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Conservatives select their candidate on Sunday, but in actual fact they're doing more than that.

Because it's such a safe Tory seat, they're effectively picking the area's MP for many years to come.

For that reason he or she will be selected via what the .

This is where a shortlist is drawn up by the local party, but then anyone from the constituency who registers can turn up at the selection hustings and vote for the one they like.

That way they hope the candidate will have support from the community rather than just the select group of local party members.

But some Conservatives want to go much further.

on the American model.

, voters would register in their constituency according to the party they supported.

Anyone registering as Labour, Conservative or Lib Dem would then get a vote on who their party's candidate by a ballot rather than having to show up at a meeting.

The idea is to reconnect voters to their elected representatives

.

And the Tories have tried it..

, a problem that would have to be addressed.

It's an interesting idea, and credit to Carswell for pushing it hard at a time when I haven't heard too many other politicians coming up with great ideas of how to rebuild public trust.

Mind you, the more limited Primary taking place in Penrith this weekend doesn't appear to have generated a local candidate.

.

It's the second selection for a Conservative seat in the region that hasn't managed to find a local candidate worth putting to the vote.

, although rather bizarrely someone from that constituency has been shortlisted for Penrith and the Border!

The will have more on that this Sunday as we report live from the Primary.

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