Following the selection of Seema Kennedy as the candidate in South Ribble, the other Conservative-held seat which began selecting at the same time, South Thanet, has now announced its shortlist.
The three finalists will face the association’s collected members at a selection meeting on Friday in the hope of being chosen to succeed Laura Sandys MP.
They are:
The seat is widely touted as a Nigel Farage’s potential target in next year’s General Election, so the association will no doubt be looking for a fighting candidate, not someone who might take the 2010 majority of 7,617 votes for granted. It’s no coincidence, therefore, that all three finalists are experienced councillors. Lord Ashcroft’s poll of marginal seats found the reported voting intention was Conservative 32 per cent, Labour 31 per cent, UKIP 27 per cent and Lib Dem 7 per cent, so whoever is selected will have to pitch straight in to the street fighting.