How exactly do the Conservative Party select their candidates? I'm sure that no party is perfect at this, but they don't seem to be having much luck with them of late. Two candidates down in Slough - one for having his picture taken with guns, the other for his statements on the EU and the Catholic Church - how did no-one at Conservative Central Office pick up on that when he had written a book about it and it was openly reported in the local press? Maybe they were so impressed with his entry in the Guinness Book of Records that they overlooked his published views.

But presumably, they would expect people who hold positions within the Party to be a little more careful in what they say and do. Not so in the case of Danny Kruger or Howard Flight. If Michael Howard intends to take on every Tory candidate who steps out of line, he's probably not going to have much time left to campaign - and those candidates are going to have an interesting time in their own campaigns with Conservative Central Office listen to everything they say. The local Conservatives in Birmingham are already so desperate for council candidates that they are approaching people who aren't even members of the party - where are the Conservatives of the future coming from?