Katie Lam has been selected as the Conservative candidate for the new seat of Weald of Kent. Composed of 36.4 per cent of Ashford, 35.2 per cent of Maidstone and The Weald, 11.8 per cent of Faversham and Kent Mid, and 2.4 per cent of Folkestone and Hythe, this seat looks very safe. Electoral Calculus gives it an implied majority of 27, 321 in 2019, and an 89 per cent chance of staying Tory.
Naturally, the constituency was thus much in demand amongst potential applicants. Joining Lam in the final four were Aphra Brandreth, Kingston and Surbiton candidate in 2019, and the daughter of the former MP for Chester, Scott Pattenden, a former candidate for East Ham and the European Parliament and London Conservatives’ Deputy Chairman, and Lincoln Jopp, a highly decorated former soldier.
By any measure, a highly impressive final four. One local Conservative described them as “all excellent”. Another with knowledge of the selection suggested it was “very clear” that local Conservatives wanted a “first-rate candidate who would make the area proud”. Many local members were “used to have a high-profile MP” and were looking for “high-calibre” individuals.
In Lam, it seems that is what they have found. She has a highly impressive CV. She has served as Suella Braverman’s special advisor since last year, and previously served as a deputy chief of staff to Boris Johnson in Number 10 and a vice-president at Goldman Sachs. She is also a former President of the Cambridge Union and Chairman of the Cambridge University Conservative Association (boo, hiss). She is also, remarkably, an award-winning lyricist and scriptwriter whose works have been performed in the West End and off-Broadway.
According to a ConservativeHome source, there were “multiple rounds” and Lam beat Brandreth “on the third ballot”. However, what was also interesting about the selection was that Sally Ann Marks, the Shadow Chairman, is a “very experienced” former councillor and prospective candidate, and knew what she “wanted to deliver” from a “very large” selection committee of “over 40 members”.
Previously, Weald of Kent members rejected the automatic adoption of Damien Green – the MP for the pre-existing Ashford constituency – on the basis that they did not want a coronation, and wanted to chose their new candidate themselves. Sources made clear to me this was “definitely not because they wanted a local councillor”. Members “know how good this seat is” and therefore knew they could attract good candidates. A large committee also meant the selection couldn’t be “hobbled” for a local.
Mea cupla, mea maxima culpa. Much has been written by myself here and elsewhere about the trend towards associations selecting “favourite sons”, where even big names – like Nick Timothy and Rupert Harrison – have only managed to be selected by emphasising their local links. Much has also been made of the fact that fewer than a quarter of those so far selected have been women. The suggestion is that the future ministerial pool is shrinking as a Conservative parliamentary party of male ex-local councillors beckons.
The members of Weald of Kent have therefore proven that thesis (temporarily) wrong, by selecting a young, female outsider with an impressive background. If Lam goes on to win the seat at the next election, it would be no surprise to see her in a ministerial or shadow ministerial role within a relatively short space of time. One notes it only took two years for a newly elected Theresa May to reach the Shadow Cabinet after 1997.
One therefore wishes Lam all the best at the next election – and, in the spirit of Shiv Palpatine, we will watch her career with great interest. ConservativeHome also thanks the new association at Weald of Kent for bucking the general trend. As ever, please contact me at william@conservativehome.com with any candidates and selections information you may have.