Wikipedia

Conservative A-List

For other uses, seeA-list (disambiguation).

TheConservative A-List,also calledPriority List,was a list ofUnited Kingdomcandidates drawn up byConservative Central Officeat the behest ofDavid Cameronfollowing hiselection as party leaderin December 2005, aimed as a means of broadening the number of ConservativeMembers of Parliament,potentialpeersandMEPsfromminority groupsand women as well as other preferred candidates for candidature. Where the preferred forums for selection were held, at least two members from the list were put to everyopen primary,and where these were not held the A-list were recommended directly, particularly to the top target seats.

Cameron Cutiewas a term used for female candidates.[1]

History

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In April 2006, a Conservative Party committee on candidates set out to deliver a promise byDavid Cameronto transform the Conservative party atWestminster.The committee reduced 500 aspiring politicians on the party's list of approvedparliamentary candidatesto an "A-list" of between 100 and 150 priority candidates.[2]The result was a list on which more than half of the names were of women. The list included the formerCoronation StreetactorAdam Rickitt,Zac Goldsmith,the authorLouise Bagshawe (later Mensch),andMargot James.[3]

Amid controversy, the "A-list" approach was endorsed byMichael Portillo,a Conservative MP until 2005, who in 2006 said that

[based on current membership]...much of the Parliamentary Party is reactionary and unattractive to voters.[4]

Conservative chairmen and activists in seats considered potentially winnable were in the run-up to the 2010 election urged byConservative Central Officeto select candidates from the new A-list and were in many cases included inopen primaries,new and preferred open-to-all selection meetings.[5]

The2010 general electionsaw failures as well as successes for the "A-listers" selected for 'winnable' seats.[6]

Listed

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Those on the A-list included the following: (boldmarks people elected to Parliament in 2010.[7][8][9]Asterisks * are placed after some entries for decoration.)

Notes and references

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Notes

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  1. ^PPC Croydon North 2005
  2. ^PPC Stockton North 2005
  3. ^PPC Lancaster and Wyre 2001
  4. ^PPC Tooting 2005
  5. ^PPC Hove 2005
  6. ^PPC Manchester Withington 2005
  7. ^London AssemblyMember
  8. ^PPC Warrington South 2005
  9. ^PPC Eastleigh 2005
  10. ^FormerCamden LBopposition lead councillor. PPC Bristol West 2001
  11. ^PPC Northampton North 2005
  12. ^Westmoreland and Lonsdale MP 1997–2005
  13. ^PPC North Norfolk 2005
  14. ^PPC Portsmouth South 2005
  15. ^PPC Pendle 2005
  16. ^PPC Stevenage 2005
  17. ^PPC Brighton Pavilion 2001
  18. ^PPC Dudley North 2001; European candidate in 2004
  19. ^Special Adviser toTim Yeo
  20. ^East Midlands MEP 1999–2009
  21. ^PPC Holborn and Pancras 2005
  22. ^PPC Broxtowe 2001
  23. ^PPC Knowsley South 2005
  24. ^PPC Blaenau Gwent 2005
  25. ^Leader of Brentwood Borough Council
  26. ^PPC Sedgefield 2005
  27. ^Bristolcouncillor
  28. ^former deputy Leader ofWestminster Council
  29. ^PPC Twickenham 2005
  30. ^Vale of York MP 1997–2010
  31. ^PPC Wirral West 2005
  32. ^PPC Selby 2005
  33. ^PPC Nottingham North 2005
  34. ^PPC Nuneaton 2005
  35. ^PPC Normanton 2005
  36. ^PPC Makerfield 2005
  37. ^PPC Aberavon 2005
  38. ^PPC Gedling 2005
  39. ^Macclesfield councillor
  40. ^PPC Birmingham Ladywood 2005
  41. ^PPC Calder Valley 2005
  42. ^PPC Dewsbury 2005
  43. ^PPC Coventry South 2001 and 2005
  44. ^Leader ofTraffordCouncil 2004–2009

References

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  1. ^"Are the Tories only looking for 'cutie' candidates?".The Daily Telegraph.14 February 2010.Retrieved27 June2023.
  2. ^Will Woodward and Tania Branigan, "The A-list: new leader's drive for women and minority candidates"inThe Guardian,19 April 2006
  3. ^Will Woodward, chief political correspondent,"Former soap star on Cameron's A-list of Tory candidates"inThe Guardian,11 May 2006
  4. ^Michael Portillo,Cameron's A-list could give Tories the X factor[dead link‍]inThe Sunday Timesdated 30 July 2006, online
  5. ^A-list 'not snubbing' NE Englanddated 20 October 2006 at bbc.co.uk
  6. ^Election 2010 Part Three 2155,vol. 44,retrieved5 November2021
  7. ^Rosemary Bennett,"The A-list"[dead link‍]inThe Timesdated 12 June 2006, at timesonline.co.uk
  8. ^Who is on the A-list?at conservativehome web site
  9. ^Conservative A-List and selectionsArchived28 March 2010 at theWayback Machinedated 4 June 2006 at colin-ross.org.uk
  10. ^Robin Brant,A year on, has the A-list worked?at BBC.co.uk dated December 2006
  11. ^PPC Liverpool Garston 2005
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