12/07/2009

Where were all the celebrity Tory PPCs in 1997 and 2001 ?

Isn't odd that in 1997 and 2001, all these ex Generals and sons/daughters/brothers/sisters of the glitterati, TV presenters and celebrity journalists were able to keep themselves as far from a Tory rosette as was humanly possible. But as soon as the Tories start doing well in the polls, there is suddenly a deluge of people with "names" or "medals" who trot themselves out as Tories, seemingly without ever done a days canvassing or delivering in a no hope ward in their lives.

It must be galling for many Tories who remained loyal in the lean years up to Cameron's leadership election in 2005 that they should be punished and in some cases be tarnished (and I particularly feel for Iain Dale in the case) with not having had a good result in difficult circumstances, only for a newcomer who doesn't have the nerve or the passion to fight a no hope seat waltz in waving a Tory membership card and get selected for plum seats.

The first question I would be asking of these political celebs is where were they in 1997 and 2001. Where were they in the darker days of the IDS leadership when the Tories were languishing in the polls ? Were they out campaigning for the Tories and if they weren't why not !

3 comments:

Will S said...

Hear, hear.

Anonymous said...

You got that right. I have been a member of the Conservative Party since Mrs Thatcher became prime minister. I worked tirelessly through the lean years when you couldn't get anyone to stand as an MP let alone do the donkey work in the Constituencies.

I have never felt so much like leaving the party as I do now. What possible connection do I have with this peculiar bunch of carpetbaggers that have slithered into town expecting a job for life because Cameron has some demented idea of what the Tory party should look like. There are many many brilliant candidates out there and they are not going to get a look in. Mark my words, this is going to end in tears (and a hung parliament).

Anonymous said...

It reminds me of a friend of mine who was in the labour party for some years. He trold me from 1991- 1994 they had a keen, loyal bunch of dedicated labour supporters who did a lot of hard work and made a lot of progress. Then suddenly with Blair taking charge, in 1994-1997 they were suddenly snowed under with very keen well to do types, largely ex Tory but some "liberal" people who flooded in to the labour party, all very keen, but not with any sense of what the Labour party was about. These people took up roles, took over some aspects of the local party he was in, and he felt forced out.

Then around 2003, some of this old Labour friends contacted him about rejoining. The problem was that the new people had all left as soon as the gloss of new Labour had worn thin and they were getting down to the bare bones.

He'd moved on and didn't rejoin and the Labour Party is in this undernourished state across the country at the moment.

There's a lesson in that for the Tories, but like Blair, Cameron will be long gone by the time the activists and real Tories ahve to pick up the pieces.

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