1/06/2007

EXCLUSIVE : Tory "A List" candidates to be de-listed


I was speaking to some Tory friends who are London based a few weeks ago, and two of them, who could easily get "A List" status, told me they did not wish to do so for fear that if they did not apply for enough seats, they could be stripped of their "A list" status, and received what might be a fatal blow to their future chances of candidature.

I thought nothing of it at the time, but have now received an e-mail from another Tory was told by a Conservative colleague of his who is on the A list, that some "A list" candidates had been advised that they must prove their "future worth" to the Conservatives if they did not start applying for seats, or they might be removed from the A-list.

When the Tories published their A list, there was much furore, and since then there has been fevered speculation about whether it will make it to 2008. But it shows a rather cynical side to the Conservative machine that they expect people to apply for seats that they are not even interested in being MP for in order to maintain their place on the list.

P.S. Why the EXCLUSIVE ? Well if it is good enough for other blogs, why not mine ?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

"EXCLUSIVE" Nick ! You're "doing a Dale" aren't you ?

Iain Dale said...

As well he might... if it were not for the fact that this story appeared a month ago on ConservativeHome!

Nich Starling said...

Some of us don't read Conservative home Iain.

I just wondered whether your series of attacks on the Lib Dems where there is actually no story to tell is more about preserving your own "A list" status.

If the story was run a month ago, then we all need to keep an eye on what some Tory A listers are doing to keep in CCO's good books.

The fact remains that some Tory A listers are now feeling the pinch.

Out From Under said...

No story? We'll see.

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