Thumbs up for the Totnes primary
In the end the Conservative Party primary in Totnes achieved 25 per cent of the vote, way above what anybody hoped for, or predicted. It would seem to be a big thumbs-up for such exercises, though the big drawback is the cost. I wonder if Conservative HQ will ever give us the figure.
Until the cost issue can be resolved I doubt whether postal primaries will become a big feature of British politics. One possible solution might be for the state to host such exercises - as happens in America - with voters able to pick party candidates at polling stations on the same day, perhaps, as local elections. But that would present lots of problems, and take us further down the road of state-funding of political parties.
The easy winner in Totnes was the Dartmoor GP Sarah Woolaston who impressed me when I met her last week. A future health minister, I predict.
I'm Michael Crick, and I'm Newsnight's political editor. My guiding rule is that in any story there's usually something the politicians would prefer the world not to know. My job is to find that out. Follow me on
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