CWO Development

Do You Have What it Takes? Join us now to be an MP.  BUT We dont just want more women MPs, we want more women leaders in all of the decision making environments from Cllrs to volunteer activists such as Association chairs.  We designed the first political syllabus in the world for women and have modernised it to fit with the  needs of the Party using different levels of training, which currently are Bronze, Silver (on line delivered by professionals) and Gold (in person delivered by professionals). We dont teach you, instead we aim to help you grow into leadership by understanding your own skills and abilities, and understand what the party needs to win elections. Please look at our  testimonials at the  bottom of page. They are great.

  1. Silver One: Getting Started in politics (free) The basics of how to be an MP
  2. Silver Two: What is a political CV and what leadership skills do I need? (suitable for those still years away from going forward but wanting to plan, or those ready to start moving now. )
  3. Silver Three: Why am I a Conservative? What are our core values, and how to articulate your conservatism. (suitable for anyone and everyone, the most popular course)
  4. Silver Four: Is My political CV ready? Am I ready to be a candidate (testing your political CV for interviews and getting on the candidate list)
  5. Silver Five: How to give a speech, the basics (How to structure a speech and how to manage your physical self when speaking)
  6. Gold One: Advance Processes. An intense one day course on identifying the political leadership skills you need and beig your authentic self. In Leeds and London. see below.

Sign up for the CWO Development newsletter,  via the Members Area.  Don’t forget to tick “Interested in Public Life” box if you wish to tell us you are interested.

CWO Bronze sessions offer a range of experiences and support sessions. From the “How to be a” cllr, association officer, Area Region or Convention Officer,  to locally delivered support speech sessions, and how to use social media for politicians.

The CWO does not make a profit from the courses, but we have no grants or donors so need to  charge in order to cover our costs.  If you would like to become a donor and pay for our development training for an electoral cycle, please contact development@conservativewomen.uk  Or make a general donation to support all women via our donate button. Thank you.

If you are struggling with costs for training do get in contact and ask for advice on our bursary scheme.  Each year we support a few women through our sessions.

Attend an Event

CWO Development Tue 04 Nov 2025

Is my Political CV ready 20251104

Tuesday 4th of Nov. zoom. The final Silver session in the CWO cycle, for Re-listers and those who think they […]

View Details
CWO Development Tue 21 Oct 2025

Why am I a Conservative. 20251021

Tuesday 21 Oct. Zoom. 6-7.30 zoom. A Silver level free session with CWO. Why am I a Conservative, how to […]

View Details
View More

If you are considering becoming a candidate, it is never too soon to get in touch.  There are a range of elected roles to consider:

• Police & Crime Commissioners   • Elected Mayors  • London Assembly , Welsh and Scottish Governments  • Councillors – both at local and County level  • MP •  Officers within the Party (Association or Regional Roles)

Online Training Courses are a carefully planned cycle to help you invest in yourself. Ask your Region to organise these for local teams if you have enough interest. 

  • Silver: Getting started in Politics, starting to think about why you want to become more active, and to help you understand the journey and what different opportunities there are to gain experience.
  • Silver: What is a political CV, Identifying what political skills you have (Part 1) Explore how you might write your first political CV. What should be considered, and what excluded. Skills versus experience, and what are leadership skills needed for politics. Think about your personal journey into politics, and how much experience and understanding of the Party you honestly have.
  • Silver: Why am I a Conservative? A more in depth exploration about your intellectual journey and how it effects your political profile and how you personally need to articulate your core values. Do you know your Disraeli from your Butskellism? Speaking Practice in this session helps you tell people what type of conservative you are.
  • Silver: How to Give a speech: To help you work out your content and message, and how you present it so that people can hear what you have to say.
  • Silver: Developing your Political CV. Am I ready for interview) for those on the LISTING journey only: Content includes identifying weaknesses and strengths in your leadership, honestly reviewing skills, thinking about your political story and how this builds into your profile. If you want to put your application in to get on the parliamentary list, or have been called to attend an interview, this over view course is for you.
  • Gold: Advance Processes. All day in person sessions in London or Leeds, offer an intense one day course of in depth support and training. We focus on your political CV and does it showcase your skills, your political voice and can you articulate your values. Individual mentoring and feedback in breakout rooms given as well as group support.  Please check the events page regularly for dates

We aim to have a programme of affordable, professional workshops designed to help individuals with both their personal and political development.

Warning. We are aware of many private operators who can charge over £1000 a day for very similar courses. Do not think you need to pay huge amounts in order to pass your PAB.

This is not necessary and the information, CV feedback etc that many other “private” courses offer is similar to the support given by the Candidate Development at CCHQ and through the CWO. Many of our trainers give their time for free and we are a not for profit organisation.  We also work shoulder to shoulder with Women 2 Win who take on the individual support needed for our experienced women once they are on the candidates list, looking for winning seats.

Please register your interest by clicking the Interested in Public life bit in your own CWO membership area on the website. Please note that participation in CWO Development programmes is only available to members of the Conservative Party. We also welcome men. If you are not a member of the party then you can join here.

Testimonials: Theo Clark, ex MP: As an aspiring candidate, who has only more recently become involved in politics, I found the CWOD workshops hugely helpful. I attended three out of the four courses on offer and got a huge amount out of each training day. Not only were the workshops informative and extremely practical but they were also a great way to network and meet other future candidates.

It was quite terrifying doing the first round of mock selection questions but, after a few times, answering questions on every area of policy from the economy to the NHS health reforms on the spot it just showed that practice makes all the difference. I particularly valued the media training with a mock radio interview and Question Time style panel. Other useful tips including information on compliance, filling out your application forms and how to fundraise for your campaign. Anyone who is even thinking about running as a Councillor, MP or even a senior Voluntary Party role, should attend one of the CWO’s excellent courses.

The0 Clarke 

Follow Us On
Social Media