“When I applied for a seat, the chairman of the local association rang me and said they wanted me to be their candidate, but of course, I was blocked by CCHQ.

“If, like me, you’re pro-Brexit, tough on immigration and want low tax, CCHQ see you as a repulsive headbanger. Too many in the party might as well be Liberal Democrats.”

Issues with the selection process led to MP defections in recent years. Sarah Wollaston and Heidi Allen moved to Change UK and then to the Lib Dems, while Phillip Lee joined the Lib Dems.

Currently, 63 Conservative MPs have declared they won't run in the next election. The highest number of Conservative MPs stepping down in one term was 75, recorded before the 1997 election.

A CCHQ source rejected the claims, telling the Telegraph: “These claims have no basis in fact. It’s obviously a bit difficult for candidates who attack the party leader to be selected given they will be asking constituents to cast their votes for him to be Prime Minister.

“But the idea that people are not being put forward because of some ideological bent is totally false. This is the PM who is cutting taxes, bringing in major immigration curbs, curbing the excessive elements of net zero and trying to get illegal immigrants sent to Rwanda. That’s hardly some Left-wing agenda.”

Express.co.uk has contacted the Conservative Party for comment.