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Party politics
Local candidates or party diktat?
In less than a week’s time, the UK will have a new government. Judging by the opinion polls, it is highly unlikely that the Conservatives will be returned, which means a new Labour government.
Elections are supposed to give the population a choice in who they want to govern them; which particular party represents their best interests. Elections in the UK are decided by voting in parliamentary candidates from specific constituencies. Those candidates have been selected by the local constituency selection committees, to best represent the needs of the local populace. That’s how it should work in theory.
Political parties have now got into the habit of “parachuting” prospective candidates into constituencies, in order to save that particular candidate from losing his or her seat, as the constituency they are being parachuted into is usually a safe seat for that party. The candidate in question is usually a member of either the government or the shadow government.
An example of this is Labour imposing the prospective candidate, Torsten Bell, into Swansea West, over the wishes of the local constituency party. He has no connection with the local constituency and is presumably there to enable one sure seat in the House of Commons to represent the Labour Party.
