Unhappy Tories want newly-selected Penrith candidate dumped
Last updated at 08:48, Friday, 06 November 2009
Discontented Conservatives want to ditch their newly-chosen parliamentary candidate in Penrith and the Border.
Harvard professor and former diplomat Rory Stewart OBE was selected from a short list of six at an open primary two weeks ago.
But now John Stanyer, a Conservative from Wigton, is calling on Penrith and the Border Association to hold an extraordinary meeting with a view to restarting the process.
He is unhappy that none of the short-listed candidates was local and says the way the short list was drawn up was “undemocratic”. He also says that Mr Stewart is “totally unrepresentative of the average member and voter in our constituency”.
Mr Stanyer said: “I spoke to quite a few people at the selection meeting, and others since, and they were not happy. This constituency has been represented by MPs from outside for many years.
“People were upset about the way [sitting Conservative MP] David Maclean behaved over parliamentary expenses. This time around it was time for a change in the type of candidate. We were looking for a good local candidate.”
Mr Stanyer believes that Conservative central office dictated the short list of six. “They were peas out of the same pod,” he said. “Totally unrepresentative of people in the constituency.”
He added: “I have nothing personal against the candidate chosen. He may be a perfectly decent bloke.
“But how can a man like him, Eton-educated, comprehend what it’s like to live here?
“We need somebody born and bred in Cumbria who has had to suffer the poor standards in many of our schools. We are a relatively poor area.
“I can’t believe there isn’t a local businessman, retired academic or teacher who wouldn’t make a better MP.”
Ironically, Mr Stanyer, 46, is a newcomer to Cumbria. He is a former chairman of Hazel Grove Conservative Association in Cheshire and says he has been a party member since he was 18.
Isa Henderson, chairwoman of Penrith and the Border Conservatives, said Mr Stanyer’s request for an extraordinary meeting would be considered.
But she rejected his claim that the short-listing process was “undemocratic”.
She said: “If we had had local candidates on the short list, there would still have been people complaining. There were local candidates among the 130 people who put their names forward and they were all assessed.”
The short-listing was carried out by a panel of six – Mrs Henderson, vice-chairmen Duncan Fairbairn and Bert Richardson, plus three rank-and-file members chosen by drawing lots.
They each picked six names from the 130 applicants, so reducing the number to 20.
The final six, Mrs Henderson says, were picked by the panel with help from the party’s candidates team in London.
Mr Stewart declined to be drawn into the row.
First published at 05:25, Friday, 06 November 2009
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk
Just because the guy went to Eton and isn't a local does not mean that he will be a bad MP. From what I've read about him he is well-read, has travelled widely and, most important of all, wants to get stuck in and represent the people. If I lived in the Penrith area I would vote for him - and I am a 'floating voter' not a life-long Conservative!
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Charlie, it is absurd to suggest that Rory Stewart has followed a 'professional politician' route. He has an extraordinary CV - filled with achievements and bravery (in Iraq and in Afghanistan to name but a few) that mark him out as a refreshing and new political voice. His schooling was not a matter of his choosing and we will become a poorer county indeed if we decide to deride anyone who wishes to be part of our communities because they 'don't fit in' with some fixed view of the realities of everyday Cumbrian life.
Posted by Denton Dave on 11 November 2009 at 15:44