The Yorkshire Party chooses the ex-Tory and PBer

David Herdson, who for nearly a decade used to post the Saturday morning slot on PB, has been selected by the Yorkshire Party for the upcoming Wakefield by-election.

He is a former chairman of the  Shipley Conservative Association and then the Wakefield District Conservative Association but left the party in 2019 because of the stance on Brexit. He set out his reasons in a PB post in August 2019.:

In truth, Brexit has become for the Conservatives what nationalisation is for the Corbynite Labour Party: an end in itself, to be achieved irrespective of cost and with any practical benefits as an incidental bonus. It is a revolutionary ideology unworthy of the Conservative Party, not least because it fails to consider the likely counter-productive political and social consequences of delivering Brexit in such harsh manner.

In the recent mayoral election in that part of Yorkshire his new party came in third place in Wakesfield with more than 12% of the vote.

Having worked with David for such a long period I have great respect for his political skills and my guess is that he has the potential to do well in the by-election provided he has the resources and activists to run a competitive campaign. He will be helped by the circumstances that led to the vacancy being created which looks like a negative for the Tories.

I will be making a personal donation to his campaign and have a longshot bet at 42/1 on Smarkets.

Betting update (1035) I’ve just got 130/1 with Ladbrokes

Mike Smithson