Since 2009, the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

in the United Kingdom has experimented with the use of

open primaries Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

to select some parliamentary candidates. The first primaries were held ahead of the 2010 general election. More than a dozen primaries were held ahead of the 2015 general election.

Selection committee

The members of the selection committee are as follows:

2010 general election

Primaries were held in a few seats, including

Oxford West and Abingdon Oxford West and Abingdon is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Layla Moran, a Liberal Democrat. History Creation The seat was created in 1983 as part of the reconfiguration of those in the coun ...

, Totnes, Gosport and Bracknell.

Totnes

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-so ...

was the first constituency to use an

open primary Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

to select the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

prospective parliamentary candidate. The election was held in August 2009 and saw a turnout of approximately 25%. Due to the success of this primary election,

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

announced that the system would be applied to other constituencies in future. Dr Sarah Wollaston, a general practitioner, was selected with 48% of the vote. Wollaston went on to be elected MP for Totnes at the 2010 general election.

Bracknell

The

Bracknell Bracknell () is a large town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Built-up Area, Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the Bracknell Forest, Borough of Bracknell Forest. It l ...

primary was held in October 2009, and was won by Phillip Lee. Other candidates included

Rory Stewart Roderick James Nugent Stewart (born 3 January 1973) is a British academic, diplomat, author, broadcaster, former soldier and former politician. He is the president of GiveDirectly, a visiting fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute for G ...

(elected as MP for Penrith and the Border in 2010) and broadcaster

Iain Dale Iain Campbell Dale (born 15 July 1962) is a British broadcaster, author and political commentator, and a former publisher and book retailer. He has been a blogger since 2002. In 2005, he became the first openly gay Conservative candidate to c ...

Gosport

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...

held an open primary to select a candidate to succeed

Peter Viggers Sir Peter John Viggers (13 March 1938 – 19 March 2020) was a British Conservative politician and lawyer who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Gosport for 36 years, from 1974 to 2010. He stepped down as a result of the investigati ...

upon his retirement from Westminster. The election was held in December 2009.

Caroline Dinenage Caroline Julia Dinenage, Baroness Lancaster of Kimbolton, (born 28 October 1971), also styled as Dame Caroline Dinenage, is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gosport since 2010. She was re- ...

, a local business owner and daughter of

Fred Dinenage Frederick Edgar Dinenage MBE (born 8 June 1942) is an English author and retired broadcaster and television presenter. His television career spanned nearly 60 years, including the long-running children's programme ''How'' and ITV's regional pro ...

, was selected with 38% of the vote. Dinenage was elected MP for Gosport at the 2010 general election, with an increased majority.

Clacton by-election, 2014

The

2014 Clacton by-election The 2014 by-election for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons constituency of Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton in Essex, England, took place on 9 October 2014. The by-election was triggered by the Conservative ...

, caused by the defection from the Conservatives of

Douglas Carswell John Douglas Wilson Carswell (born 3 May 1971) is a British former politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 2005 to 2017, co-founded Vote Leave and currently serves as president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. ...

, a prominent advocate of open primaries, selected actor

Giles Watling Giles Francis Watling (born 18 February 1953) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician serving as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton since ...

over Colchester councillor Sue Lissimore on 11 September.

Rochester and Strood by-election, 2014

The candidate for the 2014 Rochester and Strood by-election, caused by the defection from the Conservative Party of

Mark Reckless Mark John Reckless (born 6 December 1970) is a British politician who served as a Member of the Senedd (MS) for South Wales East from 2016 until 2021, having previously served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochester and Strood from 2010 to ...

to the

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...

(UKIP), was chosen by a postal open primary.By-election update: All voters to get chance to have a say in choosing Tory successor to Mark Reckless in Rochester and Strood
KentOnLine

Kelly Tolhurst Kelly Jane Tolhurst (born 23 August 1978) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochester and Strood since 2015. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as Minister of State for Schools and Childhood ...

, a local councillor, narrowly won over fellow councillor

Anna Firth Annalissa Firth (, born 1965 or 1966) is a British politician and former barrister who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Southend West since the 2022 by-election. A member of the Conservative Party, she was also a councillor on Se ...

. Tolhurst lost the by-election to Reckless, but later won the seat at the following year's general election. Firth would go on to become an MP succeeding Sir

David Amess David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...