Scott Benton selected as Conservative candidate for Blackpool South

He will be seeking to overturn Gordon Marsden’s majority of 2,523 at the next election.

Selection news: Shortlists revealed for Ipswich, and Warwick & Leamington

Several ConservativeHome contributors are among those who have made the final round in the two target seats

Five more target seats open to candidate applications

Stockton South, Dewsbury, Plymouth Sutton and more.

James Fredrickson selected as Conservative candidate to contest Oxford West and Abingdon

The tech and digital communications policy specialist won through on Friday night.

Selections. Five more seats and the first ‘team seats’ open for applications.

Bath, Bishop Auckland, Bristol North West, Peterborough, and Wirral West are seeking candidates, as are several northern cities.

Siobhan Baillie selected to contest target seat of Stroud

Also: candidate applications are set to open in Peterborough, in preparation for a possible forthcoming by-election.

Selections. Four more seats open for applications – High Peak, Bury North, Darlington and Blackpool South.

Two of the four were lost last year; two more were last held over 25 years ago. All are now non-southern marginals – or should be.

Candidate applications open for next target seats: Bedford and Ipswich

There are early signs of a common profile of the seats chosen as targets.

Exclusive: Conservative candidate selections open for first tranche of target seats

Applications are now open for Stroud, Warwick & Leamington, Oxford West & Abingdon, and Crewe & Nantwich.

Exclusive: The Conservative London mayoral candidate selection will open in June

The candidate will be selected before the Party conference in September.

Kemi Badenoch: My plan for candidates – a transparent, democratic process, for an even stronger Party

Also, a balanced Parliamentary Party requires a diverse pipeline of candidates – this means diversity of background and thought.

Mark Harper: We still have work to do to get more Conservative women elected to Parliament

Addressing this persistent under-representation is not political correctness, it is political common sense. Our Party would be the better for it. 

Road to Parliament 3) Gillian Keegan: An apprenticeship gave me my start in business, so I designed one for entering politics

The third article in our new mini-series, in which female Conservative MPs share the stories of their journeys into politics, comes from the MP for Chichester.

Exclusive: Proposed changes on associations and candidate selection are being “revised” in the face of strong opposition

Since ConservativeHome revealed the planned changes in November, concern has been growing among MPs and Party members.

The Moggcast. CCHQ’s attempts to rule the Party by “imperial fiat” – and how they attempted to block Rees-Mogg’s candidacy

He replies to Soubry’s call to expel him, argues aid should be “investment rather than expenditure”, and reveals what it’s like to face “poser” masked thugs.