Letters: Why have the Conservatives decided Chesterfield is a lost cause?

Given up on Chesterfield?

Sir: Matthew Parris makes some interesting and accurate points about growing Tory support in the north and Midlands (‘The Tory push north will end in failure’, 7 December). He did not mention Chesterfield in his article, but it is a good example of what he talks about.

It seems to me that the Conservatives have decided Chesterfield is a lost cause, even though it would on the face of it seem promising territory for them. With an average age higher than the national average and no university, it is one of those ‘left behind’ areas with a lot of traditional working-class voters who dislike Corbyn. A good local candidate and some active canvassing could at least have made a dent in Labour support.

So what did the Tories do? They did not, as other parties have done, choose a local candidate. Instead they airlifted in someone from Melton Mowbray, whom none of us had heard of before.