ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog

Laura Sandys selected for Thanet South

More tomorrow.  Much more tomorrow!

11am update on 17th October:

• Warmest congratulations to Laura.  By all accounts she is one of the nicest people on the candidates' list and will make an excellent and hard-working MP for the people of South Thanet.  The TSCA have chosen well and they chose by an overwhelming majority - two-to-one.  David Cameron will also be pleased to see another A-list woman adopted.
• It is not, of course, good news for Mark MacGregor.  ConservativeHome has made no secret of its belief that Mark MacGregor is not fit to be a Tory MP.  A combination of two lacklustre campaigns in 2001 and 2005, a letter from Tory MPs registering opposition to his candidacy and unhappiness at CCHQ scheming all combined to thwart MM's ambitions.  It is unlikely that any other selection committee of a Conservative Association will now wish to embrace Mr MacGregor and his controversial past.
• LS' selection also affects Mid Norfolk where she was one of four finalists.  Mid-Norfolk have announced that A-listers Kit Malthouse and Priti Patel will be in Saturday's final.  KM and PP were tied in the previous round.

The controversial Mark MacGregor inches closer to readoption

Central Office received a series of complaints about Mark MacGregor.  Lord Tebbit – who intervened in the last election campaign against MacGregor - complained about MM’s factionalism whilst he was part of the Federation of Conservative Students.  The Opposition Chief Whip, according to an impeccable source inside CCHQ, noted that a significant number of MPs would be unhappy if he was selected.  Iain Duncan Smith complained of the ways in which MacGregor was involved in the unfounded allegations against his wife.

Central Office at the highest level chose to ignore these complaints and haven’t stopped there.  According to ConservativeHome’s three Thanet South sources (partly backed up a leaked email), CCHQ has actively blocked a leading rival from being interviewed after the Association had actually voted to interview him.  Slowly but surely the race appears to have been fixed to see MacGregor prosper even though he is not an A-lister.

This whole incident is further ammunition for those who want the secretive Candidates' Committee replaced with an open and transparent panel – the members of which are democratically elected by the voluntary party.