SIR:
In 2012, Donna Jones was a Conservative candidate for selection to be the first Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire. The selection process at Fareham was heavily contested. I had been selected to serve on the selection process. All the way through Donna Jones stood out as an outstanding candidate. On her final presentation, she was head and shoulders over every other candidate with her long experience, knowledge and involvement in local government and people affairs. When it was announced that Michael Mates had been elected, many of us had been devastated, particularly as his final presentation had been a disaster and concentrated mostly on the many positions he had held in the party and government.
Consequently we decided that we would not support his election campaign even though he was the official Conservative candidate. We fought a vigorous campaign against his election and eventually succeeded even though as the official Conservative candidate he should have had a walkover.
The hierarchy in the East Hampshire Conservative party never forgave me for Mr Mates' defeat. But I have no regrets, he was a poor choice. As a result of my campaign, the local Conservative party has 'blackballed' me ever since.
Sounds like you did the right thing. Well done, sir.
H/T: i r jackson via email
5 comments:
She might be the nicest woman in the world but PCC's are a stupid and expensive mistake.
Jaded
I had a sneaking admiration for Michael Mates who stuck by his pal Asil Nadir, although in the end, when it was obvious that Nadir truly was a crook, Mates should have deserted him then.
Mates came to my constituency with a pitch, and I thought he was a real slime ball, just his presence made my skin crawl. The problem is that a political party with a broad background can tolerate people not supporting their candidate, or even refusing to work for them, but they can't tolerate anyone working against their candidate.
Mates was political damaged goods, and the Conservatives were silly in having him as their candidate.
I wouldn't worry too much about being blackballed by the Conservative party if I were you. The way the party is going it probably hasn't got much of a future anyway. Social care, TV licence, Council tax, Triple lock, Climate change, Electric cars, Gas boilers need I say more? The sounds of woke selfish MPs and chickens coming home to roost are everywhere.
...and speaking of 'stupid and expensive mistakes'
Priti Patel has docked constable pay by £20,000. Purely in response to John Apter's furious demand "Just pay us what we are fucking worth, then."
"...but PCC's are a stupid and expensive mistake."
It was a noble but ultimately fruitless attempt to solve a problem with police farces.
"Mates was political damaged goods, and the Conservatives were silly in having him as their candidate."
And it's not even their worst mistake!
"The way the party is going it probably hasn't got much of a future anyway. "
Sadly true. But what's the alternative? Increasingly, there doesn't seem to be one.
"Priti Patel has docked constable pay by £20,000. Purely in response to John Apter's furious demand "Just pay us what we are fucking worth, then.""
🤣
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