ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog

John Stevenson boosted in Carlisle by the support of former Lib Dem candidate

John Stevenson (pictured), has received a boost in his bid to become the first Conservative MP for Carlisle since the 1960s with the Lib Dem candidate for the seat from the last election giving him his backing.

Steven Tweedie, the Lib Dem candidate for Carlisle in 2005, is quoted in the Cumberland News:

“The electorate of Carlisle face an important choice. Do we stay with Labour yet again or embrace change and vote for John Stevenson – the only alternative candidate that can win the constituency? I firmly believe that Carlisle needs a new direction. Labour has failed to deliver for Carlisle and the Labour Government has been a disaster.

“Of all the candidates, John Stevenson is the least tribal and the most likely to advance the cause of our city. I wish to endorse him personally and would encourage others to give him their support.”

Carlisle has not returned a Conservative MP since the 1959 general election, but the redrawn boundaries mean that John requires a swing of 6.7% to overturn a notional Labour majority of 5,085 (based on the Rallings and Thrasher figures). It is also an open race, with the sitting Labour MP of 23 years standing down at this election.

Jonathan Isaby

More UKIP chaos as leader Lord Pearson urges people in three Somerset constituencies to vote Conservative and not for the nominated UKIP candidates

I wrote last weekend about the chaos of where UKIP was and wasn't fielding candidates.

Today, the party's strategy appears to have descended further into farce, with the BBC reporting  that their leader, Lord Pearson, has written to a local Somerset newspaper telling people to back the Conservative candidates in Wells, Taunton Deane and Somerton & Frome - namely David Heathcoat-Amory, Mark Formosa and Annunziata Rees-Mogg.

It has been clear for a very long time that all three have robust views on the EU, so why on earth UKIP felt it was in any way advantageous to the eurosceptic cause to oppose them, I don't know - especially as they all have their main opposition as Liberal Democrats, the most federalist party of them all.

However, it is beginning to become academic now, since nominations have closed and it is too late for the candidates to withdraw, not least because postal votes have already been sent out - and the UKIP candidates on the ground seem at odds with their leadership in any case.

Jonathan Isaby

Give as much as you can to elect Ken Andrew as Tory MP for Carshalton and Wallington

I'm grateful to Guy Mitchinson for donating the money that means we've together raised £1,000 for John Lamont in his battle to oust Michael Moore. ConHome readers have so far given about £8,000 in total to seven candidates in LibCon marginals.

We're now aiming to raise £1,000 for our candidate in Carshalton and Wallington, Dr Ken Andrews. Ken is aiming to overturn Tom Brake's Liberal Democrat majority of about one thousand. So we need £1,000 for every one vote in that majority. Read about Ken here.

If you are wondering whether to give - or how much to give - please consider the following three things...

If Nick Clegg holds the balance of power he may demand proportional representation...

If Nick Clegg holds the balance of power he may keep Labour in office...

If Nick Clegg holds the balance of power the champagne will be flowing in Brussels...

Give generously! Give now!

Tim Montgomerie

Tory candidate for North Ayrshire and Arran suspended for criticising homosexuality

The following section appeared on the website of Philip Lardner (as recorded by Pink News):

"I will always support the rights of homosexuals to be treated within concepts of (common-sense) equality and respect, and defend their rights to choose to live the way they want in private, but I will not accept that their behaviour is 'normal' or encourage children to indulge in it. The promotion of homosexuality by public bodies (as per 'clause 28′/section 2a in Scotland,) was correctly outlawed by Mrs Thatcher's government. Toleration and understanding is one thing, but state-promotion of homosexuality is quite another. Why should Christian churches be forced by the government to employ homosexuals as 'ministers' against all that the Bible teaches? They are being forced by the government to betray their mission – would the Equality and Human Rights Commission be fined for refusing a job to Nick Griffin? Christians (and most of the population) believe homosexuality to be somewhere between 'unfortunate' and simply 'wrong' and they should not be penalised for politely saying so – good manners count too, of course. The current 'law' is wrong and must be overturned in the interests of freedom as well as Christian values."

The Chairman of the Conservative Party in Scotland, Andrew Fulton has just issued this statement:

“The views expressed by Philip Lardner, the candidate for North Ayrshire and Arran, are deeply offensive and unacceptable and as a result he has been suspended as a member of the Conservative party. We therefore do not support Mr Lardner’s candidacy in the North Ayrshire and Arran constituency. These views have no place in the modern Conservative party.”

Mr Lardner had previously run into trouble for views on Zimbabwe.

I see no evidence for hatefulness in Mr Lardner's remarks, even though I disagree with his choice of words. Although he's probably wrong to say "most of the population" share his views, they are shared by many conservative Christians and people of other faiths. His suspension by the Scottish Conservative Party seems a disproportionate response.

Tim Montgomerie

Snapshots of the third week of the campaign from ConservativeHome's panel of candidates - Part two

This morning we published the latest three reports from our panel of candidates on how the second week of the campaign had gone. Here are the other three...

Philippa Stroud - Sutton and Cheam
The biggest electoral issue in Sutton and Cheam is St Helier Hospital. There has been little investment over years. There was therefore much celebration when Andrew Lansley visited on Saturday and announced that, in line with our commitment to the NHS, an incoming Conservative Government would guarantee the newly agreed investment package of £219 million.

To be honest the rest of the week was crazily busy. Postal votes arrived and we did a full knock up; Tuesday was Social Action Day and James Brokenshire joined us for a visit to a local charity - EcoActif - which supports ex-offenders into work; I have spoken to first time voters in a local school; I met with the local Muslim community leaders; there has been another hustings whilst all the time we have been canvassing and building our pledge base.

However, the biggest encouragement was Monday. I had Iain Duncan Smith, Chris Grayling and Andrew Mitchell all testing the strength of the Conservative pledge base. The good news was that it survived and even thrived on the invasion! (For those of you who don't know, Sutton and Cheam is a Lib Dem marginal that we have to win)

Hannah Foster - Exeter
This week the campaign began to feel like the norm. We have had a great week – and not just because the sun shone every day (all the team are a little pink-cheeked!).

All the election addresses started arriving on doorsteps. In Exeter we are privileged to have different lies on Labour’s election addresses including ‘cutting Child Trust funds for everyone’. We have had two more hustings meetings (taking our total to 7 to date). It amazes me how candidates will not answer the questions!

We had David Cameron here on Thursday morning, meeting a group of Exeter people connected to the Forces. I am delighted the Party has published its Forces manifesto – as my husband is serving and currently deployed in Iraq – I know how much Labour has let down our Forces.

Canvass returns looking good and no sign of any big moves to Lib Dems. I spent Saturday night out with Exeter’s Street Pastors, and yesterday attended the Door Security staff pub Olympics and St George’s Day parade. Now don’t you wish you were here?

Lee Martin - Sunderland Central

The trouble with campaign visits is that you have to get shaved. Last week we had two visits to break up the 55,000 bits of campaign material we needed to deliver before the postal votes started to land with Saturday’s post.

So the week begins with worries about the handover of my second election address to the Royal Mail, doubts about whether we can deliver so much material in Sunderland Central while not neglecting our target wards outside, and a shave.

With the Royal Mail handover complete and our delivery teams dispatched Tony, Debs and I head to meet Andrew Lansley and his NHYes bus – it looks more like a van – at Bede Medical Centre on Dundas Street. No sooner had we waved Andrew and his feisty team off and we’re back on the streets leading our third delivery session of the day.

Tuesday is just delivery and Shameless on E4. Wednesday is special. Uncle Eric is paying us another visit. We like Eric. And, don’t even mind having to have a shave. So we cut short the second delivery session of the day to gather at the bottom of Strawberry Bank to await Tory Eric and his battle bus.

Now either I’ve got bigger or battle buses have got smaller. However, Eric is Eric, and he insists it isn’t a van. Eric’s visit – and the appearance of our Hendon candidate Sammy Doran’s campaign Tuk-tuk adorned with our Ambitious for Sunderland livery – really lifts the team.

Thursday is more delivery before the second Leaders’ Debate on TV. I liked the set this week. Sky did much better. Friday and I’m starting to flag. Maybe all this shaving is sapping my energy.

I perk up when I see our latest full-page ad in the Sunderland Echo. BE AMBITIOUS FOR SUNDERLAND. GET LABOUR OUT. Eat your heart out M&C Saatchi.

The weekend starts with me chasing the postwoman around Fulwell at 7am. It finishes with 27,000 letters to postal voters out, people saying they’ve already voted for me, and stubble. If I win this, I’m going to have to buy more razors.

Snapshots of the third week of the campaign from ConservativeHome's panel of candidates - Part one

Here are the latest despatches from our panel of candidates, giving their takes on how the third week of the campaign had gone. Reports from Hannah Foster, Lee Martin and Philippa Stroud will follow later...

John Lamont - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
It has been another hectic week on the campaign. There is still no sign of any "Clegg bounce" in the Borders which must be odd if we are to believe the opinion polls. Indeed, many voters are expressing concerns about the possibility of a hung Parliament and the Lib Dems putting Labour back into power. A vote changer for many.

The Lib Dems continue to fight dirty - damaging posters and putting out untruths about Conservative policies. They must be worried!

On Monday, we hosted the launch of the Scottish Conservative manifesto in Melrose. I was delighted to welcome David Cameron via DVD (thanks to the ash cloud!), Annabel Goldie MSP and David Mundell, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland. There was a great crowd to welcome them and to see the manifesto launch. Again, there was a tremendous response on the street.

More of the same for the coming week with a special surprise on Tuesday (perhaps!)... 

John is the current subject of our Yellow to Blue fundraising effort to help Tory candidates seeking to oust Lib Dem MPs. Click here to donate what you can!

Stuart Andrew - Pudsey
A very varied week this time starting off with a visit by Michael Gove. We met with media students at the Trinity University College in Horsforth where a number of searching and challenging questions were raised. The following day it was the turn of shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley who met local GPs and then helped out the Guiseley in Bloom volunteers as part the national Social Action day.

It has also been an interesting week with the media as the Pudsey constituency has been the focus of the BBC local Look North programme all week. It started with a "day in the life of a candidate", followed by speed dating with floating voters and a "Political Mastermind" - which I am pleased to report I won!

The real battle though is still wide open: our canvassing shows that there is a lot of support for us but that many have yet to make their minds up. The leadership debate was good for David Cameron with a number of people commenting on their approval of his performance, but it all highlights that the race in Pudsey is going to be very interesting indeed!

Louise Bagshawe - Corby
The strangest week yet in the campaign: Starts with a guy in a fox suit, ends with an Elvis impersonator.

Here are the latest despatches from our panel of candidates, giving their takes on how the third week of the campaign had gone. Reports from Hannah Foster, Lee Martin and Philippa Stroud will follow later...

John Lamont - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
It has been another hectic week on the campaign. There is still no sign of any "Clegg bounce" in the Borders which must be odd if we are to believe the opinion polls. Indeed, many voters are expressing concerns about the possibility of a hung Parliament and the Lib Dems putting Labour back into power. A vote changer for many.

The Lib Dems continue to fight dirty - damaging posters and putting out untruths about Conservative policies. They must be worried!

On Monday, we hosted the launch of the Scottish Conservative manifesto in Melrose. I was delighted to welcome David Cameron via DVD (thanks to the ash cloud!), Annabel Goldie MSP and David Mundell, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland. There was a great crowd to welcome them and to see the manifesto launch. Again, there was a tremendous response on the street.

More of the same for the coming week with a special surprise on Tuesday (perhaps!)... 

John is the current subject of our Yellow to Blue fundraising effort to help Tory candidates seeking to oust Lib Dem MPs. Click here to donate what you can!

UKIP fails to nominate a candidate against William Hague or George Osborne

I have written a piece for today's Observer about the frustration that Conservatives feel about having UKIP stand against us, given the well-established argument that supporting them risks letting those in Labour and the Lib Dems with a track record of supporting euro-federalism remain in Parliament over Conservatives seeking the opposite direction of travel.

With 557 candidates, UKIP is fielding ten more candidates than the Referendum Party did in 1997, a new record for a minority party at a general election.

But I have also looked at those seats where UKIP is not putting up a candidate. I'm not sure it has been noted anywhere else, but I was astounded that for all their carping about the Tory failure to adopt a sufficiently robust European policy, they have failed to nominate a candidate against William Hague, the man who would lead negotiations with Europe for a Cameron Government. George Osborne's Tatton seat is similarly left uncontested by UKIP (Click here for the Press Association's full list of candidates standing for all parties in every constituency).

On the other hand, UKIP has broken the pledge made by its leader, Lord Pearson (above), just a couple of weeks ago not to oppose the Labour MP for Stroud, David Drew.

The party is not contesting any seat in Northern Ireland and has nominated a candidate in every seat in Wales.

Here is a list of the 44 seats in England and 31 seats in Scotland which UKIP is not contesting:

Conservative candidate Ben Gummer confronts Harriet Harman over Labour lies outside an Ipswich Sure Start Centre

Saturday update:

You can now hear for yourself the arrogant and outrageous way that Harriet Harman continued to peddle scare stories about the Tories scrapping the winter fuel allowance and Sure Start Centres, when challenged by Ben Gummer on Thursday.

Cick here to listen to the local radio report of the encounter

Will Gordon Brown claim that this was unauthorised by him?? I hope the mainstream media will pick up on this and challenge him to distance himself from the words of his deputy leader. Here's the key moment in that exchange:

Ben Gummer: Do you accept we're going to keep the winter fuel allowance?

Harman: No I don't. I don't accept you're going to keep Sure Start. I don't trust you as far as I can throw you with important services.

---

When Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman visited the Tree House Sure Start Centre in Ipswich today, she got rather more than she bargained for.

She was met by Conservative candidate Ben Gummer and members of his campaign team demanding that she withdraw a series of smears and lies Labour have been spreading, suggesting that Conservatives will close Sure Start Centres and withdraw various benefits from OAPs.

Ben Gummer explained

“Harriet Harman and [Ipswich's Labour MP] Chris Mole should check their moral compasses.  Labour lies about Conservative policies are designed to frighten people – especially vulnerable people – into voting for their discredited government.  The uncertainty she is trying to create isn’t fair on parents, it isn’t fair on the hardworking Sure Start staff and it isn’t fair on the children that attend our Sure Start Centres.

“I have a very simple message for anyone involved with Sure Start in Ipswich: the Conservatives have no plans to close any Children's Centres.  In fact we are the only party committed to expanding Sure Start.  Sure Start will be safe with a Conservative government.

“We will strengthen Sure Start by recruiting 4,200 new Sure Start Health Visitors and introducing a universal Sure Start Health Visitor service – giving every family in Ipswich the expert help and advice they need.

“It is a measure of the Labour Party’s desperation to keep this seat that they are resorting to these kinds of tactics.  Let me reiterate: the Conservatives will keep the Winter Fuel Allowance, keep free TV licences for the over 75s, keep free bus passes, and we will protect and expand Sure Start.

“This sad display from Labour shows just how stark the choice is for Ipswich voters: between Gordon Brown’s tired and mendacious government and a fresh start for Ipswich, with a new MP prepared to fight for the town and a Conservative government ready to rebuild Britain.”

Jonathan Isaby

Election postponed in Thirsk and Malton after death of UKIP candidate

Polling in the North Yorkshire constituency of Thirsk and Malton at the general election is to be postponed after the death of the UKIP candidate, John Boakes, after the close of nominations.

This mirrors the situation which befell South Staffordshire in 2005, when the Lib Dem candidate challenging Sir Patrick Cormack died a few days before the general election.

Mr Boakes failed to turn up to a hustings last night and news of death was announced this afternoon.

Thirsk and Malton is a newly-drawn seat where outgoing Vale of York MP Anne McIntosh will be standing for the Conservatives, defending a notional majority of a little over 14,000.

"All I can say at the moment is that I am so sorry for his family, his friends and his party," Ms McIntosh told ConservativeHome this afternoon.

The Northern Echo speculates that the new poll will take place on May 27th.

Jonathan Isaby

Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps campaigns against his opposite number, Housing Minister John Healey, in Wentworth and Dearne

I was wondering the other day whether there was some kind of campaign etiquette which stated that shadow ministers did not campaign in the seats represented by their opposite numbers, restricting their political sparring to their common portfolio.

But if evidence were needed to prove that no such rule exists, it has just arrived in my inbox - the picture on the right of shadow housing minister, Grant Shapps. He is pictured earlier today with Michelle Donelan, the Conservative candidate standing against John Healey, the Housing minister, with whom Grant has regularly been sparring at the Despatch Box these last few years.

And during his visit to the South Yorkshire seat of Wentworth and Dearne, he pointed to Labour's failure to deliver its promised 1 million increase in home ownership during its third term:

“John Healey must be held to account for breaking Labour’s home ownership pledge from the last election. Labour’s Housing Minister now attacks the aspiration of getting on the housing ladder, proving how out of touch Gordon Brown’s party has become. Liberal Democrats want to put VAT on new homes, making it impossible for young people to save for a large enough deposit. Only Conservatives will stand up for the hard-working people who want to get on the housing ladder and own a home of their own.”

Michelle Donelan adds:

"John's commitment to his constituents has been called into question, not by me or by Grant - but by the figures that highlight how since 1997 Labour have failed to help residents here get onto the housing ladder... This Government has abandoned its 'heartland' supporters.  It's time to take a long hard look at the past 13 years of New Labour and ask ourselves - have things changed for the better?  The answer is, in most cases, no."

Healey is defending a majority of a little over 17,500. You can read more about Michelle and donate to her campaign here.

Jonathan Isaby

A record number of candidates are fighting this election

With nominations for the 650 constituencies now closed, it has been confirmed that a record 4,149 candidates are standing at this general election - equivalent to 6.4 candidates per seat across the UK.

1987 was probably the last time when the average  constituency in England saw a three-way fight (alongside (four-way contests in Scotland and Wales).

In 1992 we then saw the emergence of hundreds of extra candidates from the Green Party and the Natural Law Party, whilst 1997 then saw the intervention of the Referendum Party, which stood in the vast majority of seats.

The total dipped in 2001, but has since continued to rise, arriving at that figure of 4,149 for this year's general election.

According to the Press Association, four minor parties are fighting more than 100 constituencies, which are:

• UKIP - 557
• BNP - 337
• Green - 334
• English Democrats - 106

There are more than 100 other minor parties putting up candidates, with more than 300 individuals standing as Independents as well.

All of these will add confusion to the electoral mix, doubtless with the frontrunners in each seat pushing the message that "X can't win here" and that "voting Y will let in Z".

Furthermore, I suspect a preponderance of "others" will further reduce the overall national percentage voteshare that either the Conservatives or Labour would need to attain in order to win a majority nationally.

By way of comparison, here are the total numbers of candidates who have stood at the last few general elections (according to the Times Guide ot the House of Commons) :

• 1987 - 2,325
• 1992 - 2,948
• 1997 - 3,724
• 2001 - 3,133
• 2005 - 3,546
• 2010 - 4,149

Jonathan Isaby

Donate now to stop Nick Clegg!

Thanks so much to all those readers who gave money to the campaign to elect Steve Brine as the next Conservative MP for Winchester. The Yellow To Blue campaign has now raised more than £6,500 for Tory candidates standing against Liberal Democrats. Our virtual fundraising battle bus has now arrived in Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk for its first Scottish call of the campaign. We're aiming to raise £1,000 for John Lamont's campaign. John has been filing weekly campaign reports for ConHome. Read the latest here.

Last night Nick Clegg said that he'd only be satisfied with proportional representation in the event of a hung parliament. We must stop the Liberal Democrat advance. Every pound helps. Please give generously.

Tim Montgomerie

Will you give £8.50 to ensure Mark Oaten is replaced by a Conservative MP in Winchester?

So far ConHome's Yellow To Blue fundraising effort has raised at least £1,000 for five Tory candidates in Lib/Con marginals.

Our virtual fundraising bus has now left Jesse Norman after depositing a grand with him in Hereford and has arrived in Winchester where we're aiming to raise £1,000 for our candidate Steve Brine.

You can read the positive case for Steve on his website, here. We worked together at CCHQ some years ago and he's a great guy.

The seat is vulnerable because the current LibDem MP, Mark Oaten, had a big personal following until he was forced to resign following of tabloid investigations.

Steve has a good chance of winning and another £1,000 to pay for last minute leaflets might make all the difference.

Give what you can but here are some suggested numbers...

• £8.50 would pay for printing and delivery of campaign leaflets to four streets;
• £22 would cover the cost of calling over 250 undecided voters and talking them through our policies;
• £47.50 could pay for over 15,000 online adverts about our campaign.

I'm getting the ball rolling with a donation of £35.

PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY AND WHEN YOU ARE ABOUT TO FILL IN THE AMOUNT BOX THINK OF VINCE CABLE, NICK CLEGG AND CHRIS HUHNE SAT AT THE CABINET TABLE!

Tim Montgomerie

David Cameron won't keep Brown in power. Will you, Mr Clegg?

Nick Clegg will be under enormous pressure from Liberal Democrat members and voters to keep Brown in power. That's the clear and consistent message of opinion polling.

The LibDem leader knows that he can't rule out a coalition with Labour or he'll risk losing a large number of his left-leaning voters.

So, in the literature of the Tory candidate for Blaydon, I wonder if there's an important idea for the national campaign. Our candidate Glenn Hall has signed a pledge that he won't keep Brown in power and challenged his LibDem opponent to do the same. The LibDem won't sign it, of course:

Mr Hall's leaflet also includes the clear message that the election is a two horse race:

The Tories won just 8% of the vote in the Blaydon seat at the last election but the quality of Glenn Hall's literature is very high. Download a PDF.

Tim Montgomerie

Help raise £1,000 for Jesse Norman's bid to be elected Conservative MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire

Over the last couple of weeks, ConservativeHome readers have raised more than £4,500 for Conservative candidates seeking to gain seats from the Liberal Democrats - in Cheltenham, Southport, Sutton & Cheam and North Devon.

The latest candidate for whom we are seeking to raise £1,000 is Jesse Norman, who is fighting Hereford and South Herefordshire, a seat which has been in Lib Dem hands since 1997.

The notional Lib Dem majority he has to overturn is 1,089, which will be defended by a new Lib Dem candidate as the sitting MP is retiring. It is twentieth on the Conservative target list and is a seat we must win if we are to win the election nationally.

Jesse was select at an Open Primary in December 2006 and has been working tirelessly in the seat for the last three and a half years. He has been leading the fight against Post Office closures across Herefordshire and set up this innovative website to assist those fighting school closures in the area.

Please give whatever you can to Jesse's campaign.

Jonathan Isaby

Snapshots of the second week of the campaign from ConservativeHome's panel of candidates - Part two

This morning we published the latest three reports from our panel of candidates on how the second week of the campaign had gone. Here are the other three...

John Lamont - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
The campaign continues to go well, despite the volcanic ash cloud preventing Ken Clarke from getting to Hawick!

I'm not sure what it is, but this campaign feels very different to any other that I have been involved in during the last 15 years. Perhaps it is the huge number of people who are volunteering to help, or maybe it is the massive demand for field posters and window posters, or it could be the positive response on the doorsteps. I'm not sure but something is different and it feels exciting.

The opposition is clearly worried about what is happening and is putting in huge resources to defend what was once one of their safest seats. The Lib Dems clearly still have a lot of money to spend and much of it seems to be coming into their campaign in the Borders. However, I'm not sure that their money will be able to stop people voting for the change that our country needs. Voters are fearful that the Lib Dems will put Gordon Brown back into Downing Street. I believe that they understand that they need to vote Conservative to bring about the real change that our country needs.

Stuart Andrew - Pudsey
Another busy week in Pudsey started with a visit by Theresa Villiers. We used the visit to meet local residents who highlighted to her the major congestion issues we face locally with all the new developments and the expansion of the airport. It is clear that people feel a real sense of frustration at the total lack of control they have to deal with issues in their area and the localism agenda is one that is resonating well here.

Out on the doorstep and there are a wide variety of reactions. Lots wanted to talk about the Leadership debate with many commenting that they felt David Cameron had done better than the media might suggest. However, the economy remains the main issue by far with voters.

The media interest in the seat is clearly increasing with Channel 4 appearing over the weekend and the local BBC have challenged me and my opponents to prove how much we know about the constituency with a Mastermind style quiz... watch this space to find out who came out on top! They have also followed us around for a "day in the life of a campaign" which I think surprised them by the sheer amount of work involved.

Louise Bagshawe - Corby
Another incredibly busy week. Took Charles Hendry, the Shadow Energy Minister who is seeking re-election as MP for Wealden (where I grew up), along with Brian Binley, to an innovative waste-to-energy plant at Orchard Foods in Corby. It uses a proprietary technique that cleans water and throws off energy far faster than normal methods. Groundbreaking technology tried for the first time in our patch. Then an interview with Anglia TV back at the office. Lots of media bids, we are sticking to local TV and press for the most part. Turned down Channel Four and the Sunday Express to complaints from the latter that I am "hiding away".

This morning we published the latest three reports from our panel of candidates on how the second week of the campaign had gone. Here are the other three...

John Lamont - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
The campaign continues to go well, despite the volcanic ash cloud preventing Ken Clarke from getting to Hawick!

I'm not sure what it is, but this campaign feels very different to any other that I have been involved in during the last 15 years. Perhaps it is the huge number of people who are volunteering to help, or maybe it is the massive demand for field posters and window posters, or it could be the positive response on the doorsteps. I'm not sure but something is different and it feels exciting.

The opposition is clearly worried about what is happening and is putting in huge resources to defend what was once one of their safest seats. The Lib Dems clearly still have a lot of money to spend and much of it seems to be coming into their campaign in the Borders. However, I'm not sure that their money will be able to stop people voting for the change that our country needs. Voters are fearful that the Lib Dems will put Gordon Brown back into Downing Street. I believe that they understand that they need to vote Conservative to bring about the real change that our country needs.

Stuart Andrew - Pudsey
Another busy week in Pudsey started with a visit by Theresa Villiers. We used the visit to meet local residents who highlighted to her the major congestion issues we face locally with all the new developments and the expansion of the airport. It is clear that people feel a real sense of frustration at the total lack of control they have to deal with issues in their area and the localism agenda is one that is resonating well here.

Out on the doorstep and there are a wide variety of reactions. Lots wanted to talk about the Leadership debate with many commenting that they felt David Cameron had done better than the media might suggest. However, the economy remains the main issue by far with voters.

The media interest in the seat is clearly increasing with Channel 4 appearing over the weekend and the local BBC have challenged me and my opponents to prove how much we know about the constituency with a Mastermind style quiz... watch this space to find out who came out on top! They have also followed us around for a "day in the life of a campaign" which I think surprised them by the sheer amount of work involved.

Louise Bagshawe - Corby
Another incredibly busy week. Took Charles Hendry, the Shadow Energy Minister who is seeking re-election as MP for Wealden (where I grew up), along with Brian Binley, to an innovative waste-to-energy plant at Orchard Foods in Corby. It uses a proprietary technique that cleans water and throws off energy far faster than normal methods. Groundbreaking technology tried for the first time in our patch. Then an interview with Anglia TV back at the office. Lots of media bids, we are sticking to local TV and press for the most part. Turned down Channel Four and the Sunday Express to complaints from the latter that I am "hiding away".

Snapshots of the second week of the campaign from ConservativeHome's panel of candidates - Part one

Each week of the campaign, a panel of candidates standing in different seats around the country is giving ConservativeHome readers a flavour of how things are going in their patch.

Here are the despatches from the first three panel members. Later today we will publish the thoughts of the remaining panel members - John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk), Louise Bagshawe (Corby) and Stuart Andrew (Pudsey).

Philippa Stroud - Sutton and Cheam

The week kicked off with high excitement as Boris descended on Sutton. It was great to have him out on the campaign trail. All you have to do is venture onto Sutton High Street with him and you get mobbed!

Tuesday saw the launch of the manifesto. Sutton and Cheam as a constituency is divided into three communities and residents of Worcester Park always tell me that they feel forgotten – so we did our mini launch of the manifesto in Worcester Park, much to the delight of local shopkeepers.

Obviously the biggest news of the week has been the debates followed by a surge in the polls from the Liberal Democrats. I don’t know if other Lib Dem marginals are behaving the same as here, but in Sutton people have seen the Lib Dems for the last 22 years. They know that they do not bring value for money and that it is time for a change. We spent all of Saturday canvassing. What we found was that our Conservatives were Conservative and our liberals were liberals but that many were saying that it was time for a change and that they really did not want Gordon Brown as Prime Minister.

Hannah Foster - Exeter

Tuesday saw the campaign launch for Devon on Exeter’s fantastic Quay.  Mark Francois came and we launched the manifesto with Anne Marie Morris (Newton Abbot) and Neil Parish (Tiverton & Honiton) with lots of local media. 

We followed with an amazing canvass; covering  most of a polling district in a couple of hours as there were so many of us. It was not a core area and the response was really good. 

On Wednesday we had a surprise visit from Andrew Lansley, former Student President at Exeter University. Canvassing generally pretty good  - there are still a good portion of people (30% in some places) who really are undecided about how they will vote or even if they will vote at all. They will decide it here.

I have to say I have not seen any big pro-Lib Dem swing on the doorstep, despite what the media are reporting! We have had our sixth hustings as of last night.

Lee Martin - Sunderland Central

The week starts with The Guardian publishing the profile piece on Sunderland Central I worked with them on last week under the headline ‘Cameron’s wild card’. The 'voters may just take a punt for change on a Tory who is rough and unpolished’ subtext leads one exiled friend to text suggesting I sack my stylist.

Tuesday starts with Jimmy replacing a whole load of my correx boards that were stolen from farmers' fields and ends with a late night call to say that my face has been cut out of the replacement boards. Next day I get the Sunderland Echo to photograph me with my head in the hole and a smile on my face. The story gives us a fantastic amount of free publicity and overshadows Cherie Blair’s visit to a Sure Start centre on an estate that has been devastated by her husband’s flagship housing stock transfer policy.

Each week of the campaign, a panel of candidates standing in different seats around the country is giving ConservativeHome readers a flavour of how things are going in their patch.

Here are the despatches from the first three panel members. Later today we will publish the thoughts of the remaining panel members - John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk), Louise Bagshawe (Corby) and Stuart Andrew (Pudsey).

Philippa Stroud - Sutton and Cheam

The week kicked off with high excitement as Boris descended on Sutton. It was great to have him out on the campaign trail. All you have to do is venture onto Sutton High Street with him and you get mobbed!

Tuesday saw the launch of the manifesto. Sutton and Cheam as a constituency is divided into three communities and residents of Worcester Park always tell me that they feel forgotten – so we did our mini launch of the manifesto in Worcester Park, much to the delight of local shopkeepers.

Obviously the biggest news of the week has been the debates followed by a surge in the polls from the Liberal Democrats. I don’t know if other Lib Dem marginals are behaving the same as here, but in Sutton people have seen the Lib Dems for the last 22 years. They know that they do not bring value for money and that it is time for a change. We spent all of Saturday canvassing. What we found was that our Conservatives were Conservative and our liberals were liberals but that many were saying that it was time for a change and that they really did not want Gordon Brown as Prime Minister.

Hannah Foster - Exeter

Tuesday saw the campaign launch for Devon on Exeter’s fantastic Quay.  Mark Francois came and we launched the manifesto with Anne Marie Morris (Newton Abbot) and Neil Parish (Tiverton & Honiton) with lots of local media. 

We followed with an amazing canvass; covering  most of a polling district in a couple of hours as there were so many of us. It was not a core area and the response was really good. 

On Wednesday we had a surprise visit from Andrew Lansley, former Student President at Exeter University. Canvassing generally pretty good  - there are still a good portion of people (30% in some places) who really are undecided about how they will vote or even if they will vote at all. They will decide it here.

I have to say I have not seen any big pro-Lib Dem swing on the doorstep, despite what the media are reporting! We have had our sixth hustings as of last night.

Lee Martin - Sunderland Central

The week starts with The Guardian publishing the profile piece on Sunderland Central I worked with them on last week under the headline ‘Cameron’s wild card’. The 'voters may just take a punt for change on a Tory who is rough and unpolished’ subtext leads one exiled friend to text suggesting I sack my stylist.

Tuesday starts with Jimmy replacing a whole load of my correx boards that were stolen from farmers' fields and ends with a late night call to say that my face has been cut out of the replacement boards. Next day I get the Sunderland Echo to photograph me with my head in the hole and a smile on my face. The story gives us a fantastic amount of free publicity and overshadows Cherie Blair’s visit to a Sure Start centre on an estate that has been devastated by her husband’s flagship housing stock transfer policy.

Peter Ainsworth says the late announcement of his retirement was "cock-up, not conspiracy"

There were only two Conservative MPs who disenfranchised their local associations when it came to choosing a shortlist for their successor by announcing their retirement after January 1st.

One of them was Peter Ainsworth, who announced his intention to quit as MP for Surrey East on January 5th. Now, in his first public comment explaining his timing, he has insisted that there was "no conspiracy" in his leaving the announcement until the New Year and that he never opened the email sent to him by ConservativeHome in October highlighting the new selection rules in seats where MPs announced their retirement after January 1st.

He makes the comments in a valedictory interview featured in the new edition of the House Magazine:

When did you take the decision?
I was planning my campaign and writing my literature before Christmas, and I had no intention of standing down. But between Christmas and the New Year I began to think about it. There was no single trigger; it was just a whole accumulation of ideas and thoughts. I took the decision at home, with my family, on New Year’s Day.

The timing has raised some questions…
There are people, all over the place, who have conspiracy theories. They are, frankly, bonkers. I hadn’t looked at the rules because I wasn’t intending to stand down – so they were of no interest to me. ConservativeHome rang me the day after my announcement. They said that, in October, they had told everyone that any Conservative MP standing down after January would trigger the new selection process.

Like every other MP, I get about 200 or 300 emails a day. Do I prioritise opening the ones from ConservativeHome? I have to tell them that no, sorry, I don’t. I didn’t open it, and I didn’t know about the rule-change. It was unfortunate, in that sense, that I didn’t decide 48 hours earlier. I can assure you that there was no conspiracy, just cock-up.

He also seems to dispel any suggestion that he might want to remain in frontline politics, perhaps from "another place":

Would you not have liked to see your party in power and perhaps take ministerial office?
Obviously you go into politics because you want to win, and you want your party to be in government, and in that respect my timing was extraordinarily bad. I was first elected in 1992. John Major had a very slender majority, then we lost big time, and there are no prizes for being a shadow. Of course, a part of me would like to have been a minister in a Conservative government but, on the other hand, in a very small way, I was a minister in the last Tory government – and it wasn’t much fun then.
 
If you were still in the shadow cabinet, would you have stood again?
If I was still in the shadow cabinet then my life would continue to be managed by other people, my time would be allocated by other people, and I would continue to be travelling all over the country and dancing to other people’s tunes. It’s only when you stop that you realise how much you haven’t had a life of your own. I got my life back just over a year ago, and I’ve decided to do something different with it.

Jonathan Isaby

UKIP candidate steps down to support Mark Reckless in Rochester and Strood

Following on from the news earlier this week that UKIP would actively support a handful of Conservative candidates, the Kent Messenger reports that the UKIP candidate in Rochester and Strood, Robin Johnson, has stood aside and given his backing to the Conservative, Mark Reckless (pictured).

UKIP released the following brief statement:

"Robin was due to represent this constituency but has stood down in order to put country before party. This is part of UKIP's unique strategy of standing down candidates in areas where there is another euro-sceptic candidate standing."

Mark Reckless welcomed the move:

"I am on record as saying I believe in trading with Europe but governing ourselves. If UKIP had not stood last time, I do believe that I would have become an MP five years ago."

Indeed so: when he stood against Labour MP Bob Marshall-Andrews (now retired) in Medway (the old name for this slightly redrawn seat), he was 213 votes behind the successful Labour candidate, while UKIP trailed in fourth with 1,488 votes. Whilst I would not conterst that all those votes would otherwise have been cast for the Conservatives, the margin of victory was so close in this case that Mark's assertion is a fair one.

If there are any other examples of UKIP candidates withdrawing, please let us know.

Jonathan Isaby

Zac Goldsmith threatens to quit and cause a by-election if he is elected and key election pledges are broken by a Tory Government

It's always been clear to me that Zac Goldsmith is one of the most independent-minded Conservative candidates fighting this general election.

And today the candidate for Richmond Park has provided yet more evidence that this is the case.

He has previously accused the Liberal Democrats in the seat of dirty tricks (see here and here) and has come up with a robust way of demonstrating his personal commitment to honesty and integrity if he is elected.

He has told a hustings meeting organised by his local Chamber of Commerce that he would quit as an MP and cause a by-election if a Cameron Government U-turned on certain promises being made during the campaign, as Paul Waugh blogs:

"There are various things I have said in this campaign with absolute certainty. I said there will be no Heathrow expansion under our Government, there will be no charges for parking in Richmond Park and Kingston Hospital will be safe. If any of those promises are broken I will trigger a by-election and allow people to penalise my party."

Jonathan Isaby

Shaun Bailey persuades Hammersmith businesses to emulate national letter-writing campaign against Labour's jobs tax

The opening week or so of the national election campaign saw a growing number of business leaders signing up to a letter attacking Labour's proposed rise in National Insurance - effectively a tax on jobs.

This week, Shaun Bailey, the energetic Conservative candidate for Hammersmith, decided to organise a similar initiative in his own constituency to show that local businesses there are just as concerned about the impact of the NI rise.

He has already secured the support of more than 50 Hammersmith small businesses and they are listed in full on his website.

Below is a video clip of Shaun talking about his initiative.

Jonathan Isaby

UKIP will actively campaign for the election of five Conservative candidates and one Labour candidate

Launching their manifesto this morning, UKIP leader Lord Pearson of Rannoch has announced that not only is his party making a conscious decision not to stand in a handful of seats held by what he defined as "committed eurosceptics" in the last Parliament, but that UKIP will "actively campaign" for them.

One Labour MP seeking re-election will get this help:

• David Drew - Stroud

And sixfive Conservative candidates will be given the same treatment, with Lord Pearson identifying the following at his press conference (I will seek the identity of the others) along with two others:

• Dougla Carswell - Clacton
• Philip Davies - Shipley
• Philip Hollobone - Kettering
• Janice Small - Batley and Spen
• Alex Story - Wakefield

He added that the Independent MP for Castle Point, Bob Spink (originally elected as a Conservative), would also get UKIP's endorsement (Pearson wrongly included Spink on his list as a Conservative).

Lord Pearson said that none had asked for UKIP's help - although I suggested in February that David Drew's attendance at a UKIP dinner meant that an electoral pact was on the cards.

7.15pm update:

David Campbell-Bannerman MEP, UKIP 's deputy leader, has just been interviewed by Sky News' Adam Boulton and seemed somewhat confused about his party's position in Great Grimsby, where Austin Mitchell has been Labour MP since 1977. Boulton suggested that Mitchell was a eurosceptic whom UKIP should not oppose, to which Campbell-Bannerman replied that Mitchell was indeed "a good man" whom UKIP would not have opposed, but that sadly Mitchell was standing down at the election.

FACT: Austin Mitchell is standing for re-election.

Are UKIP's leader and deputy leader singing from the same hymnsheet?

Jonathan Isaby

Snapshots of the first week of the campaign from ConservativeHome's panel of candidates - Part two

This morning we published the first three reports from our panel of candidates on how the first week of the campaign had gone. Here are the other three...

John Lamont - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
After months of preparation, we have finally started! As ever, the planning paid off. We delivered 30,000 leaflets in the first 72 hours of the campaign. We had Liam Fox out on the doorsteps in Galashiels on Tuesday night, the Scottish Conservative Blue Bus visited many Borders towns on Wednesday and on Thursday we had a visit from William Hague and Scottish Conservative leader, Annabel Goldie MSP. A great start.

On the doorsteps, the state of the economy and the size of the national debt were the main issues. All of the canvassing teams were reporting switchers from the Lib Dems to Conservative. The choice for Lib Dem voters is clear - it is either a continuation of Gordon Brown's administration or a fresh start with David Cameron and the Conservatives. So far, we seem to be winning that war. Interestingly, we also seem to be picking up voters who had gone SNP in the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections. It is very clear that the anti-Labour voters do understand that only the Conservatives can beat Labour.

On Saturday, we manned several street stalls across the constituency and the response was tremendous. The consensus seems to be that we have won the first week of the campaign. The backing of the business leaders has given us extra credibility at this important stage of the campaign.

Louise Bagshawe - Corby
I've always rolled my eyes when confronted on a blog with the "I'm a lifelong X voter who has now turned to Y", as it's almost inevitably some sad activist for Y, but this first week, campaigning on the NHS in Irthlingborough, I actually met a union member who said he'd always voted Labour - hated Maggie and what she did to the unions - but could not stomach Brown and this government. He didn't promise me his vote but he said he was considering it for the first time ever. I invited him to the public meeting we're holding in the town. If people like him are actively weighing up the Conservatives, I think we'll outperform the polls.

Snapshots of the first week of the campaign from ConservativeHome's panel of candidates - Part one

Each week of the campaign, a panel of candidates standing in different seats around the country will give ConservativeHome readers a flavour of how things are going in their patch. Here are the  despatches from the first three panel members. Later today we will publish the thoughts of the remaining panel members - John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk), Louise Bagshawe (Corby) and Stuart Andrew (Pudsey).

Philippa Stroud - Sutton and Cheam
Well it was an incredible relief when the starting gun was finally fired and we were officially off with the campaign in Sutton and Cheam. Having been in a “long campaign” status since January, to see the Prime Minister finally get in his car on Tuesday and make the short journey to Buckingham Palace and kick start the campaign for real was a great feeling.

Tuesday saw us deliver our first 72 hour piece of literature across the whole constituency - about 36,000 households - which left Wednesday free for a parade down the Main Sutton High Street and for all our posters to go up.

What never ceases to amaze me about a General Election Campaign is the incredible range of activity – from banging in nails for posters to a visit by Iain Duncan Smith; from delivering literature to a hustings at the Chamber of Commerce; from late night correspondence to meeting with voters on the doors; from blowing up 150 helium balloons at 7am to answering questions on economic policy – all of it is has been crammed into this week.

The highlight of the week has to be David Cameron’s visit on Saturday morning. It was the most beautiful morning and we had gathered in Cheam to meet him, whilst running our NHS street stall. Although the visit had been kept confidential, word had spread like wildfire that a top Conservative was coming. When he arrived everyone wanted to meet him and wish him luck. He even met our local hairdresser who is also called  David Cameron and wished him well as well as offering top tips on hair styling!

Lee Martin - Sunderland Central
We’ve expected Gordon to go for 6 May forever. Yet somehow events have a habit of reducing even the most professional campaigns to a shambles. So there we were Day 1, me determined to lead from the front, assembled in the car park of the Bluebell pub ready for our first proper leafleting session of the campaign when the texts start arriving to tell me Gordon’s called it. With each bleep of the phone my mind turns to all the things that we’ve still got to get sorted and my calm just shatters – if only someone hadn’t stolen my ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ mug! The rest of the day is consumed by calls to the printers and the team.

Conservative/UUP candidate steps aside in Fermanagh and South Tyrone to back independent unionist

The Guardian's Nick Watt blogs that the previously selected candidate for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Tom Elliott, has stepped aside in favour of an independent unionist, Rodney Connor (pictured). A former chief executive of Fermanagh District Council, Mr Connor has said that if elected he would take the Conservative whip at Westminster.

The DUP has also indicated that it will not contest the seat and give its backing to Mr Connor, although shadow Northern Ireland secretary Owen Paterson has emphasised that the Conservatives have had "no discussions with the DUP on this matter at all".

It is a seat which was held by the UUP until 2001, since when it has elected a Sinn Fein MP, Michelle Gildernew, who has never taken her seat in the Commons.

A Conservative spokesman explains:

"At this election here in Northern Ireland there will be 18 candidates, one in every constituency, committed to taking the Conservative whip in the House of Commons.

"In recent weeks there has been a tsunami of public opinion in favour of a candidate who can end abstentionism and bring democratic representation to Fermanagh and South Tyrone in Parliament.

"The Conservative party has recognised the strength of local opinion on this and responded in a manner which has significantly strengthened our relationship with the Ulster Unionists as we seek to bring Northern Ireland back into the mainstream of UK politics."

Jonathan Isaby

Wendy Morton gets a boost in Tynemouth as her Lib Dem opponent goes on holiday

Tynemouth is the top Tory target in the North East of England and Wendy Morton is the Conservative candidate aiming to regain the seat, which the party lost to Labour in 1997.

The Lib Dems are in third place with a little over 15% of the vote - but I suspect Wendy will now be eating into that (as well as continuing to pick up switchers from Labour) as it has emerged today that her Lib Dem opponent chose this week of all weeks to go on holiday.

As William Green from the Newcastle Journal blogs:

Tynemouth candidate John Appleby has been on a family holiday in the Lake District all week - even though it was the worst kept secret that Gordon Brown would call a general election this week. A Lib Dem spokeswoman insisted Dr Appleby was fighting a strong campaign and was not a "paper candidate" in Tynemouth, where the Conservatives are fighting hard to snatch the seat from Labour.

Speaking to me from holiday, the Lib Dem candidate said: "I am not the Prime Minister. I don't hold any great office of state. I have spent a great deal of time campaigning. We have all the nominations completed. Everything is ready to go. The general election could have been called any time in the last three months and it could have been postponed and although that was the most likely date, it was not certain. Everything we needed to do was organised. I am taking a few days out. I shall go back to campaigning when I am back."

With the Lib Dem yet to leave the stalls, clearly it's a two-horse race in Tynemouth, to coin a phrase...

Jonathan Isaby

If the Tories get 1.5million more votes than Labour, Mr Brown would still win MORE Commons seats

The bias in the current distribution of seats is well known but an article in this morning's Sun brings the reality home;

"On a uniform swing across the country, the Tories would get 278 MPs if they scoop 37 per cent of the vote. But Labour would get 280 on just 32 per cent of the vote."

Tim Montgomerie

Please help raise £1,000 to make Philip Milton the next MP for North Devon

ConservativeHome's virtual campaign fundraising bus has so far raised more than £3,500 for Tory candidates aiming to oust Liberal Democrat MPs; so far in Cheltenham, Southport and Sutton and Cheam.

We're now off to God's county, Devon and to North Devon, in particular.

With your help we want to raise £1,000 for Philip Milton. 

Philip has to overturn Nick Harvey's projected majority of 5,377. The majority is inflated because our candidate in 2005 insulted the beauty of the women of North Devon. Given my own mum is from Barnstaple I'm not sure I would have voted for him. 

Philip is a local businessman with deep roots in the constituency.

The local council recently went Conservative so this seat - number 100 on our target list - is winnable.

Please give whatever you can to Philip Milton's campaign.

Tim Montgomerie

[The fundraising thermometer says £500. It should say £1,000 and hopefully will soon!]

No more Tory MPs expected to retire

You can never be entirely sure until the deadline has passed. An MP can always have a last minute change of heart, after all, but ConHome sources say that they are 99% sure that no more Tory MPs will be standing down.

Nominations close formally on 20th April but a Tory MP having a change of heart needs to give their Associations decent notice.

Here's Jonathan Isaby's full list of Tory retirees as at the end of December, to which only Peter Ainsworth and John Maples' names were added.  As well as saving General Election Night I think Jonathan deserves credit for helping to encourage Tory MPs to retire quickly. His letter smoked them out!

Tim Montgomerie

Sir Reg Empey set to stand in South Antrim

The BBC is reporting that Ulster Unionist Party leader Sir Reg Empey is set to stand as the joint Conservative and Unionist candidate in South Antrim.

Having received the unanimous backing of the local UUP last night, I would anticipate that an endorsement from the Joint Committee comprising senior members of both the UUP and Northern Ireland Conservatives will be a formality.

South Antrim is currently held by the DUP's WIlliam McCrea with a majority of 3,448.

Sir Reg, who replaced David Trimble as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and is a minister in the Northern Ireland Executive, will be the last Conservative candidate to have been selected for this general election.

Jonathan Isaby