A-Lister Philip Allott, pictured campaigning on the Manchester Metro and who contested Bolton West at the last General Election - cutting Ruth Kelly's majority by 3,000 votes - writes about his experience of attending recent constituency interviews and why further reforms of the selection process could be necessary.
In mid-December on a damp foggy Tuesday evening, I attended the Bolton West selection to see Susan Williams and Stephen Ogden battle it out in an open primary.
Having fought the seat at the last election and decided not to contest it again due to disappointing boundary changes, I was very interested to view the new selection process from a member's perspective.
At the start of the proceedings an area Party Officer read out some instructions concerning what the selection process would involve. He made particular reference to the fact that the Party was very keen to select a more diverse range of candidates and especially women.
The meeting was attended by a large number of the local Association's paid up members plus around 15 members of the public. The latter included the former chairman of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce who only the previous year had chaired a debate between Ruth Kelly, Tim Perkins (then Liberal Democrat now allegedly Conservative) and myself.
Stephen Ogden was first on and gave the meeting an interesting insight into working in Russia and his love for Bolton Wanderers. Susan Williams who was delayed due to M62 traffic problems was next up. Susan related her experiences as a Trafford Council leader to the problems facing Bolton, which seemed to go down well with those present. Both candidates gave interesting views on Europe and managed immigration.
The two candidates gave a good performance but Susan had the slight edge and ultimately won the selection vote.
Attending the Bolton West selection made me reflect on the four interviews I have attended since been added to the A list in the summer and how these interviews compared to those in 2004, which ultimately resulted in my previous selection by Bolton West.
The first thing I would say is that the Bolton West selection was not typical of the recent interviews I have so far attended as a potential candidate. My own experience is that the process is very mixed with some associations attempting to promote a local candidate (generally male) sometimes even in advance of the selection process, whilst others are fully signed up to the modernising agenda.
Local associations promoting a particular local candidate often results in A-list candidates being asked some very odd local questions. For example only one of my interviews raised the Iraq war, whilst two Associations asked complicated local questions concerning transport that even the relevant ward councillor could have had difficulty answering.
Conversely, pro-female associations tend to ask questions, which are designed to help female candidates shine. 'What would you say to mothers at the school gate?', is one of the questions that sticks out - Why mothers I ask and not parents?
Personally, I subscribe to the modernising agenda because I recognise that we must appeal to a much wider audience if we are to win the next election. In Bolton West I had one of the biggest swings to the Conservative Party, but it still wasn't enough to win the election.
BUT in my opinion having attended these various interviews in different parts of the country, two who selected male non-A-list local candidates and two who selected female A-list candidates, the new selection process is unwittingly being distorted. This is resulting in A-list male candidates losing out, as conservativehome.com has already reported.
If the A-list system is to succeed the Party must consider stopping local candidates applying for safe and marginal seats. I know this is a tough call and I can already see the angry emails piling up from non-A-list candidates and disgruntled Associations, but if the distortion of the selection process is to be halted, action is needed.
The alternative solution is to allow local Associations to advertise the type of candidate they want. This route would reduce the number of interviews A-list candidates attend where there is little chance of being selected and also allow the local candidates a better opportunity to excel.
To conclude, I have been treated with great courtesy by all the Associations who have so far invited me for interview and very much enjoyed them, BUT the new selection procedures have created some anomalies that nobody could have anticipated and these now need ironing out.
Update: Philip has responded to your comments below