Shortlist of Tory hopefuls who face Dragons’ Den showdown in battle for Kensington

 
Kensington battle: L-R Charlotte Vere, Victoria Borwick, Shaun Bailey
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Boris Johnson waded into the Kensington selection battle today by endorsing Deputy Mayor Victoria Borwick to become MP in the hotly contested seat.

She is one of three shortlisted candidates who will face a Dragons’ Den-style grilling at Kensington town hall on Friday night.

More than 400 local members are expected to turn out to choose a winner to succeed Sir Malcolm Rifkind as MP. The other names are Charlotte Vere, the outspoken acting general secretary of the Independent Schools Council, and Shaun Bailey, the charity founder who has advised David Cameron on youth issues.

They were picked at a sifting session held at Conservative headquarters where local party officers were made to sign secrecy contracts, party sources have told the Evening Standard.

They were then handed a longlist of six names and invited to pick three for the shortlist.

Tory HQ refused to name the three knocked out, but they are thought to have included local Kensington councillor Mary Weale and No 10 adviser Laura Trott, who is now being tipped for Horsham.

Reactions to the list on the ConservativeHome website were mixed. “Not the worst shortlist in the world, but nothing to get excited about either,” said one respondent, calling himself ToryAnorak. “Each of them is a tokenistic candidate. The popular but incredibly weak local. The women’s issues champion ... the inner-city youth and minorities issues spokesman.”

But HackneyHaddock said: “Brilliant candidates, all three of them. Best of luck all round.”

Mr Johnson’s praise for Mrs Borwick could prove critical in a close-run contest. He was silent until now because two other members of his team were in the running but he told the Standard: “I’m absolutely delighted for Victoria. She’s been a great support to me as Deputy Mayor — she’s relentlessly positive, super-keen and incredibly hardworking and diligent.

“Above all else she loves London and she would be a fantastic advocate for every single resident in K&C.”

Candidates will be given three minutes to make their case on Friday, followed by questions from the hall, chaired by former MP Rob Hayward.

Charlotte Vere

Currently the voice of the Independent Schools Council, Vere, 46, has worked in the private sector for 25 years in a variety of businesses, including digital recruitment. She got into politics relatively recently, joining Zac Goldsmith’s local campaign team in 2009, and was picked to stand for the Tories in Brighton Pavilion in 2010, losing to Caroline Lucas. She went on to be a director of the No to AV campaign in the 2011 referendum.

Shaun Bailey

The youth worker and former adviser to David Cameron was born in north Kensington. Raised by his mother, he went to Henry Compton School in Fulham and found a passion for gymnastics. After a South Bank University degree he founded a charity to help young people deal with anti-social behaviour, drug abuse, crime and unemployment. Aged 43, he stood for Hammersmith in 2010 but lost.

Victoria Borwick

The “local one” was born in W8, raised her four children there, and was a local councillor. Aged 58, she is backed by Boris Johnson, for whom she acts as regular stand-in for events. Properly, she is styled as Lady Borwick, being married to a hereditary peer. Has performed lots of roles for the Tory Party, including director of fundraising. Stood for Mayor twice under the banner, “A redhead, not Red Ken.” Her professional life was in events management.

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