ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog

Andrew Pelling MP confirms he is standing as an independent in Croydon Central

He was elected as a Conservative but was suspended from the party while he was investigated regarding allegations made by his wife. At the end of 2007 he announced that he would not be seeking re-election - a decision he has today reversed.

Gavin Barwell, the Tory candidate for the seat, has responded to the news:

"I am obviously disappointed at his decision, though it is hardly a surprise (someone purporting to be his election agent attended the recent election agents' meeting and has distributed a letter in parts of the constituency asking for £20,000 to pay for his campaign).

Being an MP shouldn't be a career, it should be about championing the things you believe in. Sadly Andrew has clearly decided that the job is more important to him than the Conservative values he has championed so effectively for the last 30 years.

My message to people who want more police on our streets, who want to keep an A&E Department at Mayday, who want action to control immigration is clear: voting for Andrew won't achieve any of these things. It will simply split the anti-Labour vote and risks getting you a Labour MP and five more years of Gordon Brown. There will only be a change of government after the election if another party has more MPs than Labour. The Conservative Party is the only party with a realistic chance of doing that. So if you're not happy with things at the moment, if you want change, you need to vote Conservaitve."

The seat has a projected Labour majority of 317. Mr Pelling's selfish decision will make it harder to see Gavin Barwell elected.

Bob Spink MP is another ex-Tory MP who is standing in his own seat - Castle Point - against the official Conservative candidate.

Tim Montgomerie

Tory candidate for Aberdeen South steps down for family health reasons

The Press and Journal has the story:

"The Conservative candidate for Aberdeen South has pulled out of the race to win the seat at the general election. A spokesman for the Tories confirmed last night that Mark Jones had stepped down because of family health reasons. The news was greeted with “shock” by members of the 49-year-old’s campaign team, who have been fighting to seize the seat from Labour’s Anne Begg at the election, expected on May 6. It is understood Mr Jones’s 78-year-old mother had been suffering from ill health for more than a year at the family’s home in Orkney."

More here.

I wish Mark the best for the future at what must be a very difficult time.

Tim Montgomerie

Reading West's Alok Sharma releases a campaign video

The Conservative candidate for Reading West, Alok Sharma, has just released a video explaining why he wants to be elected MP for Reading West. Watch out for the endorsement from Sir John Madejski, chairman of Reading FC and Chancellor of the University of Reading.

Antony Calvert launches new fundraising website in his bid to give Ed Balls a "Portillo moment"

Antony Calvert's campaign in the newly drawn Morley and Outwood constituency, which Children, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls is defending for Labour, continues apace.

Last week he was given a boost when former Morley Borough Independent councillor, Stewart McArdle, decided to return to politics to endorse his campaign and seek re-election himself as a Conservative candidate. He said:

“I’ve been very impressed with Antony Calvert and how passionate he is about the local community. He’s someone I and many other independent minded voters can trust to represent us. Ed Balls is only in this for what he can get. Antony is genuinely in for the local area and that’s why I’ve decided to join the Conservatives and help him win."

Meanwhile, Antony has also just launched this fundraising website, hosted by YouFund.Me.Uk. Watch his short video below to fnd out more.

Jonathan Isaby

Ex-Tory donor Stuart Wheeler to launch Trust Party

Mr Wheeler, who gave the Tories £5m in 2001 but recently backed UKIP, will tomorrow launch the Trust Party and announce that he will stand against Tory frontbencher Greg Barker because of a large profit he made on the sale of a house which he part purchased with Commons expenses. Mr Barker's deep green credentials may also infuriate the climate sceptic Mr Wheeler.

Mr Wheeler's manifesto will:

• Focus on cleaning up the 'corrupt' expenses system and proposes a new Parliamentary court with the power to jail politicians who fiddle their allowances;
  Expose experts who claim climate change is inevitable;
• Grab back powers handed over to Brussels;
• Promote marriage;
• Improve treatment for injured British soldiers;
• Prevent the use of torture against terror suspects.

The Mail on Sunday has the story.

The Trust Party launches in London tomorrow. Its holding page is here.

Tim Montgomerie

Sam Gyimah knocks back attempt to undermine him

Earlier in the week I groaned at the news that some discontents within the Surrey East Conservative Association were revisiting their recent decision to adopt Sam Gyimah as their candidate to succeed Peter Ainsworth.

The discontents had seized on reports in Private Eye that Sam's business record was not as glittering as it might have been. Sam issued a statement to set the record straight:

"Private Eye has inaccurately characterised my past business activity. I have been involved in two businesses as an entrepreneur. One company, Workology, was successfully restructured. The other company mentioned was Clearstone whose business difficulties began sometime after I relinquished management control. Sadly, the company had to sell off its assets and transfer staff and customers to a new company, at which point all of my links with the company were severed in full. Whilst the situation at Clearstone was unfortunate, it happened after my involvement in running it. And, Workology is an example of successful, if not difficult, restructuring."

Unfortunately Michael Crick has now blogged about the story.

Sam is going to be one of the stars of the new Parliament. He's bright, compassionate and extremely hard-working. Surrey East made a great decision and, fortunately, wise heads have over-ruled the discontents. The last thing we need so close to the General Election is a new variant of the Turnip Taliban story.

Tim Montgomerie

Labour MP John Heppell to stand down

John Heppell, the Labour MP for Nottingham East, has announced he will not contest his seat at the general election, owing to his wife's ill health. He has representd the seat since 1992, when he defeated Tory MP, Michael Knowles.

Ewan Lamont was selected to contest the seat for the Conservatives in January 2009 and needs a swing of a little over 12% to overturn the notional Labour majority of 7,083.

Jonathan Isaby

Which retiring Conservative MPs should be given peerages?

ConservativeHome has been running a series highlighting people David Cameron should consider appointing to the House of Lords, since any Conservative administration formed after the general election would be able to call upon the support of the lowest number of Conservative peers in history.

Mark Field MP wrote yesterday that the next Conservative Government should restrict the awarding of any future peerages to those taking up ministerial appointments - or at the very least to stop any retiring MP tainted by the expenses scandal from being ennobled - in advance of creating an elected second chamber.

Quite apart from the arguments against doing that (and there is no suggestion that this would be an early priority for David Cameron), the sheer arithmetic in the Upper House dictates that if there is a Conservative Government after the general election, there is a very strong case for the introduction of a considerable raft of working Conservative peers to rebalance the Lords in the short term at the very least, hence this Search for 100 Peers series.

So with that in mind, which of the retiring Conservative MPs should be awarded a peerage? I have already made the case for Michael Howard whilst Tim has made an equally compelling case for Ann Widdecombe - which was supported by 72% of Conservative members in a ConHome survey.

And on Tuesday at his monthly press conference David Cameron specifically ruled out giving a peerage to Sir John Butterfill on the back of his unwitting appearance on the previous night's Dispatches programme.

But what of the other Conservative retirees? Which of the following do you believe should be ennobled?

• Peter Ainsworth
• Michael Ancram
• Peter Atkinson
• Tim Boswell
• Angela Browning
• Sir Patrick Cormack
• David Curry
• Christopher Fraser
• Paul Goodman
• John Greenway
• John Gummer
• Douglas Hogg
• John Horam
• Michael Jack
• Robert Key
• Julie Kirkbride
• Jacqui Lait
• Sir Michael Lord
• Andrew Mackay
• David Maclean
• Humfrey Malins
• John Maples
• Michael Mates
• Malcolm Moss
• Sir Michael Spicer
• Richard Spring
• Anthony Steen
• Ian Taylor
• Sir Peter Viggers
• David Wilshire
• Ann Winterton
• Sir Nicholas Winterton

Jonathan Isaby

ConservativeHome has been running a series highlighting people David Cameron should consider appointing to the House of Lords, since any Conservative administration formed after the general election would be able to call upon the support of the lowest number of Conservative peers in history.

Mark Field MP wrote yesterday that the next Conservative Government should restrict the awarding of any future peerages to those taking up ministerial appointments - or at the very least to stop any retiring MP tainted by the expenses scandal from being ennobled - in advance of creating an elected second chamber.

Quite apart from the arguments against doing that (and there is no suggestion that this would be an early priority for David Cameron), the sheer arithmetic in the Upper House dictates that if there is a Conservative Government after the general election, there is a very strong case for the introduction of a considerable raft of working Conservative peers to rebalance the Lords in the short term at the very least, hence this Search for 100 Peers series.

So with that in mind, which of the retiring Conservative MPs should be awarded a peerage? I have already made the case for Michael Howard whilst Tim has made an equally compelling case for Ann Widdecombe - which was supported by 72% of Conservative members in a ConHome survey.

And on Tuesday at his monthly press conference David Cameron specifically ruled out giving a peerage to Sir John Butterfill on the back of his unwitting appearance on the previous night's Dispatches programme.

But what of the other Conservative retirees? Which of the following do you believe should be ennobled?

• Peter Ainsworth
• Michael Ancram
• Peter Atkinson
• Tim Boswell
• Angela Browning
• Sir Patrick Cormack
• David Curry
• Christopher Fraser
• Paul Goodman
• John Greenway
• John Gummer
• Douglas Hogg
• John Horam
• Michael Jack
• Robert Key
• Julie Kirkbride
• Jacqui Lait
• Sir Michael Lord
• Andrew Mackay
• David Maclean
• Humfrey Malins
• John Maples
• Michael Mates
• Malcolm Moss
• Sir Michael Spicer
• Richard Spring
• Anthony Steen
• Ian Taylor
• Sir Peter Viggers
• David Wilshire
• Ann Winterton
• Sir Nicholas Winterton

Jonathan Isaby

ConservativeHome has been running a series highlighting people David Cameron should consider appointing to the House of Lords, since any Conservative administration formed after the general election would be able to call upon the support of the lowest number of Conservative peers in history.

Mark Field MP wrote yesterday that the next Conservative Government should restrict the awarding of any future peerages to those taking up ministerial appointments - or at the very least to stop any retiring MP tainted by the expenses scandal from being ennobled - in advance of creating an elected second chamber.

Quite apart from the arguments against doing that (and there is no suggestion that this would be an early priority for David Cameron), the sheer arithmetic in the Upper House dictates that if there is a Conservative Government after the general election, there is a very strong case for the introduction of a considerable raft of working Conservative peers to rebalance the Lords in the short term at the very least, hence this Search for 100 Peers series.

So with that in mind, which of the retiring Conservative MPs should be awarded a peerage? I have already made the case for Michael Howard whilst Tim has made an equally compelling case for Ann Widdecombe - which was supported by 72% of Conservative members in a ConHome survey.

And on Tuesday at his monthly press conference David Cameron specifically ruled out giving a peerage to Sir John Butterfill on the back of his unwitting appearance on the previous night's Dispatches programme.

But what of the other Conservative retirees? Which of the following do you believe should be ennobled?

• Peter Ainsworth
• Michael Ancram
• Peter Atkinson
• Tim Boswell
• Angela Browning
• Sir Patrick Cormack
• David Curry
• Christopher Fraser
• Paul Goodman
• John Greenway
• John Gummer
• Douglas Hogg
• John Horam
• Michael Jack
• Robert Key
• Julie Kirkbride
• Jacqui Lait
• Sir Michael Lord
• Andrew Mackay
• David Maclean
• Humfrey Malins
• John Maples
• Michael Mates
• Malcolm Moss
• Sir Michael Spicer
• Richard Spring
• Anthony Steen
• Ian Taylor
• Sir Peter Viggers
• David Wilshire
• Ann Winterton
• Sir Nicholas Winterton

Jonathan Isaby

The Prince of Wales endorses "remarkable work" of Conservative candidate (in a strictly non-political context, of course)

Today the Prince of Wales made a trip to Afghanistan and anyone carefully watching the Sky News clip of the visit will have spotted him alongside the Conservative candidate for Penrith and the Border, Rory Stewart, who was taking a brief break from campaigning to be there.

As the Prince explains in tomorrow's Sun, apart from meeting British troops in Afghanistan, he wanted to visit the Turquoise Mountain Foundation in Kabul, which was started by Rory Stewart five years ago and of which he is a joint patron with Presidenrt Karzai:

"Rory Stewart has done a fantastic job there and I was so thrilled to get to that, the old historic part of Kabul, and his work there has again been quite remarkable. He's trained so many Afghans, he's removed seven feet of rubbish from the streets, there's full employment in the area, they've restored the buildings, the whole things - educational projects, healthcare, putting in sewage, everything."

Read more about Turquoise Mountain here. Below is the full Sky report on the Prince's visit to Afghanistan.

Jonathan Isaby

35 MPs descend on Hampstead and Kilburn to support Chris Philp's campaign

Monday saw no fewer than 35 Conservative Members of Parliament descending on Hampstead and Kilburn to support the campaign of Conservative candidate Chris Philp in the latest of a series of action days in key marginal constituencies which the party is targeting.

Below is a video featuring Chris and many of the MPs who went to the constituency to support his campaign.

Jonathan Isaby

UUP MP Sylvia Hermon quits party and confirms she will fight North Down as an Independent

Last month it was confirmed that the sole Ulster Unionist MP Sylvia Hermon would not be seeking re-election at the general election under the joint UUP/Conservative banner. She has long been sceptical about the alliance and I speculated that she may yet stand again as an Independent.

My suspicions have proved correct. This morning she has announced that she has resigned from the UUP and will indeed stand in North Down as an Independent.

The Conservative and Unionist candidate in the seat will be North Down councillor Ian Parsley, who defected from the Alliance Party to the Conservatives last September. He explained his move in this post for ConservativeHome at the time.

Jonathan Isaby

Simon Baynes selected for Dwyfor Meirionnydd

Following the resignation of Lisa Francis for family reasons, Simon Baynes has been selected to stand as Conservative candidate for Dwyfor Meirionnydd.

Simon is leader of the Conservative Group on neighbouring Powys County Council and a deputy chairman of the Welsh Conservatives. He contested Montgomeryshire at the 2005 general election. Read more about him on his website.

He said on his selection:

"It is a great honour to be selected as the Welsh Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Dwyfor Meirionnydd. I have known this beautiful constituency for most of my life, having grown up at Lake Vyrnwy where my family used to run the Hotel. As the County Councillor for the neighbouring area of Llanwddyn, Llangynog and Penybontfawr, I have first-hand experience of many of the issues affecting Dwyfor Meirionnydd and Mid-Wales.

"I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor, Lisa Francis, who had to retire as our Candidate for family reasons. I much look forward to putting across the Welsh Conservative case with energy and enthusiasm in Dwyfor Meirionnydd, particularly opposing Gwynedd Council's schools closure programme".

The newly-drawn constiruency - taking in parts of the existing Meirionnydd Nant Conwy and Caernarfon constituencies - is notionally held by Plaid Cymru with a majority of 8,706 over Labour, with the Conservatives in third place.

Jonathan Isaby

Campaign videos from two third-time candidates poised to enter Parliament after more than a decade of hard work

There are nine Conservative candidates standing  in their seat at this general election for the third election in a row (full list here), all of whom are hoping to prove that it pays to be persistent.

Below are new campaign videos from two of their number, both of whom narrowly lost in 2005 and who require the smallest of swings to take their seats this time around. Both were first selected more than a decade ago, in 1999, and deserve particular praise for their continued slog over that time.

They are Nick de Bois, candidate for Enfield North, and Robert Halfon, who is standing in Harlow.

Jonathan Isaby

The Guardian profiles the same Tory candidates that always get profiled

One day a newspaper won't run profiles of the most glamorous Tory candidates but will try and give their readers a real picture of the next Tory intake.

Today's weekend Guardian magazine photo profiles the usual suspects including Louise Bagshawe, Nick Boles, Shaun Bailey (who is the handsome cover boy), Chartlotte Leslie and Priti Patel. I don't blame the candidates themselves - they're all good candidates. Very good candidates. But a lot of other very good candidates - candidates who happen to be slightly older women or white, straight men hardly ever feature in these profiles.

The Guardian's accompanying essay makes passing reference to the political views of the next intake but it continues the formulaic obsession with the colour, gender and sexuality of PPCs. Call us old-fashioned but in ConHome's surveys of candidates in the top seats we've tried to focus on what the next generation of ministers actually believe (eg here and here).

Tim Montgomerie

Eight further candidates selected to contest seats in Northern Ireland

Eight further candidates have today been endorsed to stand in constituencies in Northern Ireland under the joint Conservative and Unionist banner. They are:

• Antrim East – Rodney McCune
• Antrim North – Irwin Armstrong
• Belfast North – Fred Cobain
• Belfast South – Paula Bradshaw
• Down North – Ian Parsley
• Fermanagh and South Tyrone – Tom Elliott
• Foyle – David Harding
• Londonderry East – Lesley McAuley

Yesterday shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson and UUP leader Sir Reg Empey wrote this article in the Belfast News Letter emphasising the benefits to the people of Nothern Ireland of the electoral alliance between the Conservatives and UUP:

"By standing jointly as Conservatives and Unionists we will be the only party in Northern Ireland at the General Election offering people the chance to support and shape truly national politics. We will be giving people here the chance to vote for a party that can actually form the government of the United Kingdom... If the Conservatives win the election, Conservative and Unionist MPs from Northern Ireland will be able to play a full role in a Conservative Government. That includes being eligible to serve as ministers."

"To listen to some commentators or parties here, you would think that the idea of having normal politics is an affront. These people seem to have their own selfish strategic interests in maintaining Northern Ireland as a political backwater – either from the standpoint of a little Ulster mentality or because they want to portray Northern Ireland as a failed entity. We believe that Northern Ireland deserves better.

"Conservatives and Unionists will be backing a government committed to tackling our national debt, promoting economic growth, delivering social justice and strengthening society; we will improve our public services and maintain our security in an increasingly dangerous world. It is only the Conservatives and Unionists who are committed to ending the scandal of double-jobbing that scars politics in this part of the United Kingdom."

There is now just one outstanding selection in Northern Ireland, Antrim South.

Jonathan Isaby

Melanie Hampton is the latest candidate to advertise on the back end of a bus

We recently highlighted the ads on the back of buses in Batley and Spen forming part of the campaign being waged by Conservative candidate, Janice Small.

This means of getting the message across has also been adopted by Melanie Hampton in Mitcham and Morden - who has also just set up this new campaign website. There are currently five buses zipping around her constituency like the one pictured below.

Tim and I remain keen to highlight examples of good campaign ideas or literature which candidates are using on the ground. If you have ideas you want to share please email me or Tim.

Jonathan Isaby

The candidates for the Tory target seats in Scotland emphasise that the election will be a choice between Brown and Cameron

Below is a well crafted video presented by the Scottish Tory leader Annabel Goldie which introduces us to the party's candidates in the eleven seats north of the border where the Conservatives are targeting resources at the general election.

David Mundell is, of course, the only sitting Conservative MP for a Scottish constituency, and Peter Duncan, also featured in the video and standing again in Dumfries and Galloway, held that accolade between 2001 and 2005.

Apart from showing off the beautiful constituencies which they all aspire to represent, they are very much pushing the message that the election is about more than just electing a local MP - more crucially it is about choosing which of two men becomes Prime Minister and that a vote for the SNP or the Lib Dems is therefore a wasted vote.

That message should be equally resonant in the battleground seats held by the Lib Dems south of the border.

Jonathan Isaby

Paul Bristow pays tribute to the Labour MP he would have been facing at the general election

On Monday, the Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, Ashok Kumar, died suddenly aged 53 and his funeral will be held today.

Paul Bristow, the Conservative candidate for the seat, released the following statement earlier in the week on hearing the news:

"I was deeply saddened and shocked by the death of Middlesbrough South & East Cleveland MP Ashok Kumar.  Although I am standing as the Conservative candidate in his constituency, I have always had the utmost respect for him and his work as a constituency MP. 

"I knew Ashok long before my adoption as the Conservative candidate.  Several years ago he was part of a delegation with other MPs to Syria and met with President Assad and other Syrian politicians.  At the time I was working for the group leader, Richard Spring MP, at Westminster, and joined the MPs, helping with arrangements and keeping a written account of discussions.  On one occasion, Richard asked if I would speak and give thanks to our Syrian hosts.  Although delighted to do this, I was a little nervous but remember Ashok being very kind and reassuring both before and afterwards. 

"He wrote to me when I was selected telling me he remembered me well from the trip, and promised a good clean contest.   

"He will be remembered as an extremely good natured and hard working MP.  In one way, he was the perfect opponent as you knew he would always fight a clean and decent campaign.  In another, he was the least desirable opponent as almost everyone you met said what a pleasant man he was.

"My thoughts are with his friends and family."

Jonathan Isaby

Mark Reckless gives local shops free ad space on his website

Mark Reckless, our candidate in Rochester and Strood, has offered free advertising space on his website for local shops. He sees it as a practical demonstration of his support for the traditional high street. More here.

My own belief is that candidates and MPs should make their websites more and more about local issues and less and less about Conservative politics. We live in a time when the differences between newspapers and websites, political parties and campaigning organisations are dissolving. The websites of Tory MPs should become a focus for coverage of local community news and concerns. Mark Reckless has taken one sensible step towards that destination.

Tim Montgomerie

> If you have a 'campaign idea', such as a good leaflet or poster, that you would like to share with readers of ConservativeHome please email me or Jonathan.

Labour's Laura Moffatt joins the Chicken run

Labour MP for Crawley Laura Moffatt becomes the latest Labour MP to give up the fight:

"I have given a great deal of thought to this decision. It has been an honour and a privilege to represent the people of Crawley, but I feel the time has come for The Labour Party to seek a new candidate. The work of an MP is challenging and exciting but it takes it's toll on family life which is why I have taken this difficult decision. I remain firmly committed to fighting for Labour to win the upcoming General Election and am confident that, as they take a second look at Labour and a long hard look at the Conservatives, the British public will choose a future fair for all and a new Labour government."

She holds a wafer thin majority of just 37 over Conservative Cllr Henry Smith.

In the last two weeks we have also seen retirements in the harder-to-win seats of Halesowen and Rowley Regis and Blackpool North. Labour MPs do not seem to believe that the tighter national opinion polls are going to rescue them.

About 50 Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs are retiring in the Tories' top 200 target seats. The end of incumbent MPs' 'personal vote bonus' makes each of these seats more winnable.

Tim Montgomerie

Hammersmith PPC Shaun Bailey becomes first candidate to release an iPhone app

Hammersmith's Conservative candidate, Shaun Bailey, notches up a first today as he becomes the first candidate to release his own iPhone app.

The app - which you can download by clicking here - was developed by Alexander Trewby, a self-employed software engineer from the constituency, and features news and updates from Shaun, along with videos, contact information and links to other social media.

Shaun Bailey explains:

“Whether it’s knocking on doors, delivering literature, making campaign videos or developing iPhone apps, politics should be about connecting with people. Here in Hammersmith, broadband penetration is higher than the national average – we are truly a digitally connected community. A short walk down Hammersmith Broadway or around Shepherds Bush Green will show you that lots of people here are using iPhones. This app allows iPhone users to connect with our campaign in way that is familiar to them.

“As a candidate in Hammersmith and Shepherds Bush, I want to win people over with our ideas for change, not just how we communicate them. This application represents another way for us to get our message out. We need a change in the leadership of our country. I want to be part of that change.”

Tim and I remain keen to highlight examples of good campaign ideas or literature which candidates are using on the ground. If you have ideas you want to share please email me or Tim.

Jonathan Isaby

Candidates selected for final three seats in Scotland

Further to my list of oustanding selections posted at the weekend, here are the final three candidates selected to stand for seats in Scotland:

• Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East - Stephanie Fraser
• Glasgow North East - Ruth Davidson
• Motherwell and Wishaw - Patsy Gilroy

Jonathan Isaby

Robert Jenrick gives a flavour of what he is doing in his campaign to become the first Conservative MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme in 100 years

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 Robert Jenrick, who was selected in November 2008 for Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, where is seeking to overturn the 8,108 majority of sitting Labour MP Paul Farrelly and become the seat's first Conservative MP for over 100 years. He studied History at St. John’s College, Cambridge before qualifying as a lawyer and working for City law firms in London and Moscow, and is also involved in managing his family’s local manufacturing business. He took leave from his legal career in December 2009 to fight to win the seat. Read more about him and his campaign on his website.

Monday 8th March
Monday morning is a chance to catch up after an interesting weekend. Newcastle’s General Election campaign began in earnest on Friday with our first election hustings. We answered good-humoured questions from staff and students at Newcastle College, although I’m not convinced the debate truly engaged the sceptical students in the audience. I wonder whether the national debates will prove as electrifying as the media suggest – I certainly never met many who were thrilled by the Presidential debates whilst living in the U.S.

Sir John Major was in Staffordshire on Friday, supporting our six target seat campaigns (Newcastle, Stafford, Staffordshire Moorlands, Burton, Tamworth and Cannock Chase) as well as the work being done to re-establish ourselves in Stoke-on-Trent. Speaking after dinner in the evening, Sir John was eloquent and laid out a damning critique of Labour’s record. I said in the vote of thanks that if all Conservatives presented themselves with such clarity we would be assured of a new government in May.

A weekend of canvassing followed. Dropping my wife off at Stoke station on Sunday night for her train back to work, it had been another exhausting weekend.

Monday morning I make some calls to colleagues who are campaigning to change the unfair regional quota system that has arisen, whereby 65% of sand and gravel extraction across in the entire West Midlands falls upon Staffordshire. Inevitably this means beautiful Staffs countryside being torn up. I write a letter to members of the West Midlands Regional Assembly who make these decisions (a quasi-democratic body that is thankfully on the way out), urging them to support us and end this crazy system.

Unexpectedly this afternoon, a legal contact calls. He’s an environmental lawyer in Washington D.C. who is co-ordinating efforts in the U.S. to develop the first Green Investment Bank with the Obama administration. I put him in touch with the Shadow Environment team, some of whom it turns out will be in D.C. tomorrow and may be able to meet up. This follows on from bringing together the Environment team with Better Place, an Israeli company developing an electric car system that will soon be on the streets of Tel Aviv and San Francisco. Better Place’s CEO, Shai Agassi is one of the most impressive men I’ve met: he is pragmatic and not a climate crusader and he puts privately-funded technological advancement at the heart of tackling climate change.

Former soldier Edward Legard explains why he wants to be Conservative MP for Darlington, where Alan Milburn is retiring

Another excellent campaign video.

An angry Zac Goldsmith accuses his Liberal Democrat opponent in Richmond Park of inventing a "Save Our Hospital" campaign for political advantage

Here's a video from a public debate last week. First up is Richmond Park Lib Dem MP, Susan Kramer;  2 minutes and 15 seconds in Zac Goldsmith responds to her claims.

The thirteen seats where a Conservative candidate is yet to be selected

Yesterday's selection in Hyndburn was the last seat in England to pick its Conservative candidate, and the selections in mid-February in Aberavon, Neath and Ogmore were the final vacancies in Wales to be filled.

There remain four seats to select a Conservative candidate in Scotland along with the remaining nine constituencies in Northern Ireland.

They are:

• Aberdeen North
• Antrim East
• Antrim North
• Antrim South
• Belfast North
• Belfast South
• Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
• Down North
• Fermanagh and South Tyrone
• Foyle
• Glasgow North East
• Londonderry East
• Motherwell and Wishaw

11.45am update: Stewart Whyte is the candidate for Aberdeen North.

Jonathan Isaby

The candidate selections which never hit the ConHome radar

Yesterday I did an audit of the seats covered in the Seats and Candidates section and realised that there were some candidate selections that never hit the ConHome radar. The vast majority are non-target seats in Scotland or the North or England, although there were a few from very early in the Parliament that also never got clocked.

They are:

• Airdrie and Shotts - Ruth Whitfield
• Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock - William Grant
• Ayrshire Central - Maurice Golden
• Bishop Auckland - Barbara Harrison
• Blaydon - Glenn Hall
• Burnley - Richard Ali
• Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross - Alistair Graham
• Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill - Fiona Houston
• Dundee West - Colin Stewart
• East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow - Graham Simpson
• Edinburgh East - Martin Donald
• Filton and Bradley Stoke - Jack Lopresti
• Gateshead - Hazel Anderson
• Glenrothes - Sheila Low
• Heywood and Middleton - Michael Holly
• Kilmarnock and Loudoun - Janette McAlpine
• Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath - Lindsay Paterson\
• Lanark and Hamilton East - Colin McGavigan
• Leigh - Shazia Awan
• Lewes - Jason Sugarman
• Livingston - Alison Adamson-Ross
• Loughborough - Nicky Morgan
• Makerfield - Itrat Ali
• Midlothian - James Callander
• Na h-Eileanan an Iar - Sheena Norquay
• Orkney and Shetland - Frank Nairn
• Paisley and Renfrewshire North - Alistair Campbell
• Paisley and Renfrewshire South - Gordon McCaskill
• Portsmouth North - Penny Mordaunt
• Rochdale - Mudasir Dean
• Ross, Skye and Lochaber - Donald Cameron
• Rutherglen and Hamilton West - Malcolm Macaskill
• Solihull - Maggie Throup
• Wansbeck - Campbell Storey
• Wigan - Michael Winstanley
• Wyre Forest - Mark Garnier

Jonathan Isaby

Karen Buckley selected for Hyndburn

Karen Buckley was selected on the first ballot this afternoon from a field of six to stand as Conservative candidate for Hyndburn in Lancashire at the general election.

A Lancastrian born and bred, she is a solicitor specialising in Family Law who is currently studying for a Masters Degree in Advanced Legal Practice in Matrimonial Law.  She joined the Conservative Party after hearing David Cameron promote the importance of marriage and has been a councillor in Fylde since 2007.

Read more about her on her website.

Sitting Labour MP Greg Pope is retiring and bequeathing a notional majority of 5,528 to his successor as Labour candidate. Karen requires a swing of 6.9% to win the seat.

Jonathan Isaby

Cheltenham's Mark Coote revisits the grammar school he helped save from Callaghan's Labour Government

Mark Coote, Conservative candidate for Cheltenham, got interested in politics as a teenager when he sought to save his school - Cheltenham Grammar - from Callaghan's Labour Government. In this video he revisits his school in the constituency he is seeking to regain from the Lib Dems at the general election.

Victoria Ayling in Great Grimsby ditches the Soap Box in favour of a Fish Box

Here is a picture of Victoria Ayling, the candidate for the fishing port that is Great Grimsby, who has swapped the traditional "Soap Box" for a "Fish Box". She says:

"It was custom made with the Conservative logo and imprint on it, and I appear around the Constituency,  stand on it and have impromptu question and answer sessions. In fact it is going down very well and some are nicknaming the box Victoria's Plaice..."

Tim and I remain keen to highlight examples of good campaign ideas or literature which candidates are using on the ground. If you have ideas you want to share please email me or Tim.

Jonathan Isaby