AN ONLINE appeal for new members to join Wellington Conservative Club has been launched in a bid to win a vote to strip the club of its association with the Tory party.

It follows the decision to hold an extraordinary meeting on September 17.

Events organiser Louise Peace, whose husband Mike is club secretary, said in an online post ‘Hardline Conservatives’ were resisting the proposed change.

Mrs Peace said: “We must have new members join urgently to out-vote the same 40 hardcore that turn up at every meeting that will vote to close the club rather than step aside and see it thriving as a community members’ club.”

Chairman Sam Berg has said he wants members to agree to re-write 16 club rules ‘for the purposes of removing all association with the Conservative Association’, which he said was the only way to increase membership.

Mr Berg said in a letter to members last month: “I do not have any ulterior motives in my dealings with or conduct towards the Conservative Party”, adding there are no remaining options other than disassociating from the Conservatives, the alternative being we will close around Christmas, 2022, should no other action be taken.

However, Association of Conservative Clubs (ACC) deputy chief executive Charles Littlewood said he has written to Mr Berg expressing ‘several’ concerns’ about these claims.

Mr Littlewood said the ACC had several assistance packages available to safeguard the club and he was ‘completely confident’ it would not fail either before or after Christmas, 2022.

He said: “We have not even scratched the surface of the options that the ACC can provide the club to ensure it does not close, these include loans and our popular sale and leaseback programme.”

Mr Littlewood also said that Mr Berg’s letter did not mention that the club could only make his proposed changes with the written consent of the ACC, and asked Mr Berg to give members the full picture ‘as a matter or priority’.

Mr Berg has been asked to comment, but none was received by the time of publication.