Conservative members have less influence on policy than those in the other major parties

David Cameron’s speech to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester today marks the end of the major parties’ conference season. In the 2012 audit of UK democracy, Stuart Wilks-Heeg, Andrew Blick, and Stephen Crone considered how influential members were on political party policies, including via conferences and other mechanisms. They found varying levels of influence across the major parties, with Conservative members having the least sway over policy.