10/18/2006

Could Mid Norfolk Tories have had so many things go wrong in their selection if they had tried ?


Almost unbelievably, given the furore and fuss caused already by the Mid Norfolk Tory candidate slection , two more candidates have dropped out of the selection meaning tow more who didn't make the shortlist now have !


It's all outlined very well in the EDP, but it does highlight a clear difference between the recent selections made by the Liberal Democrats in Norwich South and Broadland and the way the Tories select candidates.


Lib Dem seats appear more willing to select and shortlist local people committed to their local areas, and not just career politicians. I'm not saying this is true of every Conservative association, but the setting up of the "A list" has meant that an element of discrimination has come in to force inthe Conservative Party whereby your local credentials, your wanting to serve the community you live in and your unwillingness to want to be come part of the "glitterati" celebrity set that makes up the Tory `A list` means that you will find it virtually impossible to get shortlisted for a winnable Tory seat.


Not only that, but obsiously some candidates who were on the Tory Mid Norfolk shortlist and were professing their desire just last week to represent Mid Norfolk and its people were at the same time saying exactly the same thing to other constituencies in order to become their candidates too. Does this build trust in politicians ?


At least in Norwich South and in Broadland the Lib Dems have, in Simon Wright and April Pond, selected local candidates who are keen to work for Norfolk and the communities in which they live and work. It remains to be seen if Mid Norfolk Tories will do the same.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't think that your arguement stands up here Nich.

Firstly the LibDems tend to select only a few seats at a time - the Tory tranches are much bigger and therefore good candidates will have to withdraw from some seats to focus on others.

As for the LibDems, even in your party people travel to find safe and winnable seats. Would you let a parliamentary talent go to waste because (s)he lived in a safe Labour seat? Of course not, and as you know several senior Libdem MPs were also parachuted.

If you were trying to be fair and open minded, you failed I think

Nich Starling said...

The point I was making is that do these people really want to be MP for Mid Norfolk or do they want to be MP for anywhere ?

In many ways an MP who wants to be an MP for anywhere is less desirable than one who wants to be MP for a particular area only. Not always is this the case, but I think it is sometimes.

I just asked the question and although showing some bias, I tried to be fair.

Anonymous said...

Yes but some people - maybe many cabinet ministers??? - do need to be MP for anywhere rather than somewhere. That is why I always like electoral systems that are mixed - including a FPTP constituency section and a top up. Hence Cameron, Osbourne and his chums could be on the top up and all of the worthy hard working local people could win the FPTP seats? An idea?

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