Guido can reveal Tamworth’s losing Tory candidate Andy Cooper was rushed through a truncated selection procedure which local Tories claim failed to pick up their concerns about his electability. Other contenders – who are bitter at the process – were put through deep checks the week before selection over the weekend of 9th September. Cooper, by contrast, spent a hurried half-day in London before being placed on the 3-strong central office recommendation list. It is not clear whether psychometric testing, relatively new and much-touted for vetting, was used and the process failed to pick up Cooper’s choice words for benefit claimants in a Facebook post from 2020. Candidates are always complaining about selection processes but the recent run of defeats does seem problematic…
Senior Tamworth Tories say it is “just too early to say” whether they will stick with Cooper or if pre-Pincher candidate Eddie Hughes MP will try for the seat at the general election. He is reportedly eyeing up other seats like Solihull. Incoming boundary changes will boost numbers of Tory voters so it will be a desirable seat despite last night’s result…
