ABSTRACT
In 1870, the Conservative Central Office was established in Parliament Street, Westminster, under the temperamental and prickly John Eldon Gorst (1835–1916), who had chaired the inaugural meeting of the NUCCA in November 1867. The NUCCA was also housed in Parliament Street, bringing it under Gorst’s control. As stated in its Principles and Objects of 1872, the purpose of the NUCCA was to organise Conservative feeling in the country, advise on voter registration, and monitor the selection of parliamentary candidates and the use of campaign funds. It provided speakers for public meetings, posters for hoardings, leaflets for letterboxes, and a rapidly growing list of publications. The brief of the NUCCA was confined to England and Wales, and it was obliged to liaise with the County Conservative Registration Association and its Secretary, Charles Keith-Falconer. By 1872, 151 local Conservative Associations had affiliated with the NUCCA and, by 1874, 59% of all English and Welsh constituencies had Conservative or Conservative Working Men’s Associations. In 1877 a total of 791 local Conservative Associations were affiliated with the NUCCA.
