Tory Party Chairman Richard Holden still doesn’t have a seat to stand in for the election. CCHQ are scrambling to find him a safe seat, and Michael Crick has posted that it looks like he is “definitely going for [the] selection” in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich tonight. It appears that there are two other women on the shortlist, both non-locals, though the local association were only informed of the names late last night. Guido hears local Tories are “absolutely disgusted” at the “stitch-up”…
The selection is apparently tonight at 6:30pm. One Tory MP tells Guido that they are “boiling with rage” over Holden, who “has no connection to the area”, being parachuted into the rare Tory safe seat. The anger over the stitch-up is “so great, there’s a huge risk he won’t win” the selection. There are rumours Holden may be holding back on Basildon & Billericay as a reserve safe seat. The Tory Chairman only has until the end of the week to find somewhere to stand…
UPDATE:
A reliable source tells Guido that Holden has been withdrawn from the shortlist.
Speaking to Sky News off the back of Rachel Reeves’ Air Passenger Duty hike, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said:
“Labour is dependent on those Red Wall seats, and yet every move she makes poisons economic growth and damages the UK’s recovery… it’s the Chancellor who stumbles from policy misstep to policy misstep… I think her policy decisions are incredibly stupid.”
