Like other recent candidates, Strafford also made much of his long-standing personal connections to the area. A local source tells me he clearly “knew his stuff”.
Members of the new constituency had an “excellent” short-list of four final candidates. Bucking the general trend, their priority was talent, not local connections.
One local Tory was who present at the selection told ConservativeHome that the “biggest single difference” between the two final candidates was that “he promised to return to the constituency” before the next election.
They are a mixture of Conservative-held seats and targets.
Will local Associations select insiders or councillors? The answer in this latest case is: both.
Downing Street and CCHQ will be perturbed by the continuing run of men being selected in the safer constituencies.
Paul wrote for ConservativeHome last year, arguing that since “traditional conservative voters no longer want to vote Conservative” in the so-called Blue Wall, “then a return to traditional conservatism may be just what’s needed.”
“Housing policy – the building of new homes, the stewardship of existing properties, the planning of our towns, the fundamental landscape of our lives – requires long-term thinking. And a long-term plan.”
The tendency in recent Tory selections has been to pick people with long-standing ties to the constituency over those one might consider “big names” or “SW1 insiders”.
It was the case that, according to a local source, Davis was a “hard-working local champion” and that “no candidate could have shifted local members”.
The Minister of State for Schools outlines what the Conservatives have achieved since 2010 – and why Labour remain ideologically opposed to the reforms introduced.
A local Conservative source suggests that Graham Brady’s constituency should be considered “hyper-marginal”.
She was up against Rob Wilson – MP for Reading East between 2005 and 2017.
According to local Conservative sources, Purbrick “won on the first ballot” in what was a “well-attended” contest.
He will be familiar to some readers as the former Chief of Staff for George Osborne between 2006 and 2015.