The Conservatives have built a second fully functional party headquarters in the West Midlands, according to party insiders. The multi-million pound facility was set-up in case the party’s official base ‘Conservative Campaign Headquarters’ (CCHQ) in Westminster is disabled during the election.
The facility, located Coleshill Manor near Birmingham, is said to be capable of opening within minutes of a cyber attack, fire or other problem in London. Under emergency plans drawn up the staff of CCHQ, they would be taken in coaches to Coleshill, which has all their data backed up, so they could continue to work as normal.
Coleshill is believed to be capable to taking over the entire Conservative campaign machine within minutes of a problem developing at CCHQ. It is set in 400 acres of countryside and has a “manned, state-of-the-art, security system with CCTV”. To enter visitors are required to pass through a security check point.
It was already home to a vast printing press, which is said to be capable of producing a million leaflets a day. It can also make 100,000 telephone calls per day from it’s call centre known as GENEVA. The building is open 24 hours a day in case local campaigners need help with their work.
The property was previously owned by Edward the Confessor and William the Conqueror, although the current Manor House was built in the 19th Century. Today it is owned by IM Properties PLC which in turn is controlled by Lord Edmiston who has donated millions to the party in the past. He was given his peerage by David Cameron in 2011.
In 2006 the activities of Coleshill were subject to a major investigation by the Electoral Commission. Both David Cameron and William Hague were asked about the facility, and the BBC accused them of giving contradictory statements about the financing. However, after a two-year investigation the arrangements were found to be compliant with the rules.
Coleshill Manor is also home to Communication Strategy and Management LTD, a company advising Conservative MPs on campaign tactics. It is run by Richard Murphy who worked for the Tory party for 20 years. Other parts of the site are used by companies that have no involvement with the Conservative Party.
One former Tory candidate who has spent time at Coleshill told Breitbart London: “It is absolutely vast, the Conservatives are based in the main Manor House. The security is pretty tight and we even heard a rumour David Cameron has his own office in there.”