Tory chairman claims Conservative Party does not know how many members it has, amid rumours of plunging numbers

The new Tory chairman has claimed the party does not know how many members it has – as he said the Government was “not quite” in a mess after Theresa May’s botched reshuffle.

Brandon Lewis did not dispute that the membership total had plunged to a rumoured 70,000, at a time when Labour can boast more than half a million paid-up activists.

Instead, he said: “We are not a centrally run membership list – it does not work like that. Membership is done locally by local associations.”

The claim came as Mr Lewis faced accusations that the Prime Minister’s chaotic reshuffle – with Cabinet ministers refusing to move to new jobs – had underlined her weakness.

Pressed on whether the party is “in a mess”, Mr Lewis told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Not quite” – but admitted there was a “job of work” to be done.

For more than four years, the Conservatives have refused to respond to requests for up-to-date information about the number of party members.

Most estimates put the figure at around 100,000, but the head of the Campaign for Conservative Democracy said he believed it had dropped to just 70,000.

In stark contrast, Labour said it had 552,000 members last summer. Both the Scottish National Party (118,000) and the Liberal Democrats (103,000) also reported six-figure totals.

The lack of Tory footsoldiers is widely seen as one of the reasons for the party’s election humiliation last year, allowing it to be outgunned by Labour in key marginal seats.

The grassroots website Conservative Home reported that membership had fallen by a quarter since 2016, partly because of a walkout by Tories who opposed Brexit.

But Mr Lewis insisted there was still a “huge number of people across the country who put their time into delivering leaflets, knocking on doors”.

And he vowed to “encourage and recruit more people to get involved and be involved”, adding: “I’m very focused on growing our party.”

Last week, former party chairman Grant Shapps called for the Prime Minister to come clean about its membership rolls, even if the figure turned out to be “embarrassing”.

He said “transparency” is vital, warning it was “step number one” in rebuilding the Conservative Party’s campaigning strength for the next general election.

A recent report by academics at Queen Mary University suggested at least 44 per cent of Tory members are over 65, and 71 per cent are male.

Monday’s reshuffle was marred by Justine Greening refusing to switch from her education post to work and pensions, a clash which ended in her resigning from the Cabinet.

Meanwhile, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt dug in and faced down the Prime Minister’s attempt to shift him to Business Secretary.

But Mr Lewis said: “What we have seen yesterday is a real influx of new talent, not just my position itself, obviously.”

And he said it “hasn’t finished yet”, with the reshuffle of junior ranks continuing, adding: “You’ll see a really good breath of fresh air coming in with some really good people coming in.”