Hammersmith Selection Shows a New Conservative Party
I was lucky enough to be present last week at the selection evening for the new Conservative candidate for Hammersmith. It was a superb evening, and I think shows how much the Conservative party has changed and how high morale is.
More than 300 people turned up. I was there to support my friend Anthony Frieze, who I have known for twenty years. But he was up against stiff competiton. Helen Grant, an articulate lawyer running a busy Legal Aid practice in Croydon which she set up herself, went first. She was probably the most hesitant of all the candidates. Then came Kedra Goodall. Recalling Kedra’s performance makes me smile still at my own superficiality. I disliked her when I saw her (the rush to judgement!), but then rapidly had to change my mind when she started speaking. She was witty and charming, though she should watch her tendecy to ham it up. She is one of six children from a gypsy background, has adopted her sister’s daughter and is studying for the Bar. Anthony spoke third, and certainly gave the best overall “political” perfomance, particularly in his hilarious denunciation of Red Ken’s loony transport policies. All three will certainly be adopted somewhere soon.
The winner, of course, was Shaun Bailey, who I hadn’t seen in action before. He stole the show. Every time he spoke he drew loud applause or laughter. I realised afterwards that virtually everything he said - no, make that everything - had been devoid of “politician speak”. I think Shaun will not only refresh the Conservatives, but politics in general. I don’t think there is any one like him in mainstream politics, and it has been a long time coming.
As this was an Open Primary, the Labour party turned up. They tried to spoil the evening with sour questioning. But I think they will have left the hall much more depressed than when they came in.