Sunday, July 08, 2007

Confessions of a Tory Candidate

Caroline Righton is the Conservative candidate for St Austell & Newquay. She has written a diary for the Mail on Sunday of her experience of getting on the candidates list and then getting selected. Read it HERE.

The Sunday Mirror has a poll showing a Labour lead of 2% (37-35-17) over the Conservatives. Not so much of a Brown bounce as a Brown blip.

60 comments:

  1. Matron used to bring me the daily mirror every day and I couldnt understand why I hated the UK so much... then one day I found out it was a left wing paper!

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  2. It shows how meaningless all those hypothetical polls showing a huge Cameron lead were, though. I think the public will soon realise (again?) how ghastly and incompetent Broon is though.

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  3. God! What a ghastly woman! Everything about her smirks her sense of superiority and entitlement.

    Why would anyone vote for this individual to represent them?

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  4. John Rentoul has a good article in the Independent today- and the great Alan Watkins's article is a classic.

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  5. Good News on the Brown front . I seriously think we have to ask some questions about the coronation mode adopted by the BBC in particular and what exactly the Mail is up to bears some investigation.

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  6. Newmania - "what exactly the Mail is up to bears some investigation"

    Is it really anymore than the classic British press thing of "build 'em up to knock 'em down"? They can then say in 12 months "we gave him every chance, but you know, he has been a serious disappointment..." For it to work though it has to assume that there is not going to be a snap election. That said, there are probably enough stories doing the rounds to sink Brown that would come out in the General Election campaign. If he doesn't sink himself first.

    He could have had a VERY tough time if one of those women in Hull had pointed out his ability to magic up billions for the Iraq war was at the cost of providing inadequate coastal defence budgets. Watching him squirm on that hook would have been good telly.

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  7. I will point out that a few weeks ago, most Tories were rubbing their hands at the thought of Brown being PM. According to them it would be a total disaster, Cameron would take the Tories into the stratosphere, and a general election victory of '97 proportions was on the cards. What this poll proves, is nothing has changed since the last GE, if an election were held tomorrow the result would be very similar, the Tories would probably win a handfull of the Southern marginals they failed to get last time and that would be it. Everything has been changed, and it stays the same.

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  8. Is this a personal justification of a Candidates Role and self proclaimed success, or is it a confession of a Candidate who is finding the role a bit hard and is having to justify why she should be able to continue in her role.
    Looking at the website in Cornwall Conservatives there is nothing of substance to see.
    Most of us are aware that Cornwall is not making Headway because of Historical problems,many caused by Conservatives themselves.
    Me-thinks all is not well down in Cornwall and the Thumbscrews are being put.

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  9. Surprised she has not got Cornish Links. Thought,you could only win down there if you had Cornish links.The Liberal Democrats know that

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  10. "Just a small Labour lead" - the fact that there is ANY lead in the third term of an incompetent Labour government shows the Cameroonies have utterly failed.

    I fervently hope BluLab will get a hammering at the next election so a real Conservative party can arise from the wreckage

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  11. Hate to spoil the moment of delusion Iain but that's actually a HUGE 6.5% swing to Labour from the last ICM Sunday Mirror poll.

    Figures are:
    Conservatives 35 down 5 (from 40)
    Labour 37 up 8 (from 29)
    Lib Dems unchanged

    Much more of this momentum and Labour will be looking at a three figure majority next time ...

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  13. The Conservatives in Cornwall are so badly split that it is no wonder Caroline Righton is seeking publicity. Perhaps the lack of making inroads into this Lib Dem controlled area is making CCHQ put the pressure on, and quite rightly so.

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  14. Seventy Days to a potential General Election, so says Cameron in the Sunday Papers, and the pressure is on, and woe and behold we are behind in the polls when we should be 20% ahead. I also detect pressure being put on Candidates who are not in a winning streak - Is Righton one of them with her self seeking publicity. Is this also a case of the prima donna "A" Lister, along with the rest of them who are failing. Unite Bloggers - we told you so!

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  15. Surely Right-on is a peculiarly apt pseudonym? What an utterly horrifying woman. She's convinced of her Dave-conferred cachet, he innate superiority over the funny old quaint locals. May she lose her deposit in due course.

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  16. 35% is a pathetic position for the main opposition party to be in two years into a third term. Labour maintained around 40% during the early days of Major yet still lost to him in 1992.

    Still IDS's "tax and spend" wheeze for booze should go down well with the floating masses...

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  17. According to the Telegraph this morning, Lord Ashcroft has been appointed General Supremo in charge of the polling and Targeting of Marginal Seats in case there is a snap election. Perhaps he has started kicking Asses of those candidates in marginal seats who are not cutting the mustard.
    Get ready for plenty jockeying for personal promotion and publicity from PPCs now it is known that Ashcrofts money is at hand. I however doubt he will be dishing it out to slackers.

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  18. The Conservatives have no friends in the MSM, you morons! And that is where most of the electorate get their information.

    The Brownite propaganda has been staggering, from both, broadcast news and the press (even the so-called Tory press). Not surprising that they are on 35%. How the hell are the Conservatives to get their message across??
    But Labour can't sustain this honeymoon for very long, all the S*** will hit the fan again and Broon will be exposed.
    All these polls tell us, is that, the floating voters are easily swayed by current media hype (what a country!)when anwering a survey, When it comes down to actually voting, these people may actually start to think more about what Labour has done in their three terms, and what Brown has been a principle architect of, then they vote with head and the result will be different to these rather meaningless polls. Labour has seen their share of the vote/distance from the Conservatives slip markedly, in the the last two elections,from what the polls were indicating.
    All the Labour anonymongs claiming Brown will have a three figure majority are just plain deluded.

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  19. Righton is seeking publicity because of a lacklustre campaign over the last six months. She has had an open Goal for these six months with the other Parties delaying their selections.
    Last week the Liberal Democrats chose Stephen Gilbert, a local boy Cornish born and Bred , former local Councillor Etc Etc, as their PPC. When will the Cornish Tories learn they need candidates with Cornish roots or connections. The heat is now on and Cornish Tories know it. Women have an up hill struggle to win in Cornwall, and I see that it will be four out of six in Cornwall to date.

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  20. 'Not so much of a Brown bounce as a Brown blip.'
    I can hear the sound of whistling in the dark.

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  21. What the polls do show is that the next election will not at all be like 1997. Brown is no Major and Cameron is no Blair.

    What were Labour polling in the years leading up to 1997? About 47%? Cameron struggles to reach 35%.

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  22. And the last resort of all? Blame the medium not the message.

    Congratulations go to Geezer.

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  23. Geezer "getting their message across"---WHAT MESSAGE"?

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  24. Do these candidates ever worry about where the monies coming from...and why?

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  25. The Tories will remain just where Gordon needs them, as an ineffectual phoney opposition.

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  26. Anonymous said...
    And the last resort of all? Blame the medium not the message.
    Congratulations go to Geezer.


    Typical Anonymong idiot!
    What are they supposed to use? Osmosis, telepathy perhaps!
    How can anyone pretend that the Labour bias in the media doesn’t have a very significant effect.

    Not surprised that people like you are too embarrassed or ashamed to put your name to posts!

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  27. When in TV, Righton was colloquially known as the "BIKE".
    This must not be confused with cycling around Saint Austell.

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  28. Righton says she's been living in Cornwall since she was a teenager. How much more of a link do you want?

    Sexist anonymous bollocks by the poster above, but then we know the woman-hating LibDems ARE the nasty party

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  29. 4308 Households visited. On my reckoning 6 months in the job x 30 days equals 180 days X a potential of 150 Households a day equals a potential visit on bald figures of 27000 Households.
    Do I detect a lack of conviction as a PPC. Is she based in London or Cornwall.

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  30. That comment above was from me - retyping word verification lost my handle

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  31. The honeymoon is getting a bit boring, evidently. I'm quietly confident it will be over by the autumn.

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  32. I assume you mean the honeymoon with the boy king?

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  33. oh dear. the tories are proposing to RAISE taxes - on beer.
    have a read here

    thats just incredibly bad PR , for it is never a good idea to proposing to raise taxes before an election. and secondly , to hit the drink of white van man is even more stupid.

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  34. the bbc doing its bit to ensure that another raft of Tory proposals are distilled down into a catchy headline - Tories want to slap taxes on beer.

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  35. The Sunday Mirror has a poll showing a Labour lead of 2% (37-35-17) over the Conservatives. Not so much of a Brown bounce as a Brown blip.

    Not so much of a Tory bounce either, considering Brown and company have been running the country for ten years.

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  36. PSJ said...

    I think the public will soon realise (again?) how ghastly and incompetent Broon is though.

    They have had ten years,how much more time do you think they will need for Gods' sake ? They don't want to take a chance on your lot getting back into power again.They remember what you were like,and they unlike you have not forgotten.

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  37. Geezer said...How can anyone pretend that the Labour bias in the media doesn’t have a very significant effect.

    Had no effect on me,I still vote Labour.

    Geezer said...Not surprised that people like you are too embarrassed or ashamed to put your name to posts!

    You are not however ashamed to tell us all that your name is "geezer",betcha it's not and your fibbing.You give no more information about yourself than "Anonymous" posters do.So don't be a silly fellow.

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  38. ezra said...

    What the polls do show is that the next election will not at all be like 1997. Brown is no Major and Cameron is no Blair.

    It took a while to get my head round that,but all is now clear.I agree Labour will trounce the toff and his toffees at the next election.

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  39. Geezer said...

    The Conservatives have no friends in the MSM, you morons!

    Your a proper little gent you are sir to be sure.Big man behind your laptop, but a little man in the real world.

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  41. Why nothing on Charlie Elphinke Iain ?

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  42. OT, but haqve you seen THIS?

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  43. Anonymous - thanks, Mike. Feeling snappish? Didn't you order enough garbage off the dustbin truck to see you through Sunday?

    I know what Dave could do! He could sack some more military men! Those are the only people he ever sacks and he seems to think it gives him a macho image. First Mr Patrick Mercer on a flimsy, trumped up charge, now Mr Swire on the flimsy, trumped up charge. He floated the idea of charging admissions charges for museums. Certainly a cause for sacking someone - especially if they are a military man and everything Dave despises. He will replace Mr Swire with a Somali hoodie. Or maybe a Somali slag as that's a threefer: the surpassingly important "ethnic minority", a woman and "under-privileged".

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  44. Talking of sacking, IDS is an ex military man and has as much political acumen as the albatross that chased the Ancient Mariner.

    Raise taxes on alcohol to prevent youngsters?

    Waht about the far simpler solution of raising the legal age at which alcohol can be bought to say 21?

    Instead penalise everyone .. and of course encourage more white vans to import duty free.

    Once a loser always a loser in politics imo...
    IF IDS policy is Conservative policy, I'll not vote for them -- muppetry.

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  45. Madasafish: "Raise taxes on alcohol to prevent youngsters"?

    Could you tell us how this works, please?

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  46. >verity
    Most illegitimate and unwanted kids are the result of underage drinking:-)

    So logically , if they don't drink, they won't conceive:-)

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  47. Just read Caroline Righton's article in the MoS. Lightweight, patronising, dismissive of the "traditionalists",inconsistent,no substance and no policies. And to top it all insulting a local farmer like that (particularly as most of us know exactly who she refers to) is a bad, bad idea. In fact she is everything that Dave admires. The conservative candidate in the next Constituency of Truro and Falmouth is the same, well probably slightly worse. Must say though that the one on the other side, SE Cornwall, is of a much different calibre. I suggest every Conservative activist in Cornwall pitches in behind Sheryl Murray as it is the only seat in Cornwall we are likely to win.

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  49. Anonymous 4:32 - It's Dave's World. He doesn't know there's any other. He thinks all the people he sees - vaguely - walking around and at traffic lights are extras, for background. He doesn't know they're voters.

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  52. Thank goodness you've stopped commenting on every poll Iain. However a serious of better results in a row is not a blip or a bounce it's a surge.

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  54. Get a grip Iain. The Labour trolls have taken over this site.

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  55. This poll gives labour a 58 seat majority - that'll do nicely!

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  56. Mixed feelings about that post. She has no party history as she admits (even her freinds didn;t know she was a tory), but points out that she has bags of expereince outside of politics.

    Then she gets on the A list full of black/Asian/women candidates - which perhaps indicates that, despite claims to the contrary, the A list is about getting politically-correct/acceptable people into the commons.

    The charitable interpretation is that all those on the list are utterly brilliant and deserve a fast-track to a safe seat - but they just happen to be dissprortionately black/Asian/female (or all three). The cynical view is that this is just a way to redress the inbalance of male, middle class Tory MPs, and is PC!

    I am somewhere in the middle, generally supportive, recognising the problem of under representations, but but just a bit worried that it could be abused.

    I just wish that we had more black/Asain/Women candidates who had party history and real life expereince. That way, I wouldn't feel so uncomfortable with the current selection process.

    Step forward more people like Priti Patel, who whatever you think of her, has proven her worth and commitment to the cuase over many years!

    Sadly, the article shows just how mad some associations can be. I spent a few months campaigning in Penzance in 2001. Someone said that Cornwall is like another country.

    Another Planet would have been more accurate! And I come from Devon!!!!

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  57. Re: Adrian Yelland: 4.35am: The only residents of Cornwall who live on another planet are the people who sit on Conservative Selection Committees. They keep picking bizarre, ineffectual and unelectable Conservative candidates. I believe there is a large group of Cornish Conservatives from this planet earth who are putting up Thatcherite Candidates in 3 of the 6 Cornish seats. As you are a confessed Thatcherite on your website they will be no doubt be in touch when the next Election is announced and maybe you can jump aboard your spaceship, fly down and help them canvass.

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  58. Goodness sake another Londoner is picked to fight the wild west of North Cornwall. This is perhaps the most indigenous Cornish of all the Cornish seats. Another retain for the Cornish Liberals.
    What the F---k is going on as it cant be that the Cornish are in control because they have not been for several years now.

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  59. Annon 1.02 - these would be the Cornish who have reloacted to the area from London then?

    I am not saying there are no sensible people in Cornwall, but was making a lighthearted generalisation based on the fact that there are an aweful lot of complete fruitcakes down there.

    And as I said, I grew up in rural Devon where we bake a fw fruitcakes of our own!

    And yes, I would happily go dwon again - it's a beautifu part of the country to canvass in, and despite the leg pulling, the cornish are great fun!

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