Tory anger at central party
CONSERVATIVES in Bridgend have had a General Election candidate imposed on them against the will of local activists, it has been claimed.
BRIDGEND, which is a target constituency for the Conservatives in the General Election, has had a candidate imposed on it against the will of local activists, it has been claimed.
A Conservative group member in Bridgend – a seat polls suggest the Tories could snatch from Labour on June 8 – branded the central party’s decision to impose Karen Robson from Cardiff over local hopefuls an “absolute disgrace”.
The member of the Bridgend Conservative Association said on Tuesday the decision was made despite local activists voting to reject the centrally imposed twocandidate shortlist of Ms Robson and Dan Boucher, who is also not from the area, on Sunday.
They said the group had passed a motion asking the party “to field a local candidate in this election, not a party nominee from outside the area”.
The member added: “In the face of threats from the party about putting the association into supportive measures if they didn’t comply or having one of the candidates imposed upon them anyway if they didn’t put it to the vote of local party members, the local party voted to ask the party chairman to think again and ensure that their preferred choice of local candidate stands in this General Election –