Brendan Clarke-Smith: The Conservative Party cannot afford to get candidate selection wrong

Brendan Clarke-Smith was Member of Parliament for Bassetlaw between 2019 and 2024 and served as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party

As someone who has been a party member for 27 years, since joining aged 18, and as a former MP, Minister and Deputy Chairman who has stood in numerous council, European and Parliamentary elections, I’ve been following the latest debate about candidate selection with real interest.

I’ve been through the Parliamentary Assessment Board twice. I failed it the first time in my early twenties. I was told I was too young, but I was also given some outstanding advice for life which I took to heart. I got on with it, didn’t moan, and passed years later at my next attempt. It made me a far better, more prepared and rounded candidate, with real experience from outside politics in the meantime.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to put would-be MPs, including former MPs, through their paces. The PAB process, involving written exercises, psychometric tests, in-tray tasks, public speaking and group work, serves a purpose. But focusing on whether people pass or fail misses the real issue entirely.

The real question is what happens after the PAB.

For years, the biggest complaints have not been about the assessment itself but about what follows: favoured candidates parachuted into “safe” seats, the old “A List”, or people who appear to have bought their way in. Many local associations feel their ability to choose genuine Conservatives or their preferred candidates is restricted by the shortlist they are handed. That is where reform is needed, and indeed that was a key finding of the recent report on this very issue.

When I won Bassetlaw in 2019, our selection came very late, as it did in many constituencies that year. Nobody thought we would win so comfortably. But if people had known the seat would turn blue, would we have been selected in the first place? Some would argue not.

Even those of us with large majorities discovered in 2024 just how fragile those numbers really were. Many colleagues lost votes to Reform, but just as many saw lifelong Conservatives simply stay at home.

Being a good local candidate or a hard worker matters, but so does having the skills to run government effectively. That does not mean filling the list with Blairite clones who could change rosettes at the drop of a hat. We have seen too many politicians who suddenly “hold their own side to account” when they miss out on a ministerial job, or curry favour across the aisle for committee roles. We do not need more of that.

I have to admit, I rolled my eyes when I saw the mention of the “Nolan Principles” on the latest application form. In my experience, the only time I ever heard them invoked was when people on the left were having a tantrum because we didn’t do what they wanted, or by those more interested in procedure than in real principles. It is as if standards in public life did not exist before a committee in the 1990s wrote a report on them.

The PAB itself always reminded me of a political version of The Krypton Factor, minus the assault course. You were tested on everything from speech delivery to teamwork to written analysis, and at the end of it you never quite knew what they were looking for. When it was all over, you often never saw the other candidates again… so perhaps Squid Game is a better comparison.

When I was in the process of applying for the approved list for the second time, the party chairman at the time contacted me out of the blue to ask what I was doing to support a by-election. Unfortunately, I was in the Arctic Circle. I sent a photo of me on a dog sled to show I wasn’t slacking. The reply came straight back: “So what you’re saying is, you’re ok to make some phone calls?” And I did – from the Arctic Circle!

It was a great example of the energy and humour that characterised the party at the time, and I always took it in good spirits. It was also a positive way to actively engage with activists and show commitment. Too many candidates still drive 100 miles to a by-election, take a selfie, sign in and leave. That is not commitment, it is theatre. We need to make much better use of our activists and candidates.

The real focus should be on early selection. Many seats take years of groundwork to win. Countless constituency associations have been hollowed out since 2019 after losing MPs, councillors and volunteers. Without rebuilding them early, the road back is much steeper.

While we are on the subject of candidate quality, one of the biggest issues in selections today, at all levels and not just parliamentary, is not whether people are Thatcherite or One Nation, or whether they voted Leave or Remain. Those are all Conservatives. The real divide is between people who live and breathe politics and those who do not seem political at all.

When I talk about “genuine Conservatives”, I do not just mean people who tick ideological boxes. I mean people with conviction and drive – people who actually do politics. Too often, those who claim to be “above politics” use that as an excuse not to do the work.

So by all means, keep the PAB. Make it robust and demanding, and perhaps adapt it to make it more relevant for former MPs. But recognise that the assessment is only the start. What matters most is who we select, when, and how, and whether we give them the time and local backing to actually build something.

For once, I am writing as an observer rather than a participant. Politics will always be my passion, though I’m spending more time with family and the occasional day on the beach. Some have speculated on my next steps. As Sydney Sweeney might say, I’ll talk about it when I want to.