Tory Candidates for Holy Trinity To Be Selected By Conservative Association Executive

Published on: 10 Aug, 2018
Updated on: 12 Aug, 2018

The selection of three Conservative candidates for Holy Trinity Ward is to be conducted by the Executive Committee of the Guildford Conservative Association (GCA) rather than members of the party in the Holy Trinity branch.

The three incumbent Conservative councillors at Holy Trinity: Geoff Davis, Nils Christiansen and Dennis Paul.

The decision follows two failed attempts to make the selection at branch level. There were reports that complaints were made about the organisation of both meetings, held in March and July this year (2018), in particular, that not all members of the branch were given due notice. In the second of the two meetings, it is understood that not even all the candidates for selection were present.

The GCA has now announced in a notice, sent to its Executive Committee members, that the selection will be made at an extraordinary meeting in their Loseley Park Offices on September 7.

The Executive Committee comprises two representatives from each branch, normally the Branch chairman plus one other committee officer, and the GCA management committee, Bob Hughes, chairman, Kevin Deanus, deputy chairman (political) Angela Richardson, deputy chairman (membership & fundraising), treasurer, former Surrey County Council leader Andrew Povey and officer without portfolio, David Snipp.

Hughes and Snipp are all themselves understood to be seeking selection as candidates for next year’s Guildford Borough Council election.

The GCA Executive has the authority to call in any branch selection if that meeting was not quorate, ie had insufficient members present to make a valid decision. It is believed that the threshold number of members required to make a meeting quorate is 15 but candidate selection meetings are, more often than not, poorly attended and below the threshold.

The Guildford Dragon NEWS has been told that the number of Conservative party members in the GCA is around 500, a much lower figure than it has been previously. By comparison, Guildford Labour is currently claiming to have around 800 members.

The Conservative candidate selection process has three stages. First, there is an association-wide selection of suitable candidates from all those who apply. Then, in stage 2, a shortlist is compiled of up to six applicants for each ward. In the third stage, the candidates are selected from those shortlisted who present themselves at a selection meeting, normally held at branch level.

Incumbent councillors, where a branch is content with their performance, are sometimes shortlisted unopposed.

Following the call in decision, selections made in the previous two meetings are null and void and, if the meeting is limited to GCA Executive Committee members, a maximum of only two Holy Trinity members will be present at the selection of their ward candidates.

Because the GCA covers the Guildford parliamentary constituency area some members present might even come from wards outside of Guildford Borough.

Bob Hughes

The Guildford Dragon asked the GCA Chairman:

1. Can you please tell us why the two selection meetings, held at branch level, have been deemed invalid or overridden?

2. Why has it been decided necessary for this selection to be made by the Executive Council?

3. Will all Holy Trinity branch members be allowed to attend?

4. Will the Worplesdon selection also be carried out by the Executive Council?

The response from Bob Hughes is: “All council selections in the Guildford Constituency are being held under the rules of the party which maximise local democratic input. This is true for every ward including Holy Trinity and Worplesdon.

Cllr Bob McShee

A Worplesdon candidate selection meeting to be held a branch level was postponed in late July. The selection follows the unexplained deselection of Cllr Bob McShee who has spoken out against some decisions made by the party leadership at Millmead.

Earlier this year (2018) the Tory party was reported to have dropped plans to centralise parliamentary candidate selection following voiced discontent from party activists who wrote to Theresa May.

At the time Tory MEP David Campbell Bannerman wrote: “We are delighted to hear the party has dropped plans to push through a range of undemocratic and centralising proposals… This is excellent news for grassroots members of the Conservative party against CCHQ [Conservative Central Headquarters] plans to seize power from them.”