Conservative Party Structure & Organisation
Almost all of the Conservatives who work for the Party do so on a voluntary basis. They run their local Associations and donate tens of thousands of hours of their time to help the Party. They campaign all year round, delivering leaflets and canvassing voters in their local area. Our volunteers also raise money to run the Party across the country, to help strengthen Conservative voices across the United Kingdom.
Each local Association corresponds to a parliamentary constituency. While Associations vary in size, almost all follow the same structure. Officers of the Association are elected annually to positions that include a President, Chairman, and two Deputy Chairmen - a Deputy Chairman Membership and a Deputy Chairman Political.
Most Associations have officers with specific responsibilities and an Executive Council, which draws representatives from the Wards that make up constituencies.
Click here to find out more about the Conservative Party's Structure & Organisation.
SSCA Structure & Organisation
The South Staffordshire Conservative Association is made up of:
1. The SSCA's Executive Council, which includes:
- Executive Officers (elected annually at the SSCA's Main AGM)
- Branch Chairmen
2. South Staffordshire's Councillors (County, District and Parish)
3. The SSCA's Members
4. The SSCA's Volunteers
All of these people play vital roles. They will always aim to achieve our objectives above everything else. These objectives are listed on our "About Us" Page.
Like with any worthwhile Association, there is always a lot of hard work to be done. You can get involved with us as much or as little as you like, but no matter what you want to do, we will always strive to make sure that your time with us is always well spent, and hopefully, extremely enjoyable. Below is a list of things that you can volunteer in to get involved with the Association and with its members.
If you would like to:
- Help out with any of these activities
- Find out more more information about any of these activities
- Find out more about volunteering & getting involved
Please contact our office and speak to our staff there (contact details on our home page). If you choose to contact the office outside of its opening hours, then please either leave us a message on our answering machine or e-mail us and we will get back to you ASAP. We will also forward your volunteering request to our appropriate Chairman.
If you would like to become a Parish, District or County Councillor, please contact our Political Chairman Victoria Wilson.
However, if you feel as if you would like to become a member of the SSCA instead of just being a volunteer, please click here to learn all about membership and its benefits.
Don’t worry if you have no experience in any of the below tasks! Neither had some of our current volunteers until they joined! On the job training will be given!
Volunteering
IT/Administration
Our office staff and current volunteers will always appreciate any IT or Administrative help that you are able to provide to the SSCA's Office. There is always a variety of tasks you can assist with such as finance, membership or paperwork.
Canvassing Days
Canvassing is the Association’s way of gaining information about the electorate’s voting intentions, worries and concerns. This information enables us to campaign effectively, and also helps to increase our membership base.
If you were to take part you would join one of our campaigning teams. You would visit a specific selection of people within an SSCA Branch, engaging in face-to-face personal interaction with voters. During election times you would also be joined by the Conservative Candidate for South Staffordshire.
Canvassing is not only a great way to keep fit, but it also gives you a unique opportunity to get to know people within your area.
Newsletter and Campaigning Leaflet Delivery
You would be responsible for an area of houses (usually near or on the road where you live, unless you say otherwise) and would be required to deliver newsletters to those houses when needed. Delivery routes will be provided for you to use.
By delivering newsletters, you would be responsible for letting people know what your local Conservative Candidate does for South Staffordshire. It's also a great way to keep fit.
SSCA Events Organizers
We rely on funds raised through the events we run during the year. If you are interested in organizing events and have good ideas, we will be sure to have some way of utilizing those ideas. New ideas and helpers to organize events are always needed, both at Branch and Association level. Events are always fun, very social, and allow members and volunteers to get to know each other and share each other's interests.
Helping with the SSCA's Annual Raffle Draws
Once a year the SSCA sends out a letter and raffle tickets to all of its members, allowing them to take part in a National Xmas Draw. You would be helping the office staff with this process. If you wanted to help, we would let you know when the next Xmas Draw stuff is being sent out.
Donating
Donating to our local fighting funds
Donations are a key way in which the South Staffordshire Conservative Association funds its activities. Money donated is used to fund campaigning. Large or small, all donations are very gratefully received - without them we can't fight to improve standards of government in South Staffordshire or nationally.
Rules on donations: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/find-information-by-subject/political-parties-campaigning-and-donations/donations-and-loans-to-political-parties
If you would like to make a donation, you have three options:
1. Send it to us at our office (cash and cheques are both accepted). Our office's address is:
Jubilee House
59 Wolverhampton Road
Codsall
South Staffordshire
WV8 1PL
Please either include a hand written message with the form telling us what the donation is for, or send us an e-mail to our office informing us of your donation. Our office's e-mail address is [email protected].
You can also use our contact form here to send us an e-mail if you wish. We will always personally thank anyone who sends us a donation.
2. Donate via direct debit at the Conservative Party's website: https://www.conservatives.com/donate
Helping on Election Days
We need:
- Drivers to collect voters or members from their homes on election days and take them to their polling station.
- Tellers at each polling station to collect the electoral registration numbers (poll numbers) of voters.
The details of any upcoming Elections are put on our website on our News page.
Helping at SSCA Annual General Meetings
Our AGM's are obviously only held once a year, but they are always a lot of work to organize. Most of this work is done by the Executive Council and office staff, but any extra help is always appreciated.
We need:
- People to set up the SSCA's AGM venue on the evening. This includes putting out/away chairs, making refreshments and handing out paperwork (minutes, agendas).
- People to inspect the membership cards of members as they enter the venue.
The details of any upcoming AGM's are put on our website on our Future Events page.
Work Experience
Work Experience with South Staffordshire's MP
The Rt. Hon. Sir Gavin Williamson CBE MP occasionally offers work experience opportunities to students from the South Staffordshire constituency. Full details here: https://www.gavinwilliamson.org/work-experience
Please note that the SSCA does not work directly with Gavin, and therefore does not have any involvement with his work experience opportunities.