Register to vote for Tory candidate (From Andover Advertiser)

Register to vote for Tory candidate

THE selection of a Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Salisbury will be open to non-party members.

But anyone wishing to vote at the Open Primary at the Playhouse on January 31 will need to act fast.

They should register via the website www.salisburyconservatives.com.

All local association members will receive an invitation, and after that it will be a matter of first come, first served.

The moderator for the event will be Major General Patrick Cordingley.

The candidates will each give a short presentation and answer a set of questions.

Precise details of the voting system remain to be announced, but the first candidate to receive 51 per cent of votes will be selected.

The best-known locally of the six shortlisted hopefuls is Ian Axton.

A former presenter on ITV news and one-time managing director of Spire FM, he now runs his own media company, operating commercial radio stations in Hampshire and Berkshire.

Mr Axton, 39, has lived in Salisbury for 20 years. His wife works for retiring MP Robert Key, and his twins attend Harnham Infant School.

John Glen is another candidate with local connections.

The former adviser to William Hague grew up in rural Wiltshire and has family links to Salisbury going back three generations.

He has 12 years’ business experience, and has also been director of the Conservative Research Department. He is a magistrate, and contested a Plymouth seat in 2001.

Victoria Atkins is a criminal barrister who prosecutes serious, organised crime, ranging from international drug trafficking to tax and benefit fraud.

She is the daughter of an MEP, Sir Robert Atkins.

She said: “I work in the real world, speaking up for the decent majority. I will campaign to protect rural life, fight to strengthen local health, education and care services, and support Salisbury’s businesses and jobs.”

Fleur Butler is the granddaughter of the politician Rab Butler. She is leader of the Richmondshire District Council in Yorkshire but also has family connections in the Salisbury area. Her father-in-law was Vicar of Redlynch for 17 years.

Mrs Butler is a firm believer in reform of public services. She was a candidate for the European Parliament last year in Yorkshire and The Humber, having previously managed European funded projects, mostly for the community and voluntary sector.

Jeremy Quin spent 18 years in the private sector, becoming a managing director of Deutsche Bank, before being seconded to the Treasury in 2008 to help formulate the UK’s response to the banking crisis.

He is a trustee of the Countryside Alliance Foundation and contested Meirionnydd Nant Conwy in 1997.

Finally, Zehra Zaidi is a solicitor who has been based in both London and Brussels, and has worked as a development consultant for UNICEF and the British Council.

She was a candidate for the European Parliament in South West England last year.

She said: “Every generation of my family has served in the armed forces and I would fight for local jobs and businesses, good public services and striking the right balance with redevelopment projects. “ Mr Atkins, Mr Quin and Ms Zaidi were all finalists in the contest for a candidate in Devizes.