As everyone predicts a bloodbath for the Tories at the next election, it’s becoming harder for the party to sign up new parliamentary candidates. To make things easier, the quality standards have just been relaxed again.
At the last general election a Tory candidate was expected to be able to explain broadly where the constituency is; to know what a constituent is; to understand what an MP is supposed to do for constituents (in broad terms); to be able to give examples of good and bad media coverage; to know what’s in the manifesto (in broad terms); to understand how the House of Lords works and ideally have relatives there; to know what taxes ordinary people pay and ideally have paid some of those taxes yourself; to know the price of a pint of milk and a stamp; to know to spell potato; and to not look like a dork or a weirdo.
These standards were relaxed for recent by-elections. A Tory candidate was expected to not be racist, homophobic, Islamophobic or afraid of losing; to be able to avoid eye contact with Reform candidates; to know the price of a pint of beer and a pint of milk; to be able to say convincingly that taxes are falling even though they aren’t; and to not look like a dork or a weirdo.
For the next election the list of requirements has now been relaxed again. To be in with a chance of selection, prospective candidates must only meet the following minimum standards: to be able to fund their own campaign; to have never communicated with Lee Anderson or Liz Truss; and to not look like a dork or a weirdo.
Despite these relaxations, Tory insiders still expect some difficulty in finding candidates for all constituencies.