The Hammersmith Conservative Association will shortly be looking for a candidate to run against the sitting Labour MP in 2015 and I’m thinking of applying. But by God, it’s a tough decision.
On the face of it, the case against is pretty overwhelming. The local MP, Andy Slaughter, has a majority of 3,549 and on current projections there will be a swing away from the Tories in London. The Conservatives fielded a strong candidate in 2010 in the form of Shaun Bailey and still couldn’t win it. What hope would I have in 2015 — and that’s assuming I get selected, by no means a foregone conclusion? I’ve spoken to several members of the association and their view is that the successful candidate would have to be prepared to devote every waking moment to the campaign, not least because Slaughter is such a good constituency MP. They mean ‘good’ in the sense that he’ll turn up to the opening of an envelope.
One of the reasons he can do this is because politics is his life. He’s unmarried and childless, which means he doesn’t have to do bath-and-bed every night and his weekends are his own. When it comes to attending meetings of the Hammersmith and Fulham Historic Buildings Group, I wouldn’t be able to compete. Not a good starting point. Running a parliamentary campaign in a marginal constituency is a full-time job and, quite apart from the wife and kids, I already have a full-time voluntary job as chairman of the West London Free School Academy Trust. We’ve opened two schools so far and we’re planning to open at least six more. I spend 40 to 60 hours a week on Trust business, which leaves little time for paid work, let alone more voluntary work.
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