Wingnuts on ConservativeHome have gone into a tailspin over the selection of Ken Clarke supporting Tory A-Lister and Europhile Jane Ellison for the ultramarginal seat of Battersea. The selection was under the Tories new “Open Primary” process where anyone can turn up and vote rather than restricting the vote to Tory members.

I understand only 300 people did turn up - which is a bit embarrassing when there are 1000 Tory Party members in Battersea.

Comments include:

How on gods clean, green earth could anyone vote for her she is the worst candidate ever to win a selection.
Posted by: Paul Willard | September 27, 2006 at 22:54

I was there. She kept her pro-EU views well out of the way… Any sceptics who voted for her may now be feeling shortchanged. This lifelong Tory will vote tactically to keep her away from Westminster.
Posted by: Oops | September 28, 2006 at 00:33

And please god, no more Europhiles.
Posted by: matthew | September 28, 2006 at 00:53

Oh my God. Not another Europhile. Look what happened in Bromley.
Posted by: Tapestry | September 28, 2006 at 06:07

“This lifelong Tory will vote tactically to keep her away from Westminster.”
I am sure there will be candidate who thinks we’d be better off out of the EU to vote for!
Posted by: michael mcgough | September 28, 2006 at 08:24

She was not asked once about her views on it to the disbelief of some in the room (and evident relief of others). Some voted for her on false pretences.
Posted by: Reagan Fan | September 28, 2006 at 09:19

“Did Portillo ask her what her views are on the Cameron commitment to leave the EPP?”
Of course he bloody didn’t, and all the questions permitted in the room were similarly supportive of her. People were not allowed to ask supplementary questions and her Europhiliac tendencies remained hidden for the night.
Posted by: Reagan Fan | September 28, 2006 at 09:24

If I was a Battersea Conservative, I would propose a motion that Jane Ellison is immediately deselected as the primary not told she was a europhile. This is a deception and should not be tolerated. Find a seconder. Put it to the vote and push her out immediately.
Selection is open, but deselection is still the business of the constituency association.
If Battersea don’t deselect her immediately they will suffer the same fate as Bromley or worse (see “Oops” above). It is very simple. Conservatives are getting very unlikely to vote for europhiles. Don’t select them as candidates.
Posted by: Caroline Hope | September 28, 2006 at 09:59

Exactly what criteria is actually used when promoting an approved parliamentary candidate into an “A” lister, because whatever it is, I feel the selection panel are not taking some very important factors into account. If we research the history of many of these “A” listers who’ve stood as PPC’s before, (Google them), we find that many, despite the political climate having been potentially on the side of the Tories last year eg, actually REDUCED the number of Tory votes on previous election results!
I don’t disagree with the “A” list theoretically, I just feel it should be full of people who cannot be shown in any way to have reduced our popularity as a political Party.
Posted by: Dawn Parry | September 28, 2006 at 10:05

Nigel Farage did the British public a favour by keeping Mark MacGregor out of Parliament at the last election. He should stand in Battersea next time.
Posted by: ToryLoyal | September 28, 2006 at 10:27

Remember that it was not the Labour Party which coined the phrase describing privatisation as “selling the family silver”. It was Harold Macmillan, speaking at a dinner organised by Jane Ellison’s disloyal cronies, the Tory Reform Group. The Labour Party has been using that phrase against us ever since.
Posted by: Chris Williams | September 28, 2006 at 10:47

I want a Conservative victory in Battersea, which I feel is now less likely, very disappointing.
Posted by: John Travis | September 28, 2006 at 11:04

Good news - at least Jane Ellison won’t be the PPC for Finchley and Golders Green. Given Dominic Schofield’s views, its no surprise that Battersea went for someone on the left of the party.
Posted by: TaxCutter | September 28, 2006 at 11:09

Europhiles have been the Trojan Horse in our party-changing the Common Market with a veto to the European Union. They did this by telling lies and introducing a culture of lies into British politics before Blair even bevcame an MP. We are continually told we need to change-one of the biggest changes we need to make is to return honesty and transparency to the HOC.
Posted by: Cllr Francis Lankester | September 28, 2006 at 11:15

Despite not belonging to the party, I’ve always voted Tory in Battersea (four general elections) and was at the primary last night. Ellison will not get my vote. Yes, I’d rather see Martin Linton (Lab, MP since 1997) returned to SW1 than put a Europhile Tory there. Tories split on Europe? You bet. It isn’t my fault that Cameron lets a federalist (whose idol, the EU, is undemocratic and corrupt and perpetuates the poverty of the developing world) on to the lists…
The 2005 Tory PPC - Dominic Schofield - was much more impressive than Ellison, and Labour might well recover some of its standing after the Cheshire Cat finally vanishes. Therefore, my prediction - and hope - for the next general election is LAB hold (thanks to Farage or whomever). If the Tories don’t learn their lesson over Europe, there’s no point in them - Westminster is already becoming largely irrelevant.
Posted by: Lucy Clarkson | September 28, 2006 at 11:38

One of the most amusing quotes however was; “A Battersea Conservative councillor has just emailed me and asked to post some relevant information (this site is blocked on his work computer). He personally spotted several LABOUR PARTY members voting at the selection meeting. He also saw Michael Crick, the left-wing BBC journalist, fill in a ballot paper. We cannot allow our selection meetings to be infiltrated by our opponents”. Posted by: TFA Tory | September 28, 2006 at 12:37

Recess Monkey just happens to know that there were indeed a number of low-profile Labour supporters at the meeting, all of whom had been briefed as to which candidate was most likely to wind up the membership.

Roll on more open primaries!

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