ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog

Do you want to be a Conservative MP? Here's some advice...

Last week ConservativeHome published a guide to the decidedly Thatcherite views of the candidates who have been adopted as Conservative candidates for the next General Election.  126 adopted candidates took part in the survey that also asked for advice for all those contemplating following in their footsteps.  Below we group the advice they offered - chosen to be representative of the whole:

DON'T LEAVE FIRST BASE WITHOUT YOUR FAMILY'S SUPPORT
> "The road to being a candidate and MP gobbles up time and money.  If your spouse isn't 100% committed you are putting your marriage at risk.  Support from partner/ husband/ wife is a first base call."
> "Be prepared to work very hard without thanks or reward, often without the full support of your association, to miss out on promotion at work and to risk strife at home! That said, it can be very fulfilling and of course if / when you win, it will all seem worth the stress."

DON'T PUT ALL OF YOUR EGGS IN THE 'I WANNA BECOME AN MP' BASKET
> "Most of the people who started on this search with me have given up or STILL haven't been adopted. For most people the road to becoming an MP isn't just hard and long but unsuccessful."
> "Get a job and life, and when you have done something real and valuable, then consider standing for office."
> "Be patient; get on with life outside politics and make a success of it because a political career is highly unreliable; have fun."

IT'S NOT WHAT YOU KNOW, IT'S WHO YOU KNOW
> "Seriously - do some homework - and be seen in the right places - by elections, various events that the area CCHQ staff are at...and the like...don't bother doing 10,15, 20 years working your way up through the ranks gaining experience."
> "Lick up to everyone in CCHQ who matters to get on the A list - get the fix in your favour and make sure you're good on the night too."
> "Hold your nose while youre on your way up. Say nice things to the CCO staff who will lose your CV or put it on the top of the pile. It's nauseating but these people have so much power.Too much power."
> "I was told by a CCHQ employee that if I applied for the seat they would ensure I got an interview.  We'll manage the sift for you. It was a person I'd bought champagne at the last Party Conference. It was the best £35 I ever spent in my time in the party."

PREPARE TO LOSE A LOT OF MONEY
> "Over the last ten years I've spent at least £100,000 getting to this point and I feel lucky. I will be an MP in the first Conservative government of the 21st century but many others have spent tens of thousands and have got nowhere."

> A ConservativeHome survey - published last year - found that the average cost of becoming a Conservative MP was £41,500.  49% of adopted candidates expect their candidacies to cost more than this when they add up direct costs and lost income opportunities.  The same survey found that 55% thought that their incomes would drop if they become MPs.

PERSEVERE: THIS IS A MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT
> "Get a thick skin. Work hard and be prepared for a long, hard and lonely haul."
> "Develop elephant hide."
> "Do not give up, keep on keeping on."
> "It is a marathon not a sprint and you must pace yourself accordingly."

SPEND MONEY ON EXPERT HELP
> "Don't do this on your own. Hire a coach. Talk to candidates already selected about who to hire."
> "I got no where until I started getting professional help. Getting selected is partly an art but there's also science to what you say, what you wear, how you prepare. A few thousands spent now on good advice from the likes of Mark Fulbrook will get you selected faster and so save you many thousands more down the road."

DON'T LOSE SIGHT OF WHY YOU GOT INTO ALL OF THIS
"Know why you're doing it and be prepared to compromise your career and say goodbye to evenings and weekends."

YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN...
> "Don't expect the work that needs to be done in most marginal seats to be done by others - expect to have to alter your whole life."
> "Expect help from nobody but yourself."
> "Be prepared for very little support from the party, count any support as a blessing."
> "If you lose you seat then expect to be very, very lonely. No one thanks you."
> "Be prepared for a fractious and ungrateful local Association. If you get a decent one, you're lucky."

...UNLESS YOU FORM A CIRCLE OF TRUST
> "The best thing I have is my group of three. Three friends who are part of the party and know the score. They tell me what is going on, they tell me when I am being sensible or paranoid. They tell me if I'm being fair to my family or unfeeling. I rehearsed my selection speeches in front of them."

AND FINALLY...
> "Never use notes when speaking. You should know what you have to say. If you can't do this then realistically you are probably not going to make it as an MP."
> "Get the CV filled up with hands-on campaigning wherever's handy for you. For example, don't write a press release about saving a post office: Go and work in one, even in a different constituency, and go to the public meetings. Then you'll be able to show the selection committee, or open primary that, while you acknowledge the party is doing wonders nationally, you will get stuck in locally. It really isn't all about top notch public speaking skills and a conveniently healthy bank balance. It's convincing the selection panel that voters will connect with you, and be prepared to trust you. That you'll get your hands dirty, however needy and unrealistic constituents may be, that you'll do what you say you will etc. For that reason alone, be realistic about the seats you go for, especially where it's unlikely you'll win. Putting in effort locally is one thing: Travelling miles before you can get started is another. Also, if you have no energy, no personality, no sense of humour, a history of giving up in the face of disappointment or a tendancy to get very angry at every unfairness with which you are visited, look for other ways of having a fulfilling life. A recollection that being a MP is about public service would also help."

Most Tory candidates expect to see income fall if they become MPs

ConservativeHome has repolled our candidates that we first profiled here.

In the context of the debate on MPs' pay, 72 candidates answered our questions on the financial consequences of entering the Commons and of being a candidate.

Q1. What would happen to your income if you became an MP?

• My income would double: 15%
• My income would increase but by less than 100%: 14%
• My income would be about the same: 15%
• My income is about 50% greater than what I would expect to earn as an MP: 29%
• My income is more than 50% greater than what I would expect to earn as an MP: 26%

Q2. Last year ConservativeHome estimated that the cost of becoming a Conservative MP was an average £41,500 in terms of expenses and lost income opportunities. From your own experience, would you say that this cost was:

• Greater than I expect to incur: 17%
• About what I expect to incur: 34%
• Less than what I expect to incur: 49%

Q3. Do you plan to pursue other financial interests if you became an MP?

• Yes: 21%
• No: 50%
• Don't know: 29%

The costs of being a candidate (a continuing series)

After yesterday's news of Mark Bigley's decision to resign as a candidate, Torbay's Marcus Wood notes the strains and stresses of being a Conservative candidate on his blog:

"My Colleague Mark Bigley, the PPC for Southport, has stood down this week, he says for personal and family reasons.

Mark was, along with myself and about 22 others, a member of the small group of parliamentary candidates 'fast-tracked' immediately after the 2005 election in a programme designed to maintain the momentum built up in our seats.

He is the second 'fast track' PPC to resign recently; my good friend Paul Offer packed it in at the end of last year after complaining about dark deeds by some members of his association; but also I suspect because he had concerns about the diverting impact of being a PPC on his career.

The fact is being a candidate and nursing a seat is a huge commitment not just for oneself but also for the family. It is a massive financial commitment, I estimate that the cost to me personally of fighting the 2005 election measured in loss of earnings leading up to the election and then restoring my momentum afterwards, relocation, donations and supporting costs to be well over £150,000. And it is a constant demand on ones time and energy, David Camerons recent two visits to the bay involved me taking three days off work, the election a fourth, all in one month. How lucky I am to have a forgiving boss!"

£150,000.  Wow.  I don't know Marcus Wood and he is lucky to be able to absorb that kind of cost. ConservativeHome remains very disappointed that the party has done so little to help lower income people become and stay Conservative candidates despite our best efforts to highlight some ways forward in this area.

Clerical error cost party over £30,000 last year

ToryRadio has already picked this up but a clerical oversight at CCHQ meant that the annual fee for being on the candidates' list was not collected last year.  The cost to CCHQ was logo-sized; well over £30,000.

This is the text of the letter that has just been distributed to candidates:

"Dear XX,

Re: AACC Membership Payment

As you know we ask all candidates who join the approved list to pay an annual subscription to the AACC (Approved Association of Conservative Candidates) of £80. This money is used to help fund events for networking opportunities, subsidised training for you as well as covering day to day administrative and communication costs.

It appears we have no record of receiving payment from you in 2006 and so far in 2007. Fir this reason please would you kindly send in a cheque for the two years subscription to the value of £160 payable to "The Conservative Party" to the department.

If you believe you have paid for 2006 and/0r 2007 please contact the department providing details of payment which can then be checked against our account paperwork.

From January 2008 all payments will be managed by direct debit so I would be very grateful if you could kindly complete the enclosed form and also return this to the department. All direct debit payments will leave your account annually on or around 2nd January.

Yours sincerely
Gareth Fox
Head of Candidates."

Candidates will, of course, cough up.  One does wonder about CCHQ's internal systems, though.

Related link: David Cameron recently addressed some of ConservativeHome's concerns about the costs of candidacy.

David Cameron on the costs of being a candidate

David Cameron has today responded in written form to my WebCameron question on the costs of being a candidate. Thanks to all who voted.

"You're right in saying my ambition is for our Party to be representative of modern Britain. We cannot be so without ensuring that our candidates include men and women not just from the public and voluntary sectors but from all over Britain. And while we have made progress, there is much to do - not just for Parliamentary candidates but in choosing council candidates and increasing our membership and supporter base.

I've spoke to Francis about your three suggestions to help attract a wider range of candidates.

First, he has agreed that the fee for the Parliamentary Assessment Board, where there are compelling cases, can be reduced on a case by case basis. In fact this is something that has happened in the past.

Second, we'll give some serious thought to your emergency access fund. I like the idea. If possible we should do it. I'm not promising anything immediate, but I'll see what we can do.

Third, instead of a ‘Candidate's Protector', which seems a little bureaucratic, we already have in place ‘MP Mentors' who guide and counsel candidates. I'll make sure John Maples gets Mentors to monitor financial demands placed on candidates.

Campaign Directors are in place working on Target Seats. They are the best placed people to advise candidates and associations on how time and money should be prioritised."

I'm not convinced that aspiring candidates would feel inclined to ask for or accept individual subsidies for their PABs, but David's answer shows that the issue is at least being thought about. ConservativeHome will be following these points up with Francis Maude.

Deputy Editor

Ask David about the cost of becoming a Tory MP

I've submitted a question on WebCameron which you might like to vote for...

"Throughout last year ConservativeHome examined the high cost of being a Conservative parliamentary candidate.  We estimated  that it costs an average £41,550 to become a Conservative MP. 

That price tag must prevent many lower income candidates from being able to become Tory MPs and will frustrate your ambition to build a parliamentary party that is truly more representative of modern Britain.  People with valuable experience of the public and voluntary sectors are particularly likely to be affected, as are those of a working-class northern background similar to my own.  This costs issue has also recently been raised  by Women2Win as something that deters some would-be female candidates.

ConservativeHome has come up with few ideas, such as 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.

What action might you take in order to address this important issue of financial exclusion?"

Deputy Editor

£275 and you can go to the ball

Candidates are being invited to attend 7th February's Black & White Ball in an email from Sallie Hendry.  Mrs Hendry is co-chairman of the ball with Zac Goldsmith.  Tickets cost £275 if they are purchased before 1st December and £325 thereafter.  Those prices are not going to attract a diverse range of candidates but the good news is that the party is raising funds for candidates to set up social action projects in their constituencies.

The costs of being a candidate

As featured in this morning's Telegraph, Financial Times and Scotsman.  Guardian Online, the Daily Mail and the BBC have also since posted reports.

In aiming for a more representative Conservative Party David Cameron has consistently emphasised the need for more women and people from Britain’s ethnic minority communities.  The fact that more than 50% of A-listers are women - and that 10% are from ethnic minorities - was about the only thing that CCHQ wanted journalists to know about the ‘Priority List’ when it was launched.

ConservativeHome has always believed that ‘candidate diversity’ should have other dimensions.  We believe that older candidates have something special to give to the parliamentary party and Iain Dale made a strong case for candidates with good life experiences in a special post in January.  A bigger theme for ConservativeHome, however, has been the value of recruiting candidates with backgrounds in the public and voluntary sectors – or other people who, perhaps because they have been homemakers or carers, have limited incomes.  Robert H Halfon and Katie Perrior have both written for ConservativeHome about the financial pressures on candidates.

A few weeks ago ConservativeHome invited existing candidates to submit their own experiences of the financial costs of seeking to become a Conservative MP.  I am very grateful to the 17 A-listers and 20 other candidates who took the trouble to email me with their experiences.  I hope, as they read my all-too-short analysis, that they will think I have done some justice to their experiences.

It is absolutely clear that being a Conservative candidate is very expensive and I have categorised the expenses under four broad headings:

1. The basic costs of becoming and staying a candidate
2. The costs of finding a seat
3. The costs of fighting a seat
4. Lost income from the whole process.

By way of summary, however, eight people who had won their election bids and eight who failed to do so calculated the total costs for their candidacies:

• The total cost for the winning candidates was £41,550 when lost income was included.  It was significantly less - £27,235 – for losing candidates (partly reflecting the fact that some candidates were unlikely to win their seats and consequently spent and sacrificed less).  Average cost of fighting a seat (with lost income included): £34,392.
• When considering direct costs only the cost was £22,020 for winning candidates and £16,070 for losing candidates.  Average costs (only including fees, housing, travel and other direct costs): £19,045.

How much does it cost to be a candidate?

Publishing the A-list caused ConservativeHome's traffic to double.  It was, of course, the list that nearly every Tory wanted to see.  I always tell people, however, that the list of people who told me who was on the list would have been a more interesting one!  I say this because I want to underline that I always respect the confidentiality of sources.  Always.

If you are a candidate and are willing to share some insight into the costs of being a candidate... I'd be delighted to hear from you.  Please email me if you can share information on the costs of being on the candidates list, on finding a seat and then on campaigning for a seat.

This will feed into a forthcoming post about ConservativeHome's campaign to help lower income people become Tory candidates.

Related links: Cash for quality candidates (by Katie Perrior) and Action is needed to help candidates meet the costs of standing for parliament (by Robert Halfon).

Katie Perrior: Cash for quality candidates

Katie Perrior of The Research Shop writes here in a personal capacity.

Never before have women in politics had it so good. Politicians these days are falling over themselves to attract the female vote – photo calls at children’s nurseries, promises over child tax credits and pledges to help mothers get back to work. The Labour Party was the first to be seen to be female friendly when they came to power with a series of ‘Blair babes’ in 1997.

However it is the Conservative Party that has most recently reached out and appealed to women. David Cameron has laid firm his desire for female friendly polices on childcare, the environment, education and healthcare. His plans to include more women within the Conservative Party shows he is taking this issue seriously even within his early days of the Tory leadership. Cameron is a supporter of the Women2Win campaign which I have been involved in. Driven by Theresa May, Bernard & Anne Jenkin and Shirine Ritchie amongst others, it has had tremendous success in last 6 months. The priority list which we know isn’t everyone’s cup of tea - but necessary to put women on an equal footing with the men within the party - will have its teething problems but is a positive step forward. The plan is to get an even balance between women and men and then bin it – a sunset clause on the priority list is what we should all be aiming for in the long run.

The female candidates I have been working with through Women2Win have actively been encouraged to participate in a series of events including speaking engagements, tv and radio appearances, networking evenings, local association dinners – the list is endless and many are grateful to be included in this new political world they have found themselves in. A few of us have nicknamed the new  women our ‘political virgins’. Not only do I like some of the new breed that I have met, they seem to me as a genuine breath of fresh air who will become real assets to the Conservatives in the future, unlike some of the Blair babes who just didn’t live up to their much publicised arrival. What we have learnt from the Blair babes is that it is no good just being female – you have to be female and bloody good at your job to succeed in politics.

We can all understand the grumbles of those who think the women got there through their gender but those I have met so far are genuinely there by merit. Many are very impressive.

So all is well with Tory ladies then?

Not quite. Do you know how much one female possible candidate spent last month on attending all these things she was told were vital to success within her party? Nearly two grand. This is all very well for the daughters of current MPs trying to make it big (not knocking them as some of the rich sloanies I’ve come across in the last few months are great and would make fab MPs) but what about the mother with three children who is now weighing up the merits of spending a day out with her kids at Chessington during half term or spending the money on a train journey to another ‘vital to be seen at’ tory shindig instead. Not to put too finer point on it -  these things cost money. For a party that fundamentally believes in the free market you would have thought someone internally might have worked this out by now. However, I can’t take credit for this new moan. I’m told it goes back many years. There’s a recent story about a new female Tory MP in 2005 who nearly gave up the seat she was fighting because her exhaust fell off her car as she was driving up the M1 and she didn’t have any money to get it fixed.

To even get an interview as a candidate these days it will set you back £250. £250 and you might not even get picked! How many job interviews do you know where you have to pay the company for the pleasure of being interviewed? 

The only solution to stop the financial disparity amongst candidates is to be up front about costs and make bursaries available to those who put a strong business case forward for financial help. As the age old saying goes within the Conservative Party – it would be ‘a hand up, not a hand-out’. These bursaries are needed to create an even playing field – currently a candidate with vast amounts of money could buy any kind of help they wanted and then impress the constituencies at interview stage with their professionalism. Media training? No problem. Researchers on tap? Just a phone call away. If you don’t come from a background of money, you are more than likely to be on the phone begging your supplier to not cut you off. Again.

The tactic Lord Ashcroft deployed with his dosh was spot on at the last election. Rather than throwing a vast amount of money into a central office piggy bank (which we now know was raided to pay out for the likes of the bills of Chairman Lord Saatchi’s firms and strategy guru Lynton Crosby’s rather large wage packet), Ashcroft paid cash sums to individual candidates in target seats who could satisfy him with a detailed action plan to win the seat. It now makes sense to set this kind of unit up at Central Office and open a fund where donors can contribute anonymously so to save any kind of ‘cash for influence’ questions in the future.

Before male candidates start writing in complaining about this idea, I think this scheme should be applied to both men and women and the Conservative Party has a duty to help set it up. However, I continue to harp on about the female cause because it is they who are more likely to find it difficult to pay out candidate costs if they are mothers without an income of their own.

Bringing money into politics instantly makes an already badly perceived career even more grubby. But how can stay at home mums, nurses and teachers afford to represent us otherwise? Conservatives are nothing if they are not realists – they should wake up to the fact that as a party it will never attract the very best from all walks of life until it puts its money where its mouth is. Balls to loans for peerages, how about cash for quality?

***
RELATED LINK: Robert H Halfon argues that 'Action is needed to help candidates meet the costs of standing for parliament'.

Robert H Halfon: Action is needed to help candidates meet the costs of standing for parliament

David Cameron gave a speech yesterday in which he set out radical plans to discriminate in favour of women, people from ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.  35% of the ConservativeHome.com Members' Panel have expressed support for this sort of A-list of preferred candidates.  A larger proportion - 44% - support some sort of financial support for lower income candidates.  This idea did not feature in Mr Cameron's speech.  Robert H Halfon - the readopted candidate for Harlow - argues that a modern, compassionate Conservative Party should offer  financial bursaries for charity workers, social entrepreneurs, teachers and others.

It is a privilege being a Parliamentary Candidate and having the chance to serve a Constituency as an MP. But, whatever the kudos, it is not much fun being financially stretched in the process.

If the Conservative Party is really intent on attracting Candidates from a wide variety of backgrounds (and the reforms announced by David Cameron are a giant leap forward), then it has to consider a bursary scheme for Candidates on lower incomes.

The real barrier to good, diverse Candidates coming forward is not always discrimination. Indeed many members and local Associations are forward looking. The problem is the financial burden.

To be a Parliamentary Candidate outside of your immediate locality costs a small fortune. Setting up home in the constituency, the travel to and from, the many Tory functions, the buying of raffle tickets and such like, can mount up to thousands of pounds. The result being that only the well off or modestly well off can afford to be a Candidate. No wonder women and aspirant individuals are discouraged from putting themselves forward.

To take my own personal example. Fighting two elections in Harlow (and now gearing up for a third) has cost well over £30,000) and depleted any savings I once had. At one stage I got into serious debt (now repaid!). I am not complaining. I chose to be a Candidate in a Marginal Seat.

But why should Candidates have to face these financial burdens? I once asked this question to a Party Treasurer and an MP and the response was that Candidates were lucky to be there and if anything should be giving the party money! This has some truth but also displays no real understanding of the daily struggle that many people have to face - merely to maintain a modest way of life. It is the wrong attitude for a modern compassionate Conservative Party.

What is needed is a special Bursary scheme for Parliamentary Candidates established with a special fund set up by Conservative Campaign HQ. Candidates should be invited to apply for busaries setting out their business plan and expected financial needs. Bursary awards should be given based on a Candidates financial circumstances.Regional funds could be established to reflect different local costs.

A bursary scheme would ensure that those who were discouraged from being a candidate because of the financial burden, would no longer face that obstacle.

More importantly it would make certain that the Conservative Party attracted Candidates from all backgrounnds regardless of income. It would show the public that Tory Candidates have been selected because of aspiration and merit, not because of privilege and patronage. The Conservative Parliamentary Party would benefit too as it would have a range of MPs who would be much more diverse than present. How much better to discuss social reform, if we have a significant range of MPs who have had to really fight hard to be there.

Of course we need the successful small businesmen, lawyers and City financiers.But just imagine if this expertise was complemented by charity workers, social entrepreneurs, teachers and nurses.

David Cameron has said that Social Justice is one of the key Conserative challenges. What better symbol of this could be to implement a bursary scheme to encourage Parliamentary Candidates of lower incomes to apply?

If we are to develop policies on social justice for the country, we must ensure that the Party reflects the same values.