Primary colours
Sir: As a former chairman of a Conservative association, I read with interest your suggestion that the open primary held by the Tories in Totnes was a success (Leading article, 8 August).
The association I chaired was constantly under pressure to increase membership. When we attempted to do so, prospective members quite reasonably asked what they would receive for their £25 per annum. In all honesty, the answer was not very much. The trump card was, however, that members have a chance to have a direct say — a vote — in the selection of local and parliamentary candidates and also to vote for a leader of the party. It seems that now even this small benefit is under threat.
You hail the selection of Sarah Wollaston, ‘a doctor with little political experience’, who in Totnes defeated candidates with a long history of involvement with the Conservative party. Well, congratulations to Dr Wollaston. I suppose she will expect a full local party machine to be in place to assist her when she finally decides to get round to some activism. Indeed I have no doubt that the two defeated candidates, who both seem to have committed the crime of having a long history of involvement with Conservative politics, will be out there in all weathers pounding the streets for her; their only fault seeming to be that they, along with others who through the bad times since 1997 have had the temerity to join and support the party, hoped to be selected by the clique of others who share their views i.e. fellow Tories. No; how much better it is that we shall now be represented by the half-interested selected by the clique who could not think of anything better to do that night than pop out to the primary.
You look forward to the day when a party is bold enough to select its leader through an open primary.
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