Would you be mad to stand for the Tories at the next election? Not necessarily...

With the parliamentary party facing electoral oblivion, this could be the ideal time to join, says Sean O’Grady

Richard Holden is sending out the message that his party needs talented people (PA)

Conservative Party chair Richard Holden has written to his parliamentary colleagues asking them to recruit some “talented and dedicated” individuals to stand for the party at the next general election. He asked MPs to scout for “individuals who want to serve their country and join our team… as we all know that we don’t win marginals without having a candidate in place.”

Unfortunately, if predictably, his plaintive letter has been leaked and has attracted some ridicule for sounding a bit desperate.

Are the Conservatives short of talent?

Joking apart, one of the drawbacks of a long period of uninterrupted rule is that people get stale and the backbenches tend to fill up with former ministers and members whose career prospects are over – “the dispossessed and the never-possessed” as Sir John Major once described them. One advantage of a general election, therefore, is an infusion of new talent and ideas.

Who are the Conservatives looking for?

Anyone with a pulse, a wag might say. Sadly, they look to be recruiting very much from the usual quarters and in their own image. Holden suggests examples such as “the local champion, the small business owner, a local activist through to a successful public figure which you may have come across in your position as a member of parliament”. The notion of recruiting a teacher or unskilled worker seems not to have crossed the minds of the Tory high command, and there’s not a mention of diversity.

Why don’t ‘talented and dedicated’ people want to stand?

Because they’ll probably lose at this election and it would be a waste of their time. The problem with rebuilding a party in opposition comes when it has such poor prospects that too many able individuals will be deterred by long years in the wilderness. Even if they win their seat, they must calculate that their prime years in the Commons will be spent in opposition. For those in their 30s or 40s being asked to risk good careers to go into politics full time, it’s not an attractive prospect.

Is there a shortage of Tory candidates because normal people won’t apply?

Not exactly, though that possibility does arise, amusingly, in the Holden letter: “We know the majority of normal people would never think about becoming a member of parliament, police and crime commissioner, mayor or councillor without being asked.” This is perhaps not the most tactful thing to say to parliamentary colleagues.

What can the party do?

In the most barren of prospects – for example, in Liverpool – the party will have to put up “paper candidates” who may not even live in the constituency. They may not be as talented and dedicated as Mr Holden would wish, either. It is essential for the Conservatives to compete in every British seat so that every ballot paper has a Conservative candidate to vote for. Aside from that, it maximises vote share.

Is it mad to stand for the Conservatives at the next election?

Not necessarily. There are quite rational career reasons to get into parliament in what looks to be a very difficult year. Assuming you can nab one of the few remaining safe seats, it’s probably a job for life, and since the party is likely to haemorrhage MPs, there will be less competition for roles in the shadow government, on select committees and the like. And standing in a more marginal seat, however unwinnable this time, might help build support for next time, if you can stand the wait.

Assuming the party one day swings back to the centre ground, you have the chance to make a name for yourself and secure a good position in the long march back to power. This is precisely what a 30-year-old Tony Blair did when he became an MP in 1983, a disastrous year for Labour; he was PM by the age of 43. It took time and some occasional tacking to the left for Blair to achieve his ambition but it proves that, if you’re young, ambitious and patient, being in opposition needn’t be all bad. The next Tory prime minister may be elected for the first time next year.