Membership

"The SSCA's Membership Application & Renewal Form" is attached as a file at the bottom of the page.

As mentioned on our about us page, the South Staffordshire Conservative Association has objectives. All members are very much appreciated as their financial and physical contributions assist with these objectives. When you choose to become one of our members, you can get involved with us as much or as little as you like. If you do not wish for a membership subscription to be your only contribution, then there are other ways in which you can get involved.

What we call your "Local Conservative Branch", that is, the Conservative Party Branch that operates for your Ward (and is one of several working as a group within the SSCA) can only be strong and effective if it has a group of active members. You can become involved with your local branch on any number of levels, which is dependent upon the amount of time that you are able to spare. For example, you may consider becoming a "Branch Committee Member", which involves working with the other committee members to build up membership numbers, raise funds, communicate with the electorate and help with campaigning.

Our 5 Membership Categories:

1. Branch Membership (a. k. a. "Standard" Membership)
Becoming a member of one of the SSCA's Branches costs a minimum of £25 per year (£2.09 per month) for people aged 26 or older. You can pay more if you wish - the excess will be kindly accepted as a donation. A Branch Membership of the SSCA entitles you to:

  • Full voting rights to the branch that you choose to become a part of (ONLY if you live there, and only available after you have been an SSCA member for 3 months) which allows you to participate in all decisions taken by the Party at national, regional and local level by giving your vote. These decisions include:
  1. The selection of the leader of the Conservative Party.
  2. The selection of candidates for Parliamentary, European, District and County Council Elections.
  3. The selection of the Chairman and other Officers at SSCA Annual General Meetings (AGM's).
  • Attend Party Conferences.
  • Take part in the regular opportunities to influence policy development through the Conservative Policy Forum (CPF) discussion groups.  Attending these group meetings allows Members to discuss a paper on a particular subject and the conclusions are sent to Conservative Central Office for their consideration. Information on future CPF meetings will be added to the Events, News and/or CPF pages.
  • Apply to be nominated as a candidate for UK and European Parliaments, County and District Councils as an official Conservative candidate.
  • Receive SSCA/Conservative Party news & events via e-mail (if you give us your e-mail address when you become a member).

2. Westminster Club (WC) Membership
Becoming a member of the SSCA's Westminster Club Branch (a.k.a. our Gold Standard Branch) costs a minimum of £150 per year (£12.50 per month) for an "individual" membership or a minimum of £250 per year (£20.84 per month) for a "shared" membership, which includes full membership to the SSCA. A "shared" membership is two people paying together (they do not have to be living at the same address).

You can pay more if you wish - the excess will be kindly accepted as a donation. You must also be (both) aged 18 years old or older.

You will be entitled to everything that a Branch Membership provides. Westminster Club will be your primary membership Branch, but you will also obtain a secondary membership to your Local Branch, with all of the appropriate voting rights that accompany this. This category of SSCA Membership will entitle you to things that a Branch Membership will not:

  • You will receive details of high prestige WC-exclusive events that are never posted on our website.
  • You will also receive exclusive Westminster Club newsletters informing you of recent WC news.

Further details are here.

3. Young Conservatives (YC) Membership
Becoming a member of the SSCA's Young Conservatives Branch is an exclusive special offer that we provide for young people. It was created for the sole purpose of attracting budding young Conservatives at an attractive price. Please note that it is only available for people aged 25 or younger at a minimum of £5 per year (£0.42 per month). You can pay more if you wish - the excess will be kindly accepted as a donation.

You will be entitled to everything that a Branch Membership provides. Young Conservatives will be your primary membership Branch, but you will also obtain a secondary membership to your Local Branch, with all of the appropriate voting rights that accompany this. You will also have the additional benefit of:

  • Being able to attend YC events in other constituencies.

Further details are here.

4. Armed Forces Membership

This is exactly the same as a Branch Membership, except with a £10 discount for anyone who is serving in any of the Armed Forces (£15 per year/£1.25 per month).

5. Friend

A "Friend" is simply any membership to the SSCA where you pay less than the required amount for your age category (with the lowest amount that you can pay for a friend membership being £1).

You will not:

  1. Be regarded as a full member.
  2. Have any voting rights.
  3. Receive a membership pack.

You will:

  1. Receive correspondence regarding upcoming events.

Please note that you have the option to upgrade to a full membership at any time. However, if you choose upgrade your membership from a "friend" to a "full" membership, you will have to wait 3 months before you become eligible to vote.

Regardless of what membership type you opt for, your membership must be renewed within 3 months of lapsing if you want to keep being a member. It can be paid for with 1 annual amount or with 12 monthly amounts.

There are 4 ways to join us, renew your membership or make a donation:

1. Download the SSCA's Membership Application & Renewal Form (attached as a file at the bottom of the page).

  • For payment via cash or cheques: Please complete the relevant sections of the form and post it to us with your payment enclosed. Please make all cheques payable to "South Staffordshire Conservative Association".
  • For payment via standing orders: Please complete the relevant sections of the form. Please do not return your form to the office; instead, get your bank to set up your standing order using the form.

If you are a member that is joining us for the first time, please fill out the "reference" section in the "office use only" section with your full name (including your middle name).

If you are already a member that is renewing their membership, please fill out the "reference" section in the "office use only" section with only your surname followed by your membership number.

By doing this, you will allow us to track your payment much more easily when we receive our bank statements (and see your payment on one of them).

2. Visit our office and pay your subscription/donation there (cash or a cheque are both acceptable). Our office is open Mon, Wed, Fri between the hours of 9:30am & 1:30pm - address below.

3. Bank Transfer (BACS). Many members already do this, thereby avoiding the need to visit our office or post cash/cheques. This method requires our bank sort code and account number - please contact our office to get these.

4. Pay online via Credit/Debit Card.

  1. Become a member: https://www.conservatives.com/join
  2. Renew your membership: https://membership.conservatives.com/membership/renew#!/

Our office's address is:

South Staffordshire Conservative Association

Jubilee House

59 Wolverhampton Road

Codsall

South Staffordshire

WV8 1PL

The SSCA's Office on Google Maps.

We thank you for your support, and sincerely hope that you enjoy being an SSCA Member!

Important Points to Note

  1. To reduce environmental impact, Conservative Campaigning Headquarters (CCHQ) no longer issues plastic membership cards. You can expect to receive a membership pack, containing a keepsake certificate of membership signed by the Prime Minister. If this has not been received within 28 days, please contact [email protected]. Please be assured that you will never be asked to produce a membership card to prove your membership.
  2. You do not have to wait until your renewal date to renew - you can renew whenever you like. Renewing adds 1 year onto your original membership renewal date.
  3. Only after the first 3 months of being a "full" member will you be able to vote in SSCA Elections. "Friends" cannot vote in these.
  4. The SSCA keeps track of its members and their activities with its database, so even if you haven't received a membership pack or have lost it, you will still be eligible to vote in Annual General Meetings (AGM's) if we can prove that you have been a full member for at least 3 months.
  5. You cannot become a member of more than one membership category - one category of membership per person only.
  6. Any person living in the United Kingdom is eligible to join the Conservative Party. Applicants are not required to be registered voters or UK nationals. There is no upper or lower age limit on membership, although children under the age of 15 cannot be enrolled as voting members. They will instead be considered "friends".
  7. A lapsed member that wants to renew has to re-join as a new member. "Lapsed" means that you didn't renew in the 3 months after the date passed the renewal date on your membership certificate (it became "lapsing"). Because you technically re-joined as a new member, this means that you will have to wait 3 months before you become eligible to vote again.

Attachments

Attachment Size
The SSCA's Membership Application & Renewal Form (209 KB) 209 KB