CCHQ have waived the £137 ticket fee to hacks attending Party Conference in October. It will now be free for media organisations to attend, although only those who “contribute towards the costs of the media centre or have stands in the conference zone will be granted access to the media centre”. Those who’ve paid already will be refunded…
Last year the accreditation fee was £125, with the media centre fee – which gets you a desk near the conference floor – also costing £125. Hacks kicked up a fuss about having to pay to enter, and CCHQ have reverse ferreted. Although they warned media organisations last night that failing to activate a pass “without good reason” will incur a fee at next year’s conference – likely to stop hundreds of BBC hacks registering for the fun of it, and then not turning up. Guido also hears they’ll be policing the media centre more closely this year, given it’s now £250 just to get in…
As Conservative safe seats across the country look to select the next generation of Conservative MPs, it’s worth taking a look at the processes in place to choose our future leaders. Guido has got his hands on the rules for Conservative Associations’ selections of candidates, and there are some interesting titbits amongst the procedural dullness. Even though the government talks a big game on woke corporations’ EDI policies, the Conservative Party themselves have deployed diversity quotas for age, ethnicity and gender:
“the Sifting Committee must comprise a minimum of one woman and one young person under the age of 30. The additional Association members of the Committee should reflect the different interests of the constituency, i.e. should have a balance of gender, age and ethnicity.”
At a guess Guido thinks these changes were initiated under David Cameron to push associations to select fewer candidates who were stale, male and pale. The guidance also describes the procedure for CCHQ’s stitch-ups in favour of carpet-bagging MPs. MPs on the displaced candidates list are allowed to walk straight through to the final stage for any seat in their region. All ‘displaced MPs’ also have the right to jump straight to the interview stage for every seat in the country, whilst any who still haven’t found a new home by the next election will be gifted a spot on CCHQ’s last-minute selections short-list.
In addition, the document outlines the tasks would-be MPs have to face including a “connect calling exercise” and a “street stall exercise” and includes details on a lesser-known “refer back motion”. The motion can be proposed before the final vote, giving members a secret ballot on whether to refer back the selection – as attempted in Bromsgrove over the weekend. If approved the entire selection process must be “halted and must start again from scratch”. The Conservative Democratic Organisation should take note…
Co-conspirators can read the full guidance below:
With four by-elections now on the cards in the coming weeks, the party machines have been stepping up their campaigning activity. Over on Facebook, the Tories have been particularly active – launching over twenty five targeted attack ads across the contested seats. Labour, by contrast, has just been campaigning for “cleaner, cheaper energy”…
Amongst the Conservatives’ most prolific messages is an anti-growth campaign for NIMBY votes. They have a number of ads targeting both the Liberal Democrats and Labour for the egregious crime of… wanting to build more homes. Why should anyone renting who wants to buy their first home vote Conservative?
These ads alone cost the Tories over £2,100 and have been seen 200,000 times…
Other targeted ads also shed light on the Conservatives strategy across the by-elections. In Somerset and Froome, Mid Bedfordshire and Selby and Ainsty, the Conservatives are leading on policing numbers and crime. Whilst in Uxbridge, one man features front and centre: Sadiq Khan.
Of course, the Tories also have ads running on Rishi’s failing five pledges, as well as on their childcare policy. In total, the party has spend £12,000 on targeted Facebook advertising so far…
UPDATE: GB News‘ Tom Harwood asked Rishi about these Conservative campaign ads, attacking their own policy to build 300,000 houses. Despite spending over two-minutes attempting an answer, Rishi had nothing to say on the ads.
CCHQ is stepping up its election readiness, as Conservative candidate selections opened up in 19 constituencies yesterday. Writing in Conservative Home, Greg Hands expressed his intent to ensure candidates are in place “as early as possible”. He added that CCHQ has conducted a “root and branch review” of selection processes, including digitalisation and “enhanced due diligence checks”. CCHQ can rest easy knowing Guido will be on hand to verify these checks…
Greg then confirmed that selections had began in a first batch of seats, “with all regions represented”, and that local party associations would be able to “follow the selection process in full”. The first 19 seats open to selection are:
- Bicester and Woodstock
- Calder Valley
- Camborne and Redruth
- Canterbury
- Coventry South
- Earley and Woodley
- Eltham and Chislehurst
- Hazel Grove
- Hove and Portslade
- Isle of Wight East
- Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle
- Milton Keynes South
- Norwich North
- Selby
- South Cambridgeshire
- South West Devon
- Tamworth
- West Bromwich
- West Lancashire
Amongst those listed are some new seats, some held by the opposition, and others vacated by standing down MPs – including George Eustice, Nigel Adams and Chloe Smith. Guido also notes that Chris Pincher’s Tamworth is probably due a new candidate…
After Guido previously reported that Kieran Mullan, the MP for Crewe, was mulling a chicken run to the new Chester South and Eddisbury seat, local news media revealed discontent amongst Crewe Conservatives, quoting one senior local figure. Guido hasn’t been able to corroborate wider discontent in Crewe, another senior Tory insisted nobody locally has a bad word to say about Kieran. This isn’t so true of neighbouring Eddisbury…
Kieran spent the day yesterday trying to drum up support amongst Cheshire councillors – and it hasn’t gone down too well. As a sitting MP affected by boundary changes, Kieran can have first dibs on any seat which was formerly part of his existing seat – it’s up to the local selection committee to decide whether to adopt him as their candidate. With Edward Timpson standing down in Eddisbury, the parts of Crewe and Nantwich subsumed in the boundary review could justify giving him a run at selection. A reminder – just one ward from Kieran’s old seat has moved to the new one.
Although Eddisbury is somewhat receptive to Kieran’s candidacy – one source reminded Guido that Eddisbury has a chequered history with big name wets, as potential candidate Richard Walker might be – local Tories don’t like the way his chicken run is being handled. In line with Greg Hands’ expressed strategy, there is a perception that CCHQ is delaying the timetable and foisting Mullan on the seat. If Mullan can build support locally in time for a selection decision, it would avoid wider competition. To quote a senior Conservative councillor, “Eddisbury wants choice”.
An email sent to Conservative members from Suella Braverman, which criticised an “activist blob of left-wing lawyers, civil servants and the Labour Party” for blocking immigration action has caused outrage – predominantly from the very same activist blob of left-wing lawyers, civil servants. After the boss of the FDA civil service union complained to Rishi, demanding an apology, Suella disavowed herself of the email. It’s in Greg’s Hands now…
Despite Suella’s claims of innocence, the email has caused trouble closer to home, as Harry Cole reports her Permanent Secretary, Matthew Rycroft, was apparently sent “shouty crackers” by the communication. This won’t come as a surprise to co-conspirators. Guido has often reported on the activist inclinations of the Marsham Street blob.
Although just one email is receiving press attention, CCHQ sent out two near identical emails yesterday – 5 minutes apart – evening. Just one included the provocative phrasing – perhaps someone on Matthew Parker Street could explain the reasoning given both were sent out before the backlash. One email had more temperate phrasing. What marketing segmentation drove the thinking?
As far as Guido can surmise, CCHQ are far from concerned with the media reception of their communications, they’re pleased. Standing up to left-wing lawyers and civil servants seems like a vote winner in both the Red Wall and Tory shires…
