Rachel Frosh should not have been removed from the candidates list for saying Hitler was a Socialist

By Harry Phibbs
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Dr Rachel Frosh has been removed the Conservative Party candidates list and forced to resign as the Deputy Police and Crime Comissioner in Hertfordshire.

The reason was that she used her Twitter account to retweet  message with this graphic:

It is certainly provocative. Many socialists will have found it uncomfortable reading. Some may not have known that the Nazis were National Socialists - and those who did know might not care to be reminded of it.

Furthermore the message introduced the graphic with the words: "Dear Socialists, embrace your inner Nazism." The implication of this bit of the Tweet was unfair. Social democrats are socialists. Nazis are socialists. But social democrats are not Nazis. It is quite apparent that Dr Frosh understands this. Had it been her tweet therefore she would doubtless have given it a different wording. The point is that it wasn't her tweet, she was retweeting.

As Dan Hannan says the central message remains important. It is not some purely historical point. We have National Socialists in this country today in the form of the British National Party. They, along with Hitler, are routinely labelled "far right" by the BBC. The implication being that they are offering a strong a pure  form of Conservatism. By constantly maintaining this association "right wing" becomes a term of abuse.

Mr Hannan adds that in the 1930s:

The Nazis could hardly have been more open in their socialism, describing themselves with the same terminology as our own SWP: National Socialist German Workers' Party.

Almost everyone in those days accepted that fascism had emerged from the revolutionary Left. Its militants marched on May Day under red flags. Its leaders stood for collectivism, state control of industry, high tariffs, workers' councils. Around Europe, fascists were convinced that, as Hitler told an enthusiastic Mussolini in 1934, 'capitalism has run its course'.

One of the most stunning achievements of the modern Left is to have created a cultural climate where simply to recite these facts is jarring. History is reinterpreted, and it is taken as axiomatic that fascism must have been Right-wing, the logic seemingly being that Left-wing means compassionate and Right-wing means nasty and fascists were nasty. You expect this level of analysis from Twitter mobs; you shouldn't expect it from mainstream commentators.

I don't know who at CCHQ made the decision to remove (I hope merely suspended) Dr Frosh from the candidates list. There can sometimes be rough justice in these cases when there is the urgency of pressure from the media. However a terrible mistake has been made. Highlighting the socialist nature of Nazism is an important task for Conservatives. No Conservative should for a moment allow the description of Nazism, fascism of the BNP as "right wing" or "far right" to go unchallenged.

Dr Frosh is owed an apology from the Conservative Party.  She should be reinstated onto the candidates list. Any constituency association that chooses her as a candidate will be making an excellent choice.

Candidates are now being selected for Cardiff North, Corby, Hazel Grove and Solihull

By Peter Hoskin
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The party has announced that it's now selecting candidates for four more seats. They are:

Cardiff North, Conservative maj of 194
Corby, Labour maj of 7,791
Hazel Grove, Lib Dem maj of 6,371
Solihull, Lib Dem maj of 175

Given that two of the seats were won by the Tories at the last election—Corby, which was subsequently lost in a byelection, and Cardiff North, where Jonathan Evans is standing down as MP—we're not quite sure how this fits in with CCHQ's 40/40 strategy. We shall try to update you as we hear more.

Candidates selected for Hampstead & Kilburn and Gower

By Peter Hoskin
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Two more candidates have been chosen for the 2015 election. The first, Simon Marcus for Hampstead and Kilburn. He’s an excellent choice. Not only did he beat the BNP’s Nick Griffin into third place in Barking in 2010, but he also founded the Boxing Academy, based in Tottenham and Hackney, which offers an “alternative education” for disadvantaged teenagers who might otherwise slide into crime and gang culture. In fact, he wrote about it in a post for ConservativeHome a couple of years ago. Here’s a taster from it:

“Children need love, but tough love. The Boxing Academy is based on this principle and it works. Our mentors are all amateur boxers or martial artists and our staff cannot be bullied. The kids respect them. Our staff take calculated risks to get through to our students, some of whom don’t want to leave at the end of the day. We teach GCSEs, life skills and a full sports curriculum, but boxing is the key. Opposite to what many well-meaning liberals say, it does not teach you to be more violent but helps you to calm down and control your anger. Children see the discipline, the work ethic, the authority of a coach, the much needed father figure, the sense of achievement, the decision making, the control of aggression and the self-respect inherent in Boxing and learn that the use of force has a place, comes with responsibility and is not for the street.”

No doubt because of this work, Mr Marcus was appointed to the panel of the inquiry established to look into the London riots of 2011. He is also—like so many of the candidates announced so far—a Tory councillor.

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Candidates selected for the two target seats of Cheltenham and St Austell & Newquay

By Peter Hoskin
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Two more Tory candidates have been selected for 2015. They are Alex Chalk and Stephen Double — and, although they deserve congratulating, of course, as individuals, there are some striking parallels between the pair.

Both will be contesting target seats that are currently held by Lib Dems. In Mr Chalk’s case, it’s the seat of Cheltenham, which has been shaded yellow since 1992, and where Martin Horwood has a majority of 4,920. In Mr Double’s, it’s St Austell and Newquay, a seat created for the last election, when Stephen Gilbert won a 1,312 vote majority.

And, as with many of the candidates announced so far, both have a history of local-level activism. Mr Chalk, a criminal barrister who was brought up in the Cheltenham constituency, is a councillor London's Hammersmith and Fulham Conncil. Mr Double is Deputy Mayor of St Austell town council, as well as a school governor, a trustee of a local community trust and a volunteer with Volunteer Cornwall.

Anyway, here’s what they have to say in response to their selections. Mr Clark describes his priorities as:

“...to promote the local economy, jobs and growth; tackle the legacy of Labour’s debt, secure a strong future for the NHS and improve local education particularly in Maths and the sciences.”

And Mr Double has said:

“I am incredibly honoured and delighted to have been selected as the next Parliamentary Candidate for the Conservative Party for St Austell and Newquay. I am very grateful to everyone who has supported and encouraged me along the way and especially to all those who came out on a wild Cornish evening to attend the selection husting. This area has been my home for my whole life and it is a place I love and care about deeply. I now look forward to working with and for local people in the campaign for the next General Election. I have had a Liberal as my MP since I was 8 years old. It is time to change that!”

Derek Thomas selected to contest St Ives in 2015

By Peter Hoskin
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Another day, another candidate selected for 2015. The seat in question is St. Ives in Cornwall, and the newly selected candidate is the local businessman—Cornish stone mason, in fact—Derek Thomas. Congratulations to him.

Just like the last candidate to be selected, Rowena Holland in Nottingham South, Mr Thomas contested the same seat at the last election. And, just like Dr Holland, he put in an encouraging performance. He achieved a 10.4 per cent swing against the Liberal Democrat’s Andrew George, who has held the seat since 1997, to finish only 1,719 votes behind. Mr George isn’t exactly the most coalitious of MPs, so CCHQ probably won’t fell too much remorse if he gets deposed in 2015...

Here, to finish, is what Mr Thomas said in response to his selection this evening:

“I am delighted to have been selected once again to represent a constituency I care passionately about. I grew up here, I live here and I work here. It is a great privilege to serve this beautiful part of the United Kingdom.

I will do all I can to build a healthy, prosperous and caring community in West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. I will work to ensure that healthcare is delivered as close to home as possible.

I will campaign on behalf of our youngsters so they get the education and opportunities they need to love full and active lives.”

Rowena Holland selected to contest Nottingham South in 2015

By Peter Hoskin
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A short post to congratulate Dr Rowena Holland on being selected as the Conservative candidate for Nottingham South. The selection was announced last night.

Dr Holland was, in fact, the candidate for Nottingham South at the last election — and performed admirably. In a seat that has been held by Labour since 1992, she placed only 1,772 votes behind that party’s Lilian Greenwood, and achieved a swing towards the Conservatives of 7.4 per cent. Notwithstanding the 8.7 per cent swing that Martin Curtis achieved in Nottingham North, that was probably the best Tory result in the city in 2010.

And Dr Holland is also a Conservative councillor, for the North West Leicestershire District Council. This fits into a trend, that Paul noted recently, for selecting candidates with a record of service to the party.

Anyway, she faces quite a battle now: Conservatives lost out in the last local elections in Nottingham, and Labour’s campaign against a directly-elected mayor for the city even drew Eric Pickles’ ire. She has started that fight with the statement below:

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Feltham and Heston goes to the polls today

By Matthew Barrett
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The voters of Feltham and Heston go to the polls today. Senior Conservatives are still heading to the seat in an effort to Get Out The Vote, including Iain Duncan Smith and Liam Fox. 

ConservativeHome wishes good luck to the candidate, Mark Bowen, and encourages residents of the seat to vote Conservative!

> Yesterday, Mark Bowen wrote to the Labour candidate, to find out if she supports David Cameron's European veto

Tory candidate in Feltham & Heston asks Labour's one: where do you stand on our EU veto?

Conservative candidate in the Feltham & Heston by-election, Mark Bowen, has written to Labour's Seema Malhotra highlighting that Cameron's veto of the EU treaty has a lot of support among traditional Labour supporters. He also asks her whether she is with the British people or the Labour party to deal with the economic crisis:

Dear Seema

You will know from knocking on doors in Feltham and Heston that local people have responded positively to the Prime Minister’s use of the veto in Brussels last week. He came to Feltham and Heston to support my campaign on the day he travelled to Brussels for the summit and he was absolutely clear then, that he would stand up for Britain and that is exactly what he did.

The polls show strong support for David Cameron’s stance, even amongst Labour voters.  

This week aides of your leader Ed Miliband started briefing journalists that he too would have vetoed the proposed EU treaty – despite strongly criticising the Prime Minister’s decision.

Where do you stand on this? At our hustings you said membership of the EU was a no-brainer, which is a far clearer statement than Ed Miliband has made over the last week.

Can you tell me, and the people of Feltham and Heston, if you support the Prime Minister’s action in standing up for Britain?

On the economy, polls also show that the British people back the government’s plan to deal with Labour’s deficit so we don’t pass it on to the children of Feltham and Heston to deal with. In a recent poll, three-quarters of people said we should pay off the deficit as soon as possible - just 18% disagreeing. Over half of Labour voters said the government should not borrow anymore. 

Do you agree with the British people on the economy, or do you back Labour’s plans which would see mortgage payments soar for hard working families in Feltham and Heston?

Kind regards,

Mark Bowen

Adrian Hilton: Cameron’s continuing quest for female candidates

It’s always good to clear out the garage or purge the attic of junk, detritus, bad memories and dead wood. There’s something therapeutically cathartic about rationalising a crowded space and establishing a new order. The only potential hazard is the sort of over-zealous purgation which hastily discards a lifetime of faded boxes you never thought you’d need, only to realise, years later, they actually contained treasures and photographs, yellow with years but utterly unique and irreplaceable. Today’s surplus and dispensable can be tomorrow’s necessary, valued and very much desired.

A year ago, Tim Montgomerie reported that CCHQ had embarked upon a mass culling of the Approved List of Candidates. That’s okay: politics isn’t fair, as David Cameron said to Patrick Mercer. And so hundreds of parliamentary hopefuls (not to say loyal Party volunteers) were summarily struck off following a 45-minute interview with ‘senior party workers’ which purported to measure such qualitative criteria as ‘manner and attitude’, the ‘ability to relate to people’, and ‘commitment to inclusion and diversity’. Despite every one of these Party members having already passed (and paid for) a comprehensive, thorough, day-long Parliamentary Assessment Board (PAB), and having unequivocally established their unwavering commitment to the Party and conservative values (not, of course, always the same thing), they were judged to be somehow deficient, and so eradicated.

The cleansing was wholly ethnic (ie white) and the overwhelming majority of those removed were male (ie 97%). There were a few exceptions, perhaps most notably the case of Annunziata Rees-Mogg (aka Nancy Mogg), whose sorry plight occupied the pages of the Mail on Sunday for a couple of weeks, with her brother elegantly (as he does) proclaiming:

“The attitude of Central Office is shameful... I think my sister has been treated disgracefully by an unjust procedure that brings the party into disrepute. Traditionally the Candidates’ department was well run by an experienced MP and senior members of the voluntary party. It is now run by arrogant, discourteous apparatchiks.”

Jacob is right about ‘traditionally’, and also about ‘arrogant, discourteous apparatchiks’. I doubt he’d have made past two modernising assessors on ‘manner and attitude’ or the ‘ability to relate to people’. He had the audacity to criticise Carlyn Chisholm, the current Chairman of the Candidates’ Committee, for her ‘poor manners’. He’s right about that, too.

Continue reading "Adrian Hilton: Cameron’s continuing quest for female candidates" »