It is clear the UK general election selection process is commanded by N10. It is a top down campaign; the Prime Minister and her loyal advisers Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy are believed to be making all the decisions to put local candidates in targets seats, special advisors in marginal or safe seats (comments about a “Spadocracy” are rife) and introduce a high proportion of women candidates. There have been a surprising/suspicious number of withdrawals and last minute replacements, leading to murmurings of gerrymandering. The Parliamentary Assessment Board are cutting corners to approve candidates swiftly, interviews that normally take two hours are squashed into 45 minutes and even done by Skype. Social media is filled with commentary about Conservative MEPs being blocked by Campaign Headquarters, even when Conservative Associations wanted them. Associations are getting vexed by the imposition of unknowns and a few have even rejected the mandatory shortlist; some worthy candidates, already on the approved list, are left speechless after a generic e-mail was circulated telling them not to be disappointed if they did not hear anything about their future during this election.
Reports that hierarchical meetings start at 5.30 am, then 6.15am, and another at 7am, where the latest info is chewed up and spat out as the latest strategy. Now Politico magazine tells us that Tory intellectual Stephen Gilbert is the campaign supremo complimented by the skills of Australian Sir Lynton Crosby and American Jim Messina. It is their ruthless plan to snatch back labour seats, including Tony Blair’s old seat, to give Mrs May the 400 out of 650 seats in the Commons she craves. Mrs May is the definitive face of the election; even in the current local elections everything is about May and her trumping of Jeremy Corbyn. The message is ubiquitous country wide. The PM has campaigned in the extremities of Britain, Wales, Scotland and Cornwall, aiming to take back control of important Labour seats.
The EU chiefs have belittled Britain’s negotiating prospects in a leaked letter but Mark Wallace Editor of Conservative Home writes in “inews” that Juncker is playing to the Germans “Juncker, dogmatist in chief, is now leaking stories that paint himself as simply a reasonable guy, trying to be practical in the face of outrageous demands from London”. In response May has quoted Ken Clark’s characterisation of herself as a “bloody difficult woman” giving notice as to what the EU can expect from her. Commentators are asking if “bloody difficult” is the right way to enter negotiations, why not determinedly charming.
Chancellor Philip Hammond and Brexit Minister David Davis held a Press briefing, to launch what has become known as the “Bomb poster” with the typical Tory refrain that Labour will bring bigger debt and higher taxes. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development taxes rose by 1% under the previous Chancellor, George Osborne, so far there is no suggestion from Hammond about cutting spending, as Donald Trump has proposed in his first US Budget. Hammond introduced the EU’s plans to force City Euro clearing houses to relocate to the bloc after Brexit. He said the manifesto would answer all questions and be available in one or two weeks, which was a bit of a bombshell since the election is in four weeks. The image of the atomic bomb also carries an innuendo that we are nearer to war with Syria and Russia than in 2013; commentators have said that May must not confuse today’s situation with that of the Falkland’s in 1982, when Mrs Thatcher rallied British nationalism and won the election by sending warships to the Islands.