In this election, safe seats are few. Solihull (currently occupied by the whipless Julian Knight) is the safest in the West Midlands and has had its selection process repeatedly delayed. It was meant to open before Christmas…
Guido hears over 100 hungry would-be candidates have got in touch with CCHQ to express their interest. Some of the top contenders for the selection are:
Local Tory activists are currently running an “Anyone But Nicola” campaign against Richards over grumblings from her association in West Bromwich. Guido hears, however, that CCHQ isn’t planning on opening up the seat until the general election is announced, which point they would push for a “displaced-only” selection. An October election would open up the process in August…
A displaced incumbent-only selection would have MPs in struggling constituencies given a chance to stay in Parliament. Contenders for Solihull are wondering what the reason was for Tory party chairman Richard Holden’s surprise visit on 26th January…
UPDATE: Guido hears sitting MP Julian Knight dislikes Nicola Richards so much he has threatened to resign if she is selected – triggering a by-election. The result? Another by-election in Richards’ West Bromwich East seat. Double trouble the Tories would like very much to avoid and good reason to keep delaying the selection…
After six months of wrangling and intrigue, it looked like there might finally be a resolution to the selection in the plum Tory seat of Chester South and Eddisbury. Late last week, the selection committee met and agreed a final shortlist – comprised of Adam Wordsworth, Sanjoy Sen and chicken-running Kieran Mullan. One local source told Guido people were “coalescing around” “well known, strong local candidate” Wordsworth.
Of course, Mullan once again saw the writing on the wall and got CCHQ to lend him a hand. After Wordsworth sent out letters to members describing the current Crewe MP as being “parachuted in”, Mullan complained to the party. The Tories acted quickly to have the local favourite kicked out of the contest – and even off the approved candidates list. The selection vote, due for Friday, has been paused pending an investigation…
Local activists are “furious”. After Eddisbury’s previous experience with Antoinette Sandbach, there is a perception that the seat is again being stitched up for the preferred party candidate. Local activists are aggrieved at Wordsworth’s ousting and have little faith that a fair and democratic contest will be allowed by CCHQ. This is exacerbated by the sense of a double standard. Mullan has also contacted activists, the same crime which saw Wordsworth removed from the contest. As one member put it to Guido “I don’t know how he got my number, I don’t know how he got my address”. Local sources say Greg’s Hands are all over the stitch-up. It wouldn’t be the first time…
The approval of Mike Wood MP as the candidate for the new seat of Kingswinford & South Staffordshire has gone down like the proverbial bucket of cold sick, after Greg Hands has been accused of intervening to stitch-up the process. Mike had a clear first stab at the re-jigged constituency, comprised of his own seat and Gavin Williamson’s current home, after Gavin opted for the new Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge seat instead. Local Tories weren’t going to let this happen so easily.
The contest to approve Mike’s re-adoption was incredibly close fought and tensions boiled over after one activist was found to have cast their vote despite having an invalid membership. According to one local source, this lead to an “enormous” number of local complaints and they had right to be aggrieved. Due to the close nature of the contest, Guido hears that one vote could have been “meaningful”…
Following these developments, the South Staffordshire Area Chairman wrote to activists, explaining that he had sent a report to CCHQ detailing potential next steps. This was swiftly ignored following “a recommendation” from the Party Chairman and Mike Wood was successfully adopted. Unsurprisingly, local activists, who still hold animosity towards CCHQ after controversy surrounding nearby MP Theo Clarke’s re-selection, aren’t happy. One activist said Greg had to make sure “his cronies got what they wanted” as another involved in the selection lamented that “all I want to see is democracy”. CCHQ invariably tries to tip the scales in favour of incumbents. Nevertheless it all seems a bit heavy handed from Greg.
Co-conspirators can read the full letter from the Staffordshire Area Chairman below:
Seb Payne’s political ambitions faced yet another setback over the weekend, as he came second in the race to represent the safe Tory seat of Bromsgrove. Seb, who described himself as a “part-time Michael Gove stunt double”, can take some positives from his defeat in the Battle of Bromsgrove. Insiders say he performed well and came across as credible in a very tightly fought race – with the winner being decided on a “razor-fine” margin. Winner, Bradley Thomas’s local links gave him the edge.
There was some discontent in the association, as reported by Michael Crick, as a ‘refer back motion’ to restart the selection was proposed – though eventually defeated. Over the weekend another Westminster insider did get one step closer to the green benches, as Nick Timothy won selection in Matt Hancock’s West Suffolk seat. Guido’s heart bleeds for Neil Hudson…
The selection process for the seat of Bromsgrove, currently occupied by Sajid Javid, is well underway. As a rare Tory safe seat, even on current polls, the competition has been fierce. One cause for conflict was the fact that a leading front-runner, former MP Paul Uppal, was also the Association Chair responsible for running the contest. Paul gave a strong non-denial when Guido asked about his candidacy last month.
Since then, the process has been delayed (and restarted), a new Association Chair has been selected and a long-list drawn up. Amongst those on the list are Paul Uppal and Neil Shastri-Hurst, whilst Michael Crick reports Birmingham Tory Bobby Alden is also in the running. Though one name in particular will stick out to SW1-based readers: Seb Payne has made the cut following his payneful night in Selby. Onward and upward…
CCHQ has doubled-down on their attempt to stitch-up the safe seat of Chester South and Eddisbury. After failing to build local support, chicken running MP Keiran Mullan had re-opened the field to competition, however it didn’t stop the local party voting against his re-adoption. This didn’t bother CCHQ, who pressed ahead and shoehorned him into the final shortlist anyway…
Set to join Mullan in the final round is Warrington South MP, Andy Carter, who is launching his own charm offensive on the local party. Kieran Mullan has a tough task on his hands to make his chicken run a success, local activists aren’t happy with a perception that he’s tried to take credit for Edward Timpson’s work on a local hospital. The final shortlist is still to be decided, with selection to take place over the summer.
Alas, Guido hears Iceland nepo-baby Richard Walker has been frozen out of the contest by CCHQ as they only want “certain people” selected. Perhaps related to the fact he’s previously campaigned alongside Extinction Rebellion…
