ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog

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

Rory Stewart adopted for Penrith and the Border

Stewart has a long Wikipedia entry: "Rory Stewart, OBE (born 1973), is the Executive Chairman of the British charity, the Turquoise Mountain Foundation and the Ryan Family Professor of the Practice of Human Rights and the Director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He formerly served in the British Army and in the British Foreign Service, where he worked in Indonesia and the Balkans and, most famously, as governor of a province of occupied Iraq in 2003-2004. He is known for his book about this experience, The Prince of the Marshes, his epic 2000-2002 walk across Afghanistan, which served as the basis for another book, The Places in Between, and his later cultural development work in Afghanistan."

More here.

8.45pm: Paul Waugh sees Mr Stewart as a future Prime Minister.

Six names in the frame for Penrith and the Border

Six candidates have been shortlisted out of 130 applicants in the race to replace David Maclean as Conservative candidate for Penrith and the Border at the next general election.

An open primary is scheduled for October 25th and those in the running are:

• Fiona Bruce
• Christine Emmett
• Chris Galley (not the Christopher Galley involved in the Damian Green Home Office leak affair)
• Robert Light
• Lucille Nicholson
• Rory Stewart

More on the Cumberland News website.

Jonathan Isaby

13th plum Tory seat becomes vacant with retirement announcement from Penrith's David Maclean

It has a projected majority of 9,307 over the Liberal Democrats and is one of the most beautiful seats in Britain: Penrith and the Border.

Last night David Maclean MP - former Home Office minister and former Shadow Chief Whip - told his local Conservative Association that ill health would mean he could no longer give England's largest constituency the "full pelt" service it deserves.   Mr Maclean has been suffering from multiple sclerosis for some time.

Earlier in the week Mr Maclean left his hospital bed to take part in the vote for Speaker.

> News & Star report.