I recently invited all sitting MPs to tell us whether they had been re-adopted for their constituency and to re-iterate whether they intend standing at the general election.
The intention was to focus the minds of both MPs and associations, since any MP who announces their intention to retire after January 1st will cause their local party to have a shortlist of three candidates imposed on them by CCHQ under the "by-election rules".
I will shortly publish the list of those who have and haven't so far replied, but one who I have since gathered is yet to be re-adopted is Sir Peter Tapsell, the long-serving MP for Louth and Horncastle.
Sir Peter - who will be 80 early next year and is the second oldest MP, after Ian Paisley - was first elected to the Commons in 1959, but lost his Nottingham West seat in 1964 after one term. But he returned in 1966 as MP for Horncastle and has represented that patch of Lincolnshire under one boundary or another ever since.
As such, he is the second longest continuously serving MP and will become Father of the House if re-elected at the next election, since the current incumbent, Labour MP Alan Williams, is retiring.
I gather that it was only this week that Sir Peter indicated to his local association that he wished to be re-adopted as candidate for the general election.
The association's executive committee will therefore meet on November 27th to consider his re-adoption - and I hear noises that some on the committee are minded to vote against his automatic re-adoption.
I am not in a position to gauge the extent of the support for such a move, but were Sir Peter to fail to be re-adopted by the executive, the decision would then have to go to a special general meeting of the whole association three weeks later.
I'll report any further developments as and when I hear anything.
Jonathan Isaby
