Conservatives to give voters the chance to pick their candidate for Wirral council ward

Aug 5 2009 by Liam Murphy, Birkenhead News

AN AMERICAN-style “primary” will take place this month to choose the new Conservative candidate to fight a Wirral ward at the next council election.

The borough’s Tories have decided to run a trial primary, in which all voters from the ward can take part, irrespective of which party they eventually vote for, to choose who will fight the Leasowe and Moreton East ward.

It is believed to be the first time in Merseyside the public – rather than just party members – will be asked to choose the candidate for a council election.

Cllr Ian Lewis, who last year won his seat in the same formerly “rock solid” Labour ward, said their aim was to open up the political system to the wider public at an earlier stage – and hopefully engage more people in politics.

A similar “primary” style of choosing a candidate was used in 2006 to select Conservative Jeff Clarke to fight for the Wirral South constituency at the next election.

Last month, the Conservatives also announced their candidates for an open primary-style election to decide who will contest the Totnes seat in Devon at the next General Election, replacing ex-Liverpool MP Anthony Steen.

In Leasowe and Moreton East, about 4,000 ballot papers will be sent out after the candidates have been interviewed by party members, with the aim of selecting a candidate by early September.