The Tories are calling for prospective candidates who “really believe in less tax, less interference, less regulation” this time round as close Badenoch ally Bernard Jenkin is given a senior role on the party’s candidates committee. A blast from the past…
The Tories confirmed that sitting MP Jenkin has been made Vice Chairman of the Candidates Committee, which is led by Clare Hambro who was appointed by Badenoch in April. Rank and file members are already beginning to grumble about the process and the new setup. Candidate selection is meant to be taking a new direction, however…
Prospective candidates are offered the chance to “in time, serve in a radical, transforming government once again.” To that end the party is looking for “candidates who are going to hold the civil service to account, who are willing to change things, and who are willing to make difficult decisions.” The blurb adds that the party is “prioritising the four Cs – communication, charisma, cleverness and conservatism.” Prospective candidates have until 30 June 2026 to apply, if there’s anyone who fancies it…
The application document for prospective candidates has gone up on the internet. Approved candidates from before the 2024 election will have to re-apply and will get no special treatment. Reform has not yet opened for candidate selections…
Speaking on Times Radio, former Home Secretary David Blunkett spoke about overdiagnosis of mental problems:
“Let’s distinguish those who are really severely mentally ill, diagnosed with things that require prolonged medical and diagnostic treatment. My wife and I talk about this a lot, because she’s a retired GP, about the fact that you can be sad without being ill. You can be momentarily depressed because your boyfriend or girlfriend’s just thrown you and you’re not mentally ill. You can even have mild issues, which can be dealt with with the right kind of support, but it doesn’t make you mentally ill. So we’ve got a real task, I think, to get the psychology, if you like, of this over. But there are things where you definitely need medical intervention, and there are other things where you need good friends, you need good connectivity, and you need a job.”