily through its CWO Forums – panel based discussion meetings that are generally held in the Palace of Westminster and which are open to men and women, and to people from all political persuasions.

Subjects covered in the last five years include:

Human Trafficking
Sexual Exploitation
Policing
'Big Brother' Syndrome
Animal Welfare
Drugs
Immigration/Asylum
Environment
Criminal Justice System
Food Labelling
Housing/Planning
Mental Health
Pensions
Europe
Forced Marriages
Prostitution
Gang Culture
Iraq & Afghanistan
Cyber Bullying
Local Government
Taxation
Stalking
Rural Poverty

CWO Development

Set up by the then chairman, Pauline Lucas, in 2010, the development programme mentors and develops women to stand for public office at all levels. Workshops are usually held at the Conservative Campaign Headquarters in London but sponsored Be a Councillor days are held around the UK. Workshops cover communication, interviews, applications, campaigns and finance, together with other "transferable skills". In July 2013, the CWO announced a new workshop as an introduction for women to apply for Public Appointments and Non-Executive Director roles.

Conferences

The first recorded Conservative Women's Conference was in 1921 and holding an annual conference is part of its constitution. For several decades, the women's organisation's annual conference was regularly held in the Royal Albert Hall.