If ConservativeHome listed our disappointments, close to the top of the list would be our failure to persuade the party to introduce a financial assistance scheme for lower income candidates. We highlighted the costs of being a candidate two years ago but CCHQ has never really acted on our concerns - although David Cameron promised case-by-case help.
We mention the issue now in the context of the Labour Party's class war attacks on the Conservative Party. In an article in today's Economist - Class Worriers - our hopes for more financial assistance are commended:
"The medium term looks little brighter, for the next intake of Tory MPs will contain many of gilded provenance. In the long term, however, the party could change its social mix by putting as much effort into recruiting parliamentary candidates from humble backgrounds as it has into finding women and members of ethnic minorities. Tim Montgomerie, who runs Conservative Home, an influential website, suggests more financial assistance for those who cannot afford the costs of a parliamentary bid. That would be a start."
Although most candidates have now been selected it's not too late to adopt our proposed package of measures: reducing the costs of attending a Parliamentary Assessment Board, establishing an emergency access fund for candidates in crisis and appointing a ‘Candidate’s Protector’ to limit the demands on candidates from their Conservative Associations.
