ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog

Jack LoPresti and other candidates news

A-Lister and Bristol Councillor, Jack LoPresti, was selected last night as our candidate for the new seat of Filton and Bradley Stoke.  Of the seat Anthony Wells writes:

"A new seat in South Gloucestershire, based on a former part of the Bristol North West seat and parts of Kingswood and Northavon. The seat is likely to be quite a tight three way marginal. Notional 2005 result C 14,742 L 13,541 LD 11,243 Conservative Majority 1,201 (2.9%)"

As well as being a member of The Freedom Association, Councillor LoPresti apparently knows everything there is to know about General George Patton (see this pdf)!

Following Chris Heaton-Harris' selection for Daventry (universally applauded on this blog) there is an extra space on the Folkestone & Hythe shortlist and A-lister Simon Walker (as first reserve) will take it.

Dizzy reports that Michael Portillo will be interviewing the candidates at the Eltham constituency (in accordance with the new selection formats required by the party).

Jonathan Isaby of The Telegraph will be the interviewer for Saturday's York Outer selection.  The three contenders are...

• Kevin Hollinrake (A-List)
• Julie Moody (A-list)
• Julian Sturdy (Harrogate councillor).

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).

Chris Heaton-Harris selected for Daventry

Christopher Heaton-Harris is a Tory MEP for the East Midlands region.  Married with two daughters and a qualified football referee, Mr Heaton-Harris is the fifth A-lister to be selected in seven relevant selection meetings.  He is a supporter of the campaign to reinstate Roger Helmer to full membership of the Tory group of MEPs.

Daventry shortlist: An MEP, a celebrity Doctor, and a local teacher

News has reached ConservativeHome of the shortlist for tomorrow night's selection in Daventry, a seat that last time had a majority vote share for the Conservatives. It includes local teacher Ben Jeffreys, who isn't on the A-list.

• Chris Heaton Harris MEP - also on the Folkestone & Hythe shortlist
• Dr David Bull - trained as a doctor before becoming a TV presenter, a high profile supporter of the British Red Cross and Cystic Fibrosis Trust, and co-founding the Incredibull communications agency
• Ben Jeffreys - teacher at a local school, has encouraged other candidates left off the A-list not to resort to "hasty recriminations and tearful resignations".

Deputy Editor

F&H shortlist is all A-list

ConservativeHome has learnt that Folkestone & Hythe Conservative Association (Tory majority of 11,680) has drawn up a shortlist of six in the race to succeed Michael Howard.  All six are A-listers:

1. Harriet Baldwin - fought Stockton North in 2005
2. Damian Collins - fought Northampton North in 2005
3. Chris Heaton-Harris - Eurosceptic MEP for the East Midlands *
4. Brandon Lewis - Leader of Brentwood Borough Council
5. Kulveer Ranger - Senior management consultant, who wrote about the A list here
6. Laura Sandys - Political consultant, involved with openDemocracy and the Centre for Defence Studies

* Selected for Daventry

1% swing will end Labour's majority

That's the view of an analysis of the finalised boundary changes in today's Times.  If the new boundary changes had been in force at last year's General Election, "Labour’s 64-seat victory would have dropped to 44 with several more seats too close to call, The Times has learnt". "However," The Times continues, "the Tories will still need a swing of 9 or 10 per cent (down from 11 per cent) to win an outright majority, meaning that the parties may have to fight for Liberal Democrat support to be able to govern after the next poll."  The opposition of Tory grassroots to co-operation with the LibDems was recently examined in a ConservativeHome poll.

Round up on candidates 25/6/06

This is the latest news that ConservativeHome has on the candidates' front:

• A-LIST TOP-UP.  The A-list top-up is likely to take place at the end of July (26th to 28th) and the main issues to be resolved are (1) the size of the top-up and (2) whether the names on the top-up will be announced.  On (1) the top-up might be as large as 100 additional names.  On (2) if the names are kept secret (which is, reportedly, not what Francis Maude wants) then ConservativeHome will have another busy week...

• NEXT TRANCHES OF SEATS.  35 very different seats were released to A-listers in the first wave of selecting constituencies.  Smaller tranches are expected to be released from now on, but more frequently.

• A-LISTERS.  Four A-listers have been selected so far: Mel Stride (pictured) in Central Devon (a horrible name for a beautiful constituency); Pauline Latham in Mid Derbyshire; Andrea Leadsom in Northamptonshire South; and Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones in Chippenham.  Two women, one black man and a social entrepreneur is a good start for the A-list.

• LOCAL CANDIDATES.  CCHQ is to be congratulated on the way they are allowing local candidates to apply for first-tranche-seats.  This flexibility has meant that seats like Selby and B&C have chosen non-A-listers but it has also avoided big constituency-v-CCHQ confrontations.  The one fly in the ointment is the slowness with which certain would-be-local-candidates are getting to Parliamentary Assessment Boards.  Without a PAB passport local candidates cannot apply to their local associations.  ConservativeHome is aware of at least three people who have been 'excluded' from selections in this way.  More associations should, perhaps, follow the lead of Truro and Falmouth whose Assn postponed their selection in order for six people with Cornish connections to have the time to attend PABs.  All three final candidates for Lewes are non-A-list locals.

Scottish regional list selection

The Scottish Conservative Candidates' Board and the Scottish Executive have decided on the rules for the List process in 2007.

Only constituency candidates, with a proven commitment to their constituency campaigns, are eligible for ranking in the regional lists. Party members in each of the seven regions will then rank them in a postal ballot.

However, candidates will again be highly restricted in their campaigning activities before and during the ranking period, despite some earlier assurances to the contrary. They are banned from soliciting support from members in any way other than with one A4 piece of paper, one hustings, and a CV sent out with the ballot papers. So members are allowed to have in a say in the rankings, but not to determine their vote by being canvassed or emailed.

This restriction on campaigning will help to entrench sitting regional MSPs who are already better known outside of their own constituencies. Most of the many young and able candidates fighting no-hope constituencies will have little chance of getting the top couple of regional rankings. These proposals have stirred some Scottish activists as much as the Vote blue, get red issue as Holyrood's Conservative group is often accused of having "gone native" and to be in need of new blood.

Brian Monteith MSP advocates a fresh approach to solve the problem:

"We have heard a great deal of tosh about a new Scottish politics that Holyrood would usher in - and it hasn't happened.  Open primaries could be the harbinger of that change by working with the Scottish people's innate support for democracy, debate and giving people their say."

Open primaries would also give Conservative MSPs the personal electoral mandates that are lacking in the closed party list system.

Local businessman is selected for Selby & Ainsty

Local businessman and Conservative activist Nigel Adams (who fought Rossendale and Darwen in 2005) last night beat off tough competition to be selected for Selby & Ainsty - a new Lab/Con marginal constituency described as "notionally Conservative".

The seat had 16 initial applicants, at least 11 of whom were A-listers. The other three "finalists" were all A-listers:

Anne McIntosh MP - her Vale of York seat is being split up with true blue Ainsty moving to S & A. She decided to use her right to only enter the process at the final stage, which may have worked against her.

Mark Menzies - a Scottish marketing manager at Asda who fought the similar seat of Selby in 2005, bringing the majority down from 2138 to 467.

Julie Moody - described by the Yorkshire Post as "the wife of a York estate agent who has little campaigning experience but is thought of as a promising future prospect".

The A list provided three solid candidates here, but this became the first selection of the first 35 in which the constituency exercised its right to choose an exceptional local candidate instead.

Deputy Editor

William Norton: Is the "A" list turning a corner?

The new A List/Gold List/Priority List has been, shall we say, just a shade controversial.  There have been predictions of internal civil war/electoral meltdown/the end of civilisation if the Party either went ahead with the idea, or didn't.  There has certainly been a degree of unease if not to say confusion at the constituency association level about how the system is meant to work: Priority List candidates cannot as yet be imposed, but CCHQ would appreciate it if members of the list were given special consideration.

 

The first few parliamentary selections under the new arrangements have now taken place and we are in a position to form an early view.  It seems that there has been a dangerous outbreak of level-headed common sense.

 

BROMLEY & CHISLEHURST

Short-list: two A-Listers plus 1 local

Outcome: Bob Neil (local) selected

CENTRAL DEVON

Short-list: 3 A-Listers

Outcome: Mel Stride (A-Lister) selected

MID-DERBYSHIRE

Long-list: 30 candidates, mainly A-Listers

Outcome: Pauline Latham (local A-Lister) selected

 

CHIPPENHAM:

Short-list: two A-Listers plus 1 local

Outcome: Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones (A-Lister) selected

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE SOUTH:

Short-list: two A-Listers plus 1 local

Outcome: Andrea Leadsom (A-Lister) selected

Mid-Derbyshire chooses local A-lister

Reports that Pauline Latham, a Derby Councillor, has been selected to fight Mid-Derbyshire have now been confirmed. She beat off thirty other candidates, the vast majority of whom also being "A-listers". Matthew Parris chaired proceedings, in a selection process that Pauline described as "rigorous".

UK Polling Report describes the new constituency as:

"An unusually shaped seat, snaking around the North-East of Derby and including the town of Belper. Likely to be a Conservative seat but with the potential of a Labour challenge."

This is perhaps further evidence of the first tranche of seats being tailored to match up with local A-list activists . Pauline fought the nearby seat of Broxtowe in 2001 (also in the first tranche of 35 seats), with a 0.78% swing against her, and the European seat of East Midlands in 1999.

Deputy Editor

Mel Stride is the first A-lister to be selected

All three of the finalists in last night's Central Devon selection meeting were A-listers - Ashley Gray, Hannah Parker and Mel Stride.  I met Mel at the Manchester Spring Forum and was hugely impressed with him.  Mel has a social entrepreneurial background and a deep commitment to social justice.  I send my warmest congratulations to him and commiserations to Hannah, who is a personal friend and a credit to the Alist, and to Ashley Gray, who I don't know at all.

UK Polling Report's guide to boundary change effected seats says this of Devon Central:

"A large rural seat in the centre of Devon, although it will also include some of the outskirts of Exeter. The seat is likely to be a Conservative/Lib Dem marginal.

Notional 2005 result – C 20,474 L 4,980 LD 17,940 Oth 4,091 Conservative Majority 2,534 (5.3%)"

Kulveer Ranger: The A-list is built to last

Kulveer stood against Ian McCartney as PPC for Makerfield at the last general election. He is a senior management consultant, writes a weekly column for a national Asian newspaper and is happiest watching his beloved Tottenham Hotspur football team – especially last season!

There has been a lot of huffing and puffing with regard to the Conservative Party establishing what the media has christened an A-list of prospective parliamentary candidates. Each one of us has our own particular take on the subject and on the candidates who, after a rigorous review, have been identified as those who could lead the charge in key seats at the next general election. We realised that with the selection of David Cameron we advocated a modernising agenda. Well - it was either that or continue on a path that would lead to political oblivion for an increasingly marginalised party. We needed to catch up with and embody modern day Britain. But cometh the first real tangible test of our ‘change’ threshold and we long for the way things were.

It was never claimed or expected that those selected as priority candidates would be universally acclaimed and accepted by the broader membership, especially since there is always a healthy dose of suspicion in the grass roots whenever the central office ‘know-it-alls’ meddle in their selection process. Raised voices have been heard about the criteria for selection, the aptitude of those assessing and the judgement of the new leader who has instigated such a process.

But it was the membership that gave David Cameron his mandate to ‘change’ the party and is now basking in the glow of a ten point lead in the polls and the best local election results since 1992. Mr Cameron has been unflinching is his statements since becoming leader that he expects the ‘change’ within the party to be deeper and wider if it is to be considered genuine and accepted by those outside of the party. Crucially, those voices that have raised concerns have done so with little justification, accept that they are not happy with the names on the list. No opportunity has been given for the so called A-list to prove their worth or even demonstrate their capability. Yes, things have not gone smoothly. The process for applying for the first batch of seats has not gone according to plan. However, this does not mean that the concept is flawed, only that the execution needs to be better managed.

I am proud to say that I am a priority candidate. The gauntlet has been thrown down to me and my colleagues to demonstrate that we embody the spirit of the Conservative Party, not just that of the present ‘change’ agenda but also the core values that all Conservatives hold dear. Some of us may fall short of the mandatory twenty years political experience and some may not even be barristers!  But each one of us believes in our ability and we must continue to demonstrate that we have the talent, the passion and the commitment to lead this party to success at the next general election and beyond. We are all determined and focused to ensure that local associations do not consider that they are choosing a priority candidate but the right candidate – the one they want! Associations can still select a ‘local’ candidate if he or she is the right person for the job.

The list is by no means a panacea. It will evolve and grow but I believe it has the potential to deliver what all party members what; a generation of candidates that will be central figures in the future of the Conservative party, the forming of the next government and capable of dealing with the fundamental challenges that our country will face. For my part I am ready, willing and able to represent my party, my constituency and my country.

If you want to respond to this message please note that comments left on this GoldList blog will only be published after they have been checked by the Editor or Deputy Editor. 

What next for the A list?

The party’s Priority or A-list of candidates has the worthy aim of increasing the number of women and ethnic minority Conservative MPs.  Unfortunately, however, at a time when gross incompetence has become the hallmark of this Labour Government the party’s management of the whole A-list process has failed to inspire confidence.

Fortunately Francis Maude and Bernard Jenkin have begun to show tactical flexibility in its implementation.  The David Burrowes critique – that local candidates matter – was pre-empted and many local candidates have been given passports to apply for target seats.  Bob Neill’s candidacy in Bromley and Chislehurst - and the fact that Mrs Forth was allowed to apply - most exemplify the party’s very welcome flexibility.

What next?  How can full confidence be restored in the candidate selection process?  Some back-of-the-envelope recommendations are made below.  As always your comments are very welcome.

‘In the beginning’ we were told that local candidates could only apply for seats in exceptional circumstances.  Exceptional circumstances have become the norm.  The flexible inclusion of local candidates should be allowed to continue.  This will ensure that there is no serious rebellion from local associations against the A-list.

The A-list should be doubled in size and the quotas dropped.  A bigger A-list will reduce the likelihood of constituency associations receiving an inadequate number of applications.  The experience of Telford, Lewes and Richmond Park – among others - was demeaning.  Ending the 50/50 target will also restore confidence in the quality of the list.  I have spoken to so many Association officers in the last month who believe that every man on the A-list must be of good quality but that some of the women on the A-list are only there to make up the quota.  That unfair perception is disadvantaging the many very high quality women who are on the A-list.  If the list is doubled to 200 and 75 of the extra 100 candidates are white men, so be it.  Let’s just work to maximise the number of those white men who come from diverse regional, professional and educational backgrounds.

A-listers must be required to apply for seats but they must also get more information from CCHQ.  Zac Goldsmith has famously failed to apply for any seat.  A number of others have only applied for a couple of seats.  When people joined the A-list they were told that being part of the list required serious commitment.  This is an extract from their letter of ‘congratulations’:

“We are pleased to tell you that you have been appointed a priority candidate.  Many congratulations.  This does involve an immediate commitment on your part to apply for as many of the winnable seats as you feel able.  Remember, being a priority candidate does not guarantee you a seat to fight, nor does it guarantee a place in Parliament.  You will still have to go through the selection procedure and in the event of being selected as a Parliamentary Candidate, your commitment to your constituency will be monitored.  You must be able to give the time and physical presence necessary in order to provide real leadership in the community and to build up the campaigning capacity of the Conservative Association.  Priority candidates who fail to demonstrate commitment or who fail to apply for suitable seats without giving a good reason to the Candidates’ Team may regrettably have to be removed as a priority candidate.”

Why aren’t these requirements being enforced?  A-listers have also complained to ConservativeHome that they are receiving very little information from CCHQ.  Little guidance on what seats to apply for and little guidance on dealing with the media.

All approved candidates should be put on at least one list from which they can immediately start applying for seats.  I would suggest regional lists so that long-standing west country residents can apply in their region and a special City seats list so new, younger candidates can cut their teeth in some of Labour’s urban heartlands.  This will motivate the non-A-listers who have hardly received any feedback after ‘failing’ to be a part of the first tranche of A-listers and it will help to avoid more cancellation of selection meetings.

Start investing in serious talent spotting and talent development.  My own personal view is that the A-list is of reasonably high quality.  My top concern is the limited number of candidates from northern seats and unconventional backgrounds.  The party needs a talent spotting academy – ideally based in a northern city – to find and develop the candidates of tomorrow.

Bursaries.  Robert Halfon and Katie Perrior have both recommended financial help for lower income candidates.  Bernard Jenkin has said that he is precoccupied with the importance of this issue.

Let’s move fast.  David Burrowes’ excellent pamphlet had two messages: Pick ‘em local and Pick ‘em early.  CCHQ needs to move fast to increase the size of the A-list and introduce regional lists.  Only then will we have candidates selected soon – having the time to become central to the lives of their constituencies – and on track for victory.  In order to “move fast” I think Francis Maude and Bernard Jenkin should be kept in place.  They both have a passionate commitment to build a more representative Conservative Party.  A change of personnel at this point could easily slow things down.  They both deserve to finish the work that they have begun.

Bob Neill wins B&C selection

The London Assembly Member Bob Neill has been chosen to represent the Conservative Party in the Bromley and Chislehurst by-election.  The selection of Mr Neill, who has led the Tory group on the assembly and  represents Bexley and Bromley on the GLA, is a victory for the right of local associations to choose a local, non A-list candidate. 

Although two A-listers of the highest quality reached the final three, there will be some disappointment at Central Office.  CCHQ would have relished the prospect of a woman or an ethnic minority candidate (as telegenic as both Syed and Julia) representing the party in this first big parliamentary contest of the parliament.

Mr Neill will help to counter any suggestion by the LibDems that a candidate has been parachuted into B&C.  Mr Neill's more positive view of European integration might, however, boost Nigel Farage, UKIP's candidate.

Your comment will only be published after it has been approved by the Editor or Deputy Editor.

Final three in B&C

This is unconfirmed but ConservativeHome understands that the final three candidates for the Tory nomination for the seat of Bromley and Chislehurst are Bob Neill of the London Assembly and two A-listers: Syed Kamall MEP and Julia Manning.  Confirmed at 1655.

8pm: The selection meeting began at 7pm.  Martyn Lewis, the former newsreader, is hosting a Q&A style event.  There is no big speech (in accordance with the new selection guidelines).

What's on the GoldList blog?

David Cameron: Getting more women into Parliament remains top of my agenda

SELECTION BATTLES

• Mrs Eric Forth wants to be B&C's next MP
• Adam Rickitt is a contender for Folkestone & Hythe
• A-list won't rule in Bromley & Chislehurst
• Kensington & Chelsea
• Bromley & Chislehurst

WHO IS ON THE PARTY'S A-LIST?
A ROLLING UPDATE HERE.

DISCURSIVE POSTS

• Christina Dykes and Jo Sylvester: The Conservative Party must start equipping its A-listers and parliamentarians now for the challenges of governing competently
• How many A-listers have applied to your local Association?
• Most A-listers achieved below average results
• A-listers turn their backs on tougher seats
• The 'talent spotting' letter
• Copy of the 'rejection letter'
• Katie Perrior: Cash for quality candidates
• Future GoldList candidates will be submitted by you!
• Gerald Jones: 'Traditional' Conservatives should propose their 'must-include' A-List candidates
• David McIvor is concerned about the speed of candidate selection
• Iain Dale argues that the 'Priority List' should include a good number of older and wiser candidates...
• Bernard Jenkin MP responds to your objections to an 'A-List' for parliamentary candidates
• Robert H Halfon argues that action is needed to help candidates meet the costs of standing for parliament
• Christina Dykes and Jo Silvester: To promote or not to promote - that is the question
  Andrew Woodman has concerns with proposals for an "A" list of candidates for top target seats. 
• Theresa May MP argues that Conservatives need Women2Win

If you would like to nominate someone for ConservativeHome.com's GoldList please email [email protected].

David Cameron: Getting more women into Parliament remains top of my agenda

David Cameron responds to the controversies caused by his 'Priority List' of parliamentary candidates.

I’m not surprised that there’s a lot of debate about our Priority List. Change is never smooth or straightforward. So here’s my reaction to some of the comments that have appeared on this site and in the press.

Please don’t confuse means with ends. The objective is straightforward: to make the Conservative Party more representative of the country we seek to govern. It’s a total scandal that less than 10% of the Parliamentary Conservative Party is female. I made this point repeatedly in the leadership election and made clear that changing this situation and getting more Conservative women into Parliament was top of my agenda. Party members voted overwhelmingly for this change. Of course we can argue forever about the precise mechanism used to make the change that the Party voted for. No system is perfect. But anyone who believes in Party democracy should wholeheartedly support the drive to get more women and BME candidates selected in safe and winnable seats. We’ve been willing the end; it’s time we willed the means as well.

Please don’t insult the hard-working, dedicated people on the Priority List. This site has published the names of many of the initial selection of priority candidates. Have a look at them. Leaders of councils. Candidates who’ve stood in difficult seats in difficult times. Years of hard graft for our Party. Some with less experience in politics, but with great potential, who need to prove themselves.  These people have all been through a Parliamentary Assessment Board or fought hard seats in the past, and then through a further selection process. There’s a wide range of people from a wide range of backgrounds. Our Party believes in opportunity, doesn’t it? Our Party believes in giving people a chance, whatever their background. People should not be criticised because they fail to fit a certain Tory stereotype.

This Priority List is not the end of the process. Many more candidates will be added as selections proceed, both from the existing Approved List and new additions to the Approved List. And we have explicitly provided for Associations to interview outstanding local candidates in addition to those on the Priority List. I know full well that to fight a marginal seat you need to be dug into the local community. You need to be local to begin with, or else you need to get deeply involved in local issues quickly. We need the best candidates to win our most challenging seats. But we also need candidates who when taken together reflect the face of modern Britain rather better than we currently do

Of course, there are many dedicated and loyal people who have not been appointed priority candidates - inevitably many more men than women.  I am sorry for them - but I hope they will stay the course.  Politics is sometimes a disappointing and brutal business, but it also requires perseverance and resilience.  If you are really determined to make it, you are far more likely to succeed than if you despair of the system.  Let's face it.  Politics is competitive. The problem we had before was that the women were being crowded out by the men.  At the last election, we had a list of 25 per cent women.  Despite a real effort, we only got 19 per cent of target and Conservative-held seats to select women.  Worse still, only 12 per cent of the new in-take were women.  We have to accept that our previous processes were consciously or unconsciously, directly or indirectly, discriminatory against women.  This also put women off from even trying to become Conservative MPs.  I am determined to correct this injustice, which was wrong in principle and bad for our party and for our country.  This is about raising our game across the board.  It can't be done by excluding so many talented women or people from black and ethnic minorities.

There’s actually been very little opposition from Associations currently selecting candidates. Our members mostly do understand and support what we’re trying to do. Nothing very surprising there. After all, they voted for change last December when they elected me as Leader. And change is what we’re going to deliver.

And incidentally, the Bromley and Chislehurst by-election was never going to be a "test of the 'A' list".  Procedures for choosing by-election candidates are completely the same as before and rightly so.  The only test of the new arrangements is if Conservative Associations in Conservative-held and target seats choose substantially more women.

If you want to respond to this message please note that comments left on this GoldList blog will only be published after they have been checked by the Editor or Deputy Editor.  ConservativeHome's comments policy is posted here.

David Cameron's previous article for ConservativeHome was posted on his 100th day as Tory leader.

Mrs Eric Forth wants to be B&C's next MP

Caroll Forth, Eric's widow, is one of the surprise contenders for the Bromley and Chislehurst by-election.  Mrs Forth is pictured on the right with Eric at a June 2005 event hosted by Conservative Way Forward.  Her name is revealed in today's London Evening Standard (not online) after some good investigative reporting by Paul Waugh.  Other contenders named in the LES are:

1. Colin Bloom, local councillor
2. Stephen Carr, local councillor
3. Michael Harris, chairman of association
4. Syed Kamall, London MEP
5. Mary Macleod, merchant banker
6. Julia Manning, optometrist
7. Bob Neill, leader of Tory group London Assembly
8. Colin Smith, local councillor

ConservativeHome has been told that former MP Tim Collins is also on the shortlist and has now been told he isn't (14.40).

Mrs Forth - only approved by CCHQ's parliamentary selection process yesterday - leads a strongly localist shortlist.  She joins three local councillors and the Association chairman as representatives of the immediate area.  The Evening Standard writes:

"Widows have succeeded their husbands as MP very rarely over the past century and Tories believe it would be first instance in their own party. Labour's Anne Cryer took on her husband Bob's former Keighley seat three years after he died in 1994. Labour MP Irene Adams took on Paisley in a 1990 by-election after husband Allen died.  Her election would also neatly get Mr Cameron another woman into Parliament, although not through the route he wanted. Mrs Forth is also disabled, suffering from a muscular disease."

"Mrs Forth's lack of campaigning experience makes her an outside bet," according to The Standard.  Forecasting constituency selection meetings is no science but the newspaper identifies Bob Neill and Michael Harris as favourites.

Related link: A-list won't rule in Bromley & Chislehurst.

Christina Dykes and Jo Silvester: The Conservative Party must start equipping its A-listers and parliamentarians now for the challenges of governing competently

Jo Silvester PhD is a Professor of Organisational Psychology and a partner of the partner of the Work Psychology Partnership.  Christina Dykes MA (pictured) is Political Advisor to Dominic Grieve MP and was Head of Candidates at Conservative Central Office.

So far it has run the predictable political course.

After months of anticipation and much hype the priority list was produced.  Its appearance was accompanied by relief for the lucky included, and mutterings of disbelief and disappointment by those excluded.  Quickly came the dénouement; practical difficulties are becoming obvious, its validity is being queried and then there will be the pregnant pause as we wait to see whether it will be used by Conservative Associations or not.

Before this final scene plays out let us take stock of what the priority list represents or perhaps more importantly what it could represent.  We welcome it as a sign that the Party continues to take the selection of its future MPs seriously.  We welcome the fact that the Party (unlike its two main rivals) is prepared to experiment and to test imaginative but fair ways of promoting greater diversity on its Candidates’ list.  We welcome that the Party has accepted that the best way of ensuring diversity in the next generation of MPs is on the basis of merit.  In particular we welcome that the Party recognises that merit transcends gender and colour.

As a result there are many excellent candidates on the list who deserve to get the full endorsement of the Party as they go forward for selection. 

No doubt Conservative Headquarters hope that this will be enough to ensure that they are selected.  But will it?  Those of us who are alarmed by the growing apathy for politics on the part of the electorate worry that one of the causes is the low esteem in which the public holds politicians.  Competence or having the ability to do the job must play a part.  We are all too aware that when politicians and, in particular, Ministers fail the fall out in the press is sensational.  Look a the debacle in the Home Office at the moment or ask a farmer what he/she thought of Mrs Beckett’s  Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – both good examples of the failure of political leadership to deliver the results the public could expect.  Witness the ridicule in the press for John Prescott’s scandalous behaviour.  If we are to restore people’s confidence in our political systems we must have politicians that can both deliver and be trusted to deliver.

Although the first step is for political parties to put forward candidates who can represent Britain as it is, the second step is to make certain that those selected and then elected to be MPs are equipped to lead. This means ensuring that they receive the necessary professional development to support them as their career grows.  These days training and continuing professional development is central to career progression for most if not all professions. Indeed, for many a failure to comply results in the loss of qualifications and professional status.  Yet, it seems that politicians - people who have enormous influence over other people’s lives - are expected by birth alone to be good at their jobs.