Who chooses Tory candidates?
Late last year the Sunday Telegraph revealed concerns among senior Tories that Conservative headquarters (CCHQ) was attempting to ‘stitch up’ safe seats in favour of “blue prince” candidates aligned with Mr Sunak, ahead of an election expected this year.
More than 40 MPs, including Liz Truss, Suella Braverman, Sir John Hayes, and Jonathan Gullis, wrote to the Prime Minister urging Mr Sunak to stop an attempt to impose a “shortened” selection process for prospective MPs.
They are right to be concerned. In addition to his ‘duties’ as Number Ten’s resident psychopath on a 6-figure salary from Conservative Campaign Headquarters, Dougie Smith is listed as being on the candidate selection panel. In reality it is reported that he vetoes those he deems over sympathetic to Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, or to Conservative principles. He wants yes-men with unwavering loyalty to Rishi Sunak’s technocratic style of government to be selected as Tory candidates.
The Sunak team is concerned that Smith’s high-handed and centralized control of the selection process will alienate the Prime Minister from constituency Conservative committees who think they should have more say in their choice of candidates.
In disputes between the centre in CCHQ and the periphery in the constituencies, it is usually the centre that wins because that is where the power is and where the money is. Given a likely general election on November 14th, expect an 11-month drawn out tussle between constituency committees who want local and colourful candidates to represent them and Dougie Smith who wants candidates loyal to him.
For a full account of this, read the exposés that Nadine Dorries made public in her book, ‘The Plot,’ and in her subsequent articles and speeches.