The Eastern Daily Press reveals that David Cameron spoke directly to Sir Jeremy Bagge, the former high sheriff of Norfolk, in a last ditch bid to persuade him to drop the attempt to deselect Elizabeth Truss.
Liz Truss has been enjoying a wave of support. She won the backing of the Association Chairman two days ago and 81% of Tory members across the country fear any deselection will damage the whole party.
The very interesting EDP article points to the dominant issue behind the whole saga; unhappiness at CCHQ attempts to micromanage seat selections. Alongside some real unhappiness at Liz Truss' private life and a faction within the constituency that wants to restore Christopher Fraser as candidate, the CCHQ 'meddling' accounts for the persistence of this problem.
Hopefully Liz Truss will be readopted but it must also be hoped that CCHQ - and John Maples in particular - will have learnt that Associations have passed breakpoint.
So argues Bryon Criddle in a letter to The Guardian:
"The greatest non-story of all concerns the Old Etonians, whose current total of 15 will be augmented to 18, a rump comprising a mere 5.5% of the Tory benches, and transportable to Westminster in three black cabs, instead of the 80-seat double decker bus that would have been required to carry the 20% comprised of Old Etonians in the days of the last old Etonian prime minister in 1963."
I suggest four black cabs. Six in each would be a bit uncomfortable!
In advance of a special general meeting of South West Norfolk Conservatives taking place next Monday, the association chairman, David Hills - who was on holiday for much of the selection process - has today issued a statement making it clear that Liz Truss has the full support of him and his fellow officers:
"Elizabeth Truss must not be blamed for any discrepancy about information she declared. The matter has been whipped-up by the media and there has been a lot of inaccurate reporting. I stress that we in South West Norfolk have no problem at all with women candidates - our members selected Elizabeth Truss on merit from a mixed short list.
"Elizabeth Truss won over 50% of the vote on the first ballot of the selection meeting. I, like our MP, agent and officers, support her in continuing as our prospective parliamentary candidate. A process has been undertaken in my absence which has to run its course.
"The executive voted to hold another special general meeting on 16 November so members can consider the way forward. I will be working with my team to build a consensus around Elizabeth so we can move forward positively at that meeting."
After the resignation of David Bull as PPC for Brighton Pavilion earlier in the year, a new candidate will be selected from six contenders at a meeting open to all voters in the constituency next week.
The final six are:
Douglas Chirnside
Scott Digby
Anna Firth
Charlotte Vere
Mary Weale
Andrew Wealls
The meeting will take place at the Grand Hotel on November 18th at 6.30pm. Anyone on the electoral register in Brighton Pavilion wanting to register to attend should call 01273 411844 or contact the association via email with their name, address and contact number by 12pm on Monday November 16th.
A recent selection which has just hit my radar is that of Katie Mackie to stand in Falkirk at the general election.
Educated at Manchester Metropolitan University, Katie is currently public affairs adviser to the Scottish Grocers' Federation. She formerly worked for Margaret Mitchell MSP and was an unsuccessful candidate for East Lothian council in 2007.
Sitting Labour MP Eric Joyce has a majority of 13,475 over the SNP. The Conservatives begin in fourth place with 9.9% of the vote.
Saturday saw the selection of Conservative candidates for the two Teesside seats of Redcar and Middlesbrough.
Steve Mastin was selected for Redcar. He is Head of History at Sawston Village College, a secondary school in Cambridgeshire, and recently had a letter published in the Daily Telegraph emphasising the importance of his subject. The sitting Labour MP Vera Baird (who took over from Mo Mowlam) has a majority of 12,116 over the Lib Dems, with the Conservatives less than 1,000 votes behind them, with 17.9% of the vote.
He said on his selection:
"It is a huge privilege to be selected to fight for the people of Redcar at the General Election. I listen to people's concerns every day and will be working to make sure they are heard in Parliament."
Meanwhile, Middlesbrough will be contested by John WarrenWalsh (apologies!), who runs a London-based film and TV production company. The electoral arithmetic there is similar to that of Redcar: Middlesbrough's Labour MP Sir Stuart Bell has a notional majority of 12,476 over the Lib Dems, with the third-placed Conservatives starting from a base of 16.5% of the vote.
He said on his selection:
"I am delighted to have been selected to fight for the people of Middlesbrough constituency in the forth coming General Election. I am looking forward to working with residents, especially those who feel let down and that their voice is not being heard."
Each week a different PPC provides us with an insight
into life as a candidate and gives us a flavour of their own campaign
and interests. If you are a candidate and are keen to be featured,
please email Jonathan Isaby.
This week’s diary is written by Amber Rudd,
who was selected in December 2006 for Hastings and Rye. The seat has been held for Labour since 1997 by Michael Jabez Foster, whose notional majority going into the next election is 1,156. Amber requires a swing of 1.3% to regain the seat for the Conservatives.
Monday 2nd November My excellent Agent, Terri Lock, has gone on holiday. I tried to stop her going but she insisted - very selfish of her really. So I know I’ve got to keep on top of absolutely everything this week as there is no delegating. On the plus side we have just moved into new offices (pictured below) so at last we have the space to organize ourselves and have our meetings.
The constituency of Hastings and Rye is 80% Hastings, 20% Rye and surrounding villages - which is roughly how I divide up my time. Last week we were unexpectedly dealt a surprise in Hastings as one of our Councillors stood down due to ill health and we are therefore selecting a candidate and planning for the by-election on December 10th. There is no complacency for any Council seats here in Hastings. We fight tooth and claw for every one. Currently we have 15 against Labour’s 13, the Lib Dems' three and one Independent. So winning this by-election is essential. On Monday morning I meet up with the Local Government Selection Committee in the new offices to formally approve the new candidate who was nominated at last week’s Executive. Although there have been various suitors to be candidate for this, I am delighted that our Association Chairman, Simon Corello is to fight it.
Then I am out canvassing with two other activists, for the afternoon in Hollington, one of the most deprived wards of Hastings. I am surprised by how many residents simply declare that they are not interested and won’t be voting. Some of them have never voted, but others are just giving up on politicians since all the expenses saga. They feel bitterly let down by the whole political class.
We urgently need to demonstrate that a new system of regulation is in place, the worst offenders are to be punished and politicians can now be trusted again. It is so corrosive to democracy to have MPs held in contempt, and it is still regularly coming up on the doorstep.
In a double page spread in today's Guardian John Harris takes a critical look at the diversity of the next generation of Conservative MPs. He focuses on the number of Tory MPs that are likely to have been privately-educated but that proportion (although quite high) is actually on a downward trend.
We know a lot more of tomorrow's Tory MPs are likely to be women, quite a few more will be from ethnic minority backgrounds and a lot will be gay... but is that real diversity? Would we also be better off with more candidates with experience of working for charities or older candidates who gave up a lot of income-generating years to look after children? Philip Lee (now selected for Bracknell) made the case for more mathematicians and scientists. And what about the fact that more and more candidates appear to have spent so long working within the 'Westminster village'?
ConHome ran an unsuccessful campaign to encourage more help for low income candidates to become Tory MPs after we found that the cost of becoming a candidate (over £40,000 at the last election) might discourage people with, for example, backgrounds in lower-paid work or who have been home-makers.
When I was talking to a member of the shadow cabinet recently and was being criticised for not supporting All Women Shortlists I replied that gender diversity wasn't the only form of diversity. They agreed but they had no idea (zero) about the proportion of Tory candidates with backgrounds, for example, in the public sector or who have run large companies (not a bad preparation for running a Whitehall department). The focus on diversity is too narrow, too superficial. The media is partly to blame for this. Newspapers are obsessed with the number of women and ethnic minority candidates but don't encourage the party to consider other measures.
Does diversity matter? It can be over-stated. David Cameron, for example, is a privately-educated, wealthy southern man but has succeeded in building a much more pro-poor, female-friendly party that is winning big in the north of England. On balance, however, I think a parliamentary party shouldn't be dominated by people who have worked in politics, the law, financial services, the military and the media. It would also be good to see more people who have run manufacturing companies, more social entrepreneurs, more people from outside of London.
This does not mean that we should have quotas or targets for recruiting 'northern manufacturers' etc but we should look beyond gender and ethnicity in discussion of diversity.
On being honest about her past: “I feel I was open and transparent in the process. When I submitted my CV, I made it very clear about the affair. My understanding was that would be part of the CV discussion when the six CVs were selected to go forward. When I went to the meeting my understanding was the local officers would know about that. If I had known that they didn't know, I would have rung them up. I have been open and transparent at what I thought was the right point in the process. With hindsight I would have taken out a billboard! But hindsight is a wonderful thing.”
Regretting the affair: "I've very much learned from the past. We are coming up to our 10th wedding anniversary. Since this happened we have become a lot stronger. I am sorry about the affair it was a mistake. The main person I am sorry to is my husband. We have now made that up and moved on from that.”
Her Liberal Democrat past: "“I am not from a Conservative background. My parents were left-wing. I became a Conservative when I was at university. I understand how to appeal to people who are outside of the Conservative Party and bring them on board. I can talk to all sorts of different people from all sorts of different backgrounds. I did join the Lib Dems, and I gradually moved to the right. I grew up in a political household and when you are thinking about your views and exploring things, some are right and some are wrong. I came to the conclusion that I was a Conservative because my core belief is that I believe in personal responsibility and I believe in hard work. Because I believe in personal responsibility, I believe in decisions being taken at a local level.”
The EDP's Simon Lowthorpe concludes:
"I've seen enough to believe she deserves the chance to be an MP. But what I really wonder is, given what she has gone through, do the Tories of South-West Norfolk deserve her?"
Tim Montgomerie
> Yesterday we published a poll of Tory members which found that 81% feared deselecting Liz Truss would damage the Conservative Party.
Tim Montgomerie at 10.15am: Lots of comments are suggesting that CCHQ should intervene to stop Julie Kirkbride standing. The reality is that CCHQ have enabled her to pursue her change of heart. They have delayed and delayed starting the Bromsgrove application in order to accommodate Ms Kirkbride's belief that - with time - local voters would be more forgiving towards her than at the height of the expenses crisis. The consensus in Westminster is that David Cameron promised to try and save Julie Kirkbride's career at the time he forced her husband Andrew MacKay to step down. He was unable to do so because of the strength of public feeling at the time. Some senior Tories have always hoped, however, that Legg would find Ms
Kirkbride guilty so that the leadership would not have to wield the
knife against her. Nonetheless, the theory from some in CCHQ is that if Ms Kirkbride wins an all-postal ballot of constituents she is safe from an independent, Rantzen/Bell-style candidate at the General Election.
But one question: Will CCHQ pay the £40,000 cost of an all postal ballot or has Ms Kirkbride found a special donor?
***
ConservativeHome has learnt that a special meeting of the Executive Council of Bromsgrove Conservative Association took place last night at which sitting MP Julie Kirkbride officially made clear her desire to be considered as their candidate for the next general election.
This comes despite her statement in a letter to David Cameron on May 28th that she "will not seek re-election for my Bromsgrove constituency" after becoming embroiled in the MPs' expenses scandal in relation to her housing claims.
We have previously reported how some in her local party were keen that she rescind her resignation, although there is concern both at party HQ and within sections of the Bromsgrove association about the potential negative impact of a Kirkbride candidacy - both for Bromsgrove and for Conservative candidates in nearby marginals.
My understanding now is that CCHQ expects Bromsgrove Conservatives to hold an all-postal Open Primary to select their candidate for the general election and that Ms Kirkbride told her Executive that "if cleared by the Legg Inquiry" (whatever that means precisely), she would like to be considered as a candidate in such a process.
Presumably the final decision as to whether she could be considered as a candidate would rest with whether she was deemed by CCHQ to be on the party's approved list of candidates.
Last month Dr Philip Lee was selected as successor as Tory PPC for Bracknell, the constituency being vacated by her husband, Andrew Mackay.
An open letter to the South West Norfolk Conservative Association from Tim Montgomerie, Editor of ConservativeHome.com.
Dear fellow Conservatives,
The readers of ConservativeHome.com have been following your selection process with great interest and I hope you won't mind me writing this open letter to you as I think your decision about the future of Elizabeth Truss will have consequences for the whole party.
ConservativeHome.com is a website that aims to champion the views and rights of grassroots members. Our first campaign was in 2005 when we coordinated resistance to the attempts by the leadership to end party members' say in the election of party leader. More recently we have protested against the idea of All Women Shortlists and are reassured with the clarification of policy announced by David Cameron last week. Central Office interferes far too much with candidate selection and I know that you are unhappy at CCHQ's 'meddling' in your own process to choose a successor to Christopher Fraser MP. I do request, however, that your anger at CCHQ does not result in the deselection of Liz Truss.
First of all, I think a deselection would be harmful to the Conservative Party's national reputation. That's not just my view. It's the view of an overwhelming majority of other grassroots Conservative members across the country. On Tuesday ConservativeHome conducted a special poll of Tory members on Europe. The results are here. At the end of the survey we asked a question about Liz Truss and 81% of the 2,056 people who voted said that the Conservative Party would be damaged if you deselect her. 44% thought the party would be "very damaged" and 37% "quite damaged". The anti-Tory press will have a field day. However unfairly, they'll accuse the party of sexism and candidates far beyond Norfolk will be affected.
Second, I happen to know Liz Truss and think you made an excellent decision in choosing her as your candidate in the first place. ConservativeHome has published some of her work while she has been at the Reform think tank. It's on these pages. She is a hugely able candidate. Intelligent. Independent-minded and well-regarded across Westminster. From my conversations with her I know she is a big champion of grassroots Conservatives too. For example, she opposes All Women Shortlists. She - like every Conservative - wants to be chosen because she is the best person for the job and never just because she is a woman.
Following the decision of Sir Michael Lord to step down at the general election, the Conservatives in Suffolk Central and Ipswich North are currently in the process of seeking a new candidate.
The final six names in the frame are:
Katy Bourne
Tim Clark
Joanna Gardner
Daniel Poulter
Dominic Schofield
Claire Strong
An open primary is scheduled to take place on November 27th to choose the candidate, who will inherit a notional Conservative majority of 7,786.
Saturday 14th November update:
The executive committee decided this afternoon to put all six candidates forward to the Open Primary meeting. Anyone registered as a voter in the constituency is welcome to apply to attend the meeting via email or by applying in writing to: CS & NICA Tickets, 19 The Business Centre, Earl Soham, Suffolk, IP13 7SA.
Tuesday 17th November update:
The association has released the following biographies and photographs of the six finalists:
Each week a different PPC provides us with an insight
into life as a candidate and gives us a flavour of their own campaign
and interests. If you are a candidate and are keen to be featured,
please email Jonathan Isaby.
This week’s diary is written by Chris Philp,
who was selected in December 2006
for Hampstead and Kilburn, a newly-drawn seat where he is challenging sitting Labour MP, Glenda Jackson. The Hampstead section of the seat comes from the existing Hampstead & Highgate constituency, with Kilburn being taken from the existing Brent East seat. Chris is a successful entrepreneur who has set up three businesses from scratch. He set up the first company at the age of 23, grew it to £100 million in turnover and floated it on the stock market within four years. He is a Camden councillor, a former chairman of the Bow Group and also has a First in Physics from Oxford.
Monday: Kilburn Dragons’s Den – the Final The Kilburn Dragon’s Den is a scheme I have set up to nurture and encourage the next generation of entrepreneurs. I started by recruiting a small team of mentors from business backgrounds. Over a period of several weeks, we worked with 16-18 year olds from Kilburn and Harlesden, who come from some of London’s tougher backgrounds, to develop business ideas and business plans with their mentors. The business has to be capable of being started with no more than £1,000.
The teams then pitched their ideas at the final, held at the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn. I also bought in some actors and actresses to help the teams hone their presentation skills. The panel of Dragons, which I chaired, selected the winning team (pictured). The winning team got £1,000 and they are now starting work to set up their small business, with guidance from me and from their mentor.
The Dragon’s Den programme is designed to encourage and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs. It’s also designed to give them the self-confidence and the skills to build tomorrow’s businesses. I was really impressed by the ideas, energy and creativity that the teams showed. The Kilburn Dragon’s Den showed that with the right encouragement, the next generation is capable of achieving great things.
Below is a short YouTube video all about the scheme.
On Friday night Jon Burns was selected as candidate for the South East Wales constituency of Torfaen at the general election.
Jon has been a Cardiff councillor since 2004 and was the candidate for the Welsh Assembly by-election for the Blaenau Gwent constituency in 2006 after the death of Peter Law, and then a list candidate for South Wales Central at the 2007 Assembly election. He has also served as election agent for the Cardiff North seat in 2007.
He was born in Manchester in 1981 and moved to Sussex at the age of nine. He has worked variously for the Daily Telegraph, HM Inspectorate of Prisons in the Home Office and a public affairs consultancy before moving to Cardiff in 2003, since when he has worked in Conservative politics, including stints working for the party's Health spokesman in the Assembly and for former MEP, Jonathan Evans.
Paul Murphy has been Labour MP for Torfaen since 1987 and holds the seat with a majority of 14,791 over the Conservatives.
Melanchthon wrote earlier in the day why he felt Liz Truss should not be deselected in South West Norfolk and Tim has given her ConservativeHome's full support here and here in the last few days.
Today it was my turn, on the BBC East edition of The Politics Show. After a report on the going-ons in South West Norfolk, I was interviewed via video link, whilst new Norwich North Conservative MP Chloe Smith gave her reaction in the studio.
Chloe grew up in the constituency and was treading very carefully. She said that as far as she was concerned it was a matter for the local party to decide whether Liz should remain in situ as the candidate and that she didn't feel it her place to voice an opinion.
I spoke staunchly in favour of Liz remaining the candidate and very much regret the course of action being pursued by the South West Norfolk Conservatives. She won a five-cornered ballot last weekend fairly and squarely - on the first round with more than 50% of the vote - and nothing has changed since then in relation to her (excellent) abilities as a candidate.
Watch the clip here via the BBC iPlayer (38 minutes and 10 second in - although it will only be available to view for seven days).
Claire Perry from George Osborne's office fought off Victoria Atkins, Paul Hearn, Jeremy Quin, Nadhim Zahawi and Zehra Zaidi to inherit Michael Ancram's projected majority of 10,982. Nadhim Zahawi came second.
The 45-year-old mother of three develops policy for the Shadow Chancellor, focusing on jobs and value for money for the taxpayer.
She was educated at Nailsea comprehensive school and went on to read Geography at Oxford, before taking an MBA at Harvard. Before working for George Osborne, she worked at Credit Suisse First Boston, McKinsey and Bank of America.
She has been a Conservative Party member since 2006 and is chairman of her local party branch within the Salisbury constituency, living as she does just outside the Devizes constituency.
Monday update - Claire has released the following statement:
"I am thrilled and honoured to have been selected as the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Devizes. I am not a typical political candidate and this was the first seat I had applied for. I hope that as a business person and mother I can bring a breath of fresh air to traditional politics.
"I am determined to fight tirelessly for the issues that matter to us in the Constituency including helping our local economy to survive this recession, making sure we have the right transport links and broadband connections in Wiltshire and getting the services we need in Savernake and Devizes hospitals. I also want to see Britain return to economic health and tax payers’ money spent wisely at all levels of government.
"It is a privilege to follow in the footsteps of Michael Ancram who was such a distinguished politician at both the local and national level and I am looking forward to living and working with everyone in this wonderful Constituency."
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