Wednesday, June 14, 2006

BREAKING NEWS: Woman 'A' Lister Chosen

Andrea Leadsom has just been selected as candidate for Northamptonshire South, holding off Andrew Griffith and Damian Collins. So the 'A' list strategy seems to be working. Three Tory(ish) seats selected - two women and one ethnic minority.

Andrea is a very strong candidate. She's got balls. The great thing about both the selections tonight is that they were won entirely on merit.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

"So the 'A' list strategy seems to be working. Three Tory(ish) seats selected - two women and one ethnic minority."

There's no doubt it's working...and well, they needed to make it working. So it's not a surprise.

4 seats have selected from the A List so far. There's Mel Stride in the new Central Devon too.

Anonymous said...

How can be working? THe candidates are either chosen because they are the best or they are not...what has the bloody A-list got to do with it? Apart from pissing off local associations that is.

I don't know why you are such a fan of this now Iain, when your initial comments were so respected. Surely you don't believe this sycophancy will earn you a chance? A sad indictment of our party if you do.

Anonymous said...

Andrea is a very strong candidate. She's got balls.

how unfortunate -

Sabretache said...

"..She's got balls"

What an odd expression that is. Women as pseudo-male? Maybe we should consider its corollary - "... he's got ovaries"

OK - intended meaning clear enough - but there's no escaping etymology - which frankly makes it pretty insulting to women

As the trick cyclist in Fawlty Towers said "There's enough material for a whole book in that one"

Rigger Mortice said...

would you?

Anonymous said...

If she's got balls....she may not be a woman after all.

Has some cunning chap sneaked past the dozy A-List selectors and foiled the Maude/Dave Axis of Modernisation?

Iain Dale said...

Michael, who said I was a fan? I have always said I agree with the concept of an A List, but I have queried the way it has been implemented. I said it is "working" because by CCHQ's standards it is - four seats, two women, one ethnic minority candidate. The two I know personally are excellent candidates. I am not being sycophantic at all. But frankly, whatever I write when I agree with something the Party does some idiot will interpret as sycophancy. So I'm rather beyond caring.

Anonymous said...

Pauline Latham has just been slected as Conservative Candidate for the new Mid-Derbyshire Constituency

Is she from the A List ?

Paul Linford has the details

Anonymous said...

Anon: 10:41 - yes she is. And local, and excellent!

Anonymous said...

Old news anon!!

Anonymous said...

Iain

Since your re-design, my instant reaction is that Ive stumbled on a Labour blog! Shurley shumthing must be done!

Cheers
Red Box

The Daily Pundit said...

They're wound up Iain, because they know the modernisation of the party is unstoppable. And they fear the consequences. Labour wiped out for at least twenty five years and the Lib Dems left with 20 seats if they're lucky.

Paul Walter said...

Mid Derbyshire is hardly a top winnable seat for the Tories - it's made up of bits of Erewash, Derby and Amber Valley where Labour were 10-14% ahead last time. I thought the idea was to get A listers into top winnable seats?

Mike Wood said...

Are you sure it was Andrew Griffiths and not Andrew Griffith?

Anonymous said...

Your not the Paul Walter That writes letters in to Terry Wogan?

Anonymous said...

"Mid Derbyshire is hardly a top winnable seat for the Tories - it's made up of bits of Erewash, Derby and Amber Valley where Labour were 10-14% ahead last time. I thought the idea was to get A listers into top winnable seats"

Mid Derbyshire sould be a notional Tory seat (Anthony Wells gives it a 6.9% majority). So well, pretty winnable, don't you think? Unless you think Labour will gain seats next time. It took the best tory parts from Derby North, Amber Valley and Erewash. So Erewash and AV will become less marginal and the tories will have no more chances in Derby North that will become a Lab/LD marginal (but Beckett will become safe in Derby South)

Martin Curtis said...

How many of the 3 went to public school? 3 out of 3 I wager. BTW - I would love to be wrong.

Anonymous said...

Dear Martin

What's wrong with going to Public School

Your obedient servant etc

G Eagle

Anonymous said...

Martin Curtin, Pauline Latham went to Bramcote Hill Technical Grammar School

Paul Linford said...

Andrea is right. In a high watermark year for Labour, Mid-Derbyshire might just have been winnable, but that ain't going to be the case in 2009/10. Paul Walter points out that it is taking in bits of other Labour-held constituencies. True, but they are the Tory voting bits! Little Eaton (where Pauline Latham lives) comes in from Erewash, and the town of Belper (where I live) comes in from Amber Valley.) The rest of it is made up of solidly Tory-voting areas of Duffield and Allestree (currently in Derby North.) So Mid-Derbyshire should be a pretty Tory seat, while simutaneously making Amber Valley, Erewash and whatever emerges in place of Derby North less winnable.

Paul Walter said...

Yes I am

Paul Walter said...

"Mid Derbyshire sould be a notional Tory seat (Anthony Wells gives it a 6.9% majority). So well, pretty winnable, don't you think? Unless you think Labour will gain seats next time. It took the best tory parts from Derby North, Amber Valley and Erewash. So Erewash and AV will become less marginal and the tories will have no more chances in Derby North that will become a Lab/LD marginal (but Beckett will become safe in Derby South) "

Elbridge Gerry would be proud of them.

Martin Curtis said...

G Eagle

There is nothing wrong with going to Public School. My one big issue with the A List is that this is the one area in which it fails to address a major public misconception of the Conservatives (that it is only for Public Schoolboys/Girls).

Anonymous said...

Paul Walter, Mid Derbyshire will be a Tory Seat with a decent majority. The suberbs of Allestree and Spondon make up a lot of the seat and they are true blue.

Not done our chances in Amber Valley, Erewash and Debry North much good though.

Anonymous said...

So a winnable (almost safe) Tory seat is created at the expense of their chances in no less than three other (marginal) seats. That's a (potential) net loss of two seats.

Is this the worst result yet for the Tories in boundary changes?

After all, the decisions which harmed Tory changes in the 95 boundary changes, usually only resulted in net losses of one (for example, a new safe seat in Stone, but at the expense of Tory chances in Stafford and Staffordshire Moorlands).

Anonymous said...

Is Andrea the droopy knickered simp who fancies herself as a blogger?

Drip on Harvey Moon.