Damian Collins selected for Folkestone & Hythe

About 300 local Tories have chosen Damian Collins for Folkestone & Hythe to replace Michael Howard as the Conservative candidate.

Laura Sandys led at the executive stage but was eliminated first last night.  Harriet Baldwin gave a very impressive performance but "her undoing", according to my source, "was that she couldn't commit to move to the area full time initially - she offered 3 days a week, which many members saw as an open invitation to the Lib Dems to depict her as a Londoner visiting the constituency to get votes rather then because she cared".  Harriet now moves on to the final selection at West Worcestershire.

ConservativeHome congratulates Damian - an A-lister and employee of M&C Saatchi.  Thanks to the hard work of Michael Howard over recent years - in turning the tide on the LibDem threat in F&H - Damian inherits one of the party's safest seats.

This just in from the Bow Group (11am, 14 July):

"One ex-Bow Group Officer hands over to another in Folkestone:

Michael Howard MP ex Chairman in 1970 hands over to Damian Collins Political Officer (2003).  This continues a long tradition of Bow Group officers getting into parliament. There have been about 50 Bow Group officers who have made it into parliament in the last 30 years including, Justine Greening, Tobias Ellwood, John Penrose, Peter Lilley,  Cheryl Gillian, Lord Howe, Lord Lamont, Lord Heseltine.  The recent crop of Bow Group officers now being tipped for the future include: Sam Gyimah (A-lister), Kwasi Kwarteng, Chris Philp and Charlotte Leslie."

Comments

[Nadim]

Not much surprise there then.

So when is Francis going to enforce the selection of women/ black/ ethnic/ gay/ disabled? Dare I guess it'll be when the 'powerful' associations have selected?

[Stephen B]

The intro link on the main page says 'Damian Green' (MP for neighbouring Ashford) while the story is about 'Damian Collins' -oops!

[Paul Kennedy]

When I first visited the Forum this morning, I noticed the link said Damian Green, but I notice it is a Damian Collins.......we've got Damians everywhere!

Good luck to him, not that that will be needed, I sense a long Parliamentary career awaits him.

[Editor]

Oops indeed. The frontpage has now been corrected.

[EML]

Who he?

[Phelps]

Well done Damian.
At the end of the day what matters is that good candidates are selected, regardless of male or female, gay or straight, black or white. There are several good gay and Asian candidates securing final shortlists and hopefully some of them are good enough to win through. But generally it proves the A List has good people on it and that associations are (generally) playing ball.

[Gareth Williams]

Damian will make an excellent MP. He fought a great campaign in Northampton North and many other candidates (myself included) have benefitted from his advice and support over the years. Good luck Damian and well done!

[Andrea]

"At the end of the day what matters is that good candidates are selected, regardless of male or female, gay or straight, black or white."

I think you hit the main point. Positive actions (if you want to take them) should be taken to allow female, gay, black, Muslim,... candidates who are good, worth of selection and for some strange reasons would not be selected otherwise to be selected. They shouldn't help female, gay, black, Muslim candidates as a whole (otherwise you can end up like Labour and the awful Helen Clark).
So when the A List was compiled, there shouldn't have been "quotas" for genders and all. The top 100 candidates should have ended in it no matter what their gender.
It could have probably helped to have less critics to the project, because the meritocratic criteria would have been respected and it would have been less easy to "attack" the women in it.

[kwasi kwarteng]

The Folkestone & Hythe Bow Group connection is an interesting one. Michael Howard was chairman of the Bow Group from '70-'71, while Collins was political officer (number 2 or 3 in the hierarchy) from '03-04

[anon]

If "the project" hadn't been criticised we wouldnt have a list of who was on the A list, when seats were up for grabs - and a more substantial top up comoing at the end of the month. Its the constructive criticism which has actaully helped the process surely.

[Steve]

Absolutely Andrea. It's all well intentioned stuff but the problems the quotas create are massive. Not least the fact that good female candidates not on the list are wrongly perceived to be hopeless on the basis of "If they couldn't make it with the odds stacked in their favour, they must be poor".

We should help and encourage good candidates across the board and ensure a truly meritocratic party.

[David Surtees]

As Regional Director where both Damian and his wife, Sarah, stood at the last GE I can say what an excellent candidate Folkestone has chosen. We all wish them both every possible success.

[Donal Blaney]

Damian is a former committee member of the late and lamented National Association of Conservative Graduates. He is very intelligent, principled and hard-working, as well as being a good guy.

[Sally Smith]

I was Damian's Agent at the last General Election. Well done Folkestone and Hythe you will have an innovative and hardworking candidate.

[changetowin]

Congratulations to Damian who I'm sure will make an excellent MP. But we really do need to select more women candidates. The centre needs to take action, as they promised, NOW so that we end up with a much higher proportion of women MPs at the next election. Two things spring to mind: rigorous training for the women on the A-list, and stopping the planned top-up of the A-list.

[ChaunceyGardener]

Maybe Francis should ask his diversity advisor about how they did it in the Labour Party.

Seriously though something needs to be done to get more women selected in winnable seats otherwise the A list (and potentially with it DC) will be seen to be a failure. Cameron has staked a lot on candidate selection as a means for changing the image of the party.

If at the end of this process the outwardly projected image is still dominated by white middle class men the electorate will rightly say you haven't changed and that you are just the same Tory party we rejected in 97, 01 and 05.

A few women and the odd ethnic minority candidate will not be enough for Cameron to convincingly say the that the Tories have changed. This is potentially more serious than the fudge over the EPP withdrawal which is only really important to activists.

[Andrew Woodman]

Sorry to hijack the thread that is on the excellent Damien Collins, but I have to respond the changetowins points. Firstly, how fair to Damien would it be to say 'you're first choice but you're the wrong sex'. Secondly isn't enforcing quotas from the centre and asking them to take action a labour party solution? Thirdly, you say no top up to the A list. That would leave the next tranche of dozens of seats virtually no chioce of candidate, and potentially force unsuitable seats on unsuitable candidates. Fourthly, what's this training that women should undertake?

I don't believe in sexual discrimation and find your ideas incredibly patronising to women.