'Your MP for the Next Fifteen Years Will Be Picked on Wednesday'

Mary Macleod and James Cracknell frontrunners to be Tory candidate

Members of the Brentford and Isleworth Conservative Association will be meeting this week to vote on their candidate for the forthcoming general election.

The frontrunners for the nomination are Mary Macleod, who represented the seat before being narrowly defeated by Ruth Cadbury in 2015, and Olympic rowing gold medallist James Cracknell. Both of the main contenders live in Chiswick.

They will be battling for the right to contest on 8 June a seat which is held by the sitting MP by just 465 votes. It is believed a third candidate has put themselves forward.

The Chairman of the Brentford and Isleworth Conservative Association Julian Tanner said they welcomed the recent influx of talent, membership and funds and added, “We are in a great position to fight this election and I am personally excited about doing so.”

James Cracknell

The vote will take place at Wednesday's (26 April) Special General Meeting of the Association. A ballot will be held of all fully paid up members of the Association of more than three months standing at St Paul's Church, Grove Park after the prospective candidates have had a chance to speak to the audience. Both James Cracknell and Mary Macleod spoke at a meeting in Chiswick attended by Justine Greening last week.

Mary Macleod

The local Conservative membership face a choice between Mary Macleod, who is widely seen as having a track record of hard work in the constituency when she was MP, and James Cracknell, who insiders say has been working effectively in the background since he became deputy chairman (political officer) of the local constituency party last year. He has declared that he will work passionately to wrest back the seat for the Tories. His support base is believed to be largely focused on the Riverside ward area where he lives.

One local party member told Chiswickw4.com, "Mary is well known as a hard worker in Chiswick, but James has the celebrity factor which might sway some people."

Another told us, "Everybody is well aware just how important this vote is going to be. Your MP for the next fifteen years will be picked on Wednesday as the leading candidates are relatively young and boundary changes are likely to change this seat into a safe Conservative one during the next parliament."

The Boundary Commission are consulting on a proposal which would have created a new Brentford and Chiswick constituency incorporating the Southfield ward which is currently in the Ealign Central and Acton seat bringing all of the Chiswick area together. This was due to be in effect in time for the election originally scheduled for 2020 under the Fixed Term Parliament Act. It is understood it will now apply in 2022.

Ruth Cadbury

If Mary Macleod is not chosen, and decides to remain in politics, she may be offered a safe Tory seat elsewhere. She is believed to have high level political contacts from her time in Westminster, and was able to attract big names such as Boris Johnson and Samantha Cameron to help her canvass in 2015.

James Cracknell, who has long harboured political ambitions, has chosen to pitch for the Brentford & Isleworth seat, despite another offer, rumoured to have been Richmond Park, recently lost by Zac Goldsmith.

In a statement issued on Friday, James Cracknell said, ""I am a local. I live here, with my wife and three children and intend to do so for the long term, I am a stakeholder in the community, I care about the world around us. I want to grasp the possibility to influence and improve things for all. I have had the opportunity to consider standing in another nearby constituencies and have turned these away. I am focused entirely on representing the area where I live and it would be my great privilege to be chosen."

Mary Macleod won the 2010 General Election from Labour with a majority of 1,958. She then increased her vote in the 2015 General Election by 4,609 but narrowly lost out by 465 votes to Ruth Cadbury. During her time as MP she was prominently associated with the campaign to have the Piccadilly Line train stop at Turnham Green station, and with the Gunnersbury Action Group. She said it had been "a chance to make a real difference to people’s lives in the local community and work with residents, businesses, schools, charities and other organisations to improve the local area.

“Watching from the sidelines over the last two years has only strengthened my resolve to continue this work, particularly given the significant changes we are about to go through as we leave the European Union. It’s important for local residents to have a strong voice in Parliament during this time, with a MP who knows the constituency well and can work effectively with colleagues at Westminster to deliver a stronger economy with real opportunities for all. I would relish the opportunity to use my experience, passion and knowledge to represent this brilliant constituency once more.”

With a slim majority of 465 votes, Labour's Ruth Cadbury will be fighting for every vote to retain her seat. She tweeted, "Theresa May wants to make #GE2017 about Brexit to avoid scrutiny of Tory failure. We won't let that happen."

She will, however, be hoping that the decisive vote in the constituency in favour of Remain at last year's EU Referendum will translate into increased support for her from outside her traditional base. She defied her leader's party whip to vote against the triggering of Article 50.

A local Conservative party member said, "Nobody is underestimating Ruth Cadbury. She is widely recognised as an excellent constituency MP and we will lose a proportion of our vote because people feel they need to make a point without Brexit but this will be much less significant than it might have been because Jeremy Corbyn is her party's leader. Even if you believe leaving the EU is a disaster you will recognise that having that man as Prime Minister would be even worse."

The Liberal Democrats have announced that their candidate is Joe Bourke, who also ran in the 2015 election. The Green Party has yet to announce its candidate. Daniel Goldsmith, who ran last time, could possibly decide to put his name on the ticket again.

In the neighbouring Ealing Central and Acton seat, Rupa Huq will be defending an even smaller majority for Labour. Her Conservative opponent has yet to be announced and Jon Ball has declared that he will be contesting the seat for the Liberal Democrats. Reportedly the Green Party has chosen not to put forward a candidate for the seat.

April 23, 2017