Stephen Oliver, who is on the Conservative approved list of candidates, wonders why no local candidates have been selected to contest Richard Spring’s safe West Suffolk seat.

There is no doubt a wealth of talent applying for seats, and I sympathise with those who don’t get through to the next round. Not everyone can make it, but luck and persistence will pay off for those who are determined, talented and continue trying. Naturally, the safe seats are the most desirable, but it should still be regarded as a privilege to contest other seats (if you can afford it) as the experience will prove invaluable.

Stephen writes on his blog about the six who were shortlisted for the West Suffolk Open Primary on 30 January:

• Natalie Elphicke is partner with a firm of London solicitors and has a special interest in social housing.  She has been active for some time with Westminster Conservative Association.
• Anthony Frieze has been a director with a number of investment banks and is currently a voluntary fund raiser for The Prince’s Teaching Institute.  He was PPC for Darlington in the 1995 General Election.
• Sam Gyimah is an entrepreneur who lives in London and provides mentoring support for small businesses as well as serving as a school governor.  He ran in the selection process for PPC in Gosport.
• Matt Hancock is an economic adviser working for the Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne.
• Sheila Lawlor (pic) is a conservative thinker and writer who lives in Cambridge.  She is Director of Politeia, a forum for social and economic thinking with close links to the Conservative Party.
• Lucille Nicholson is Chairman of Conservative Business Relations in the North East.  She stood as Conservative PPC in Easington in 2005 and ran in the selection process for PPC in Penrith and Border.

You can see Stephen speaking here on YouTube about why he would like to a Conservative parliamentary candidate.

The next safe seat up for grabs in the Eastern Region will be John Gummer’s constituency Suffolk Coastal. Will Suffolk find one local candidate considered good enough to make the shortlist?

Update 10 January: Graham Dines also writes about the Tory snub to local candidates in today’s East Anglian Daily Times.

Update 15 January: Grassroots Tories demand another say claiming party chiefs had “parachuted” in their favourite candidates.