More actions
The March 3013 Wiltshire Conservative Party Leadership Election was an in-party election which, for the first time ever, allowed Conservative Party members to elect their Leader. The election was trigger on March 9, 3013 when incumbent Leader, Edward Jellico, was removed from office as Renly Stork formed a new government following the 3013 vote of no confidence in the Jellico Ministry.
Jellico announced his resignation as Leader of the Party during his farewell address, his deputy (Martin Banks) replaced him as Acting Leader until being elected in his own right - becoming the first Conservative Leader of the Opposition since Jaresh Inyo in 3010.
Procedure
The rules of the Conservative Party for the election in 3013 was;
- Upon the resignation of the Leader, there shall be an election for their successor within 2 weeks of their formal submitting to the National Executive.
- Nominations shall be granted to candidates who obtain 15% (3 AMs or 8 CCAs) of the Parliamentary Conservative Party or 15% of the Constituency Conservative Party Associations.
- All nominated candidates shall go to a vote of the Parliamentary Conservative Party. There shall be successive votes until two nominated candidates remain.
- Those two remaining candidates shall be put to a poll of the general membership, with the triumphant candidate becoming Leader.
This process was put in place in 3012 by the Conservative Party Rules Review, headed up by Edward Jellico. This was the first of 11 leadership elections to use it as a basic outline.
Complaints were made by declared candidates who could not obtain the 10% required to be nominated, however, these were mostly ignored by the elected leadership following the election.
Candidates
Declared
- Martin Banks (Chancellor of the Exchequer; Deputy Prime Minister; Deputy Leader)
- Steve Walmack (Former Education Minister; Former Inyo Chief of Staff; Backbencher)
- Karen Finch (Chief Secretary to the Treasury)
- Hadrian Kipling (Backbencher; Leader of the Progressive Backbench Group)
Nominations
| Candidate | Nominations (AMs) | Nominations (CCAs) | Nominated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Banks | 13 (56.2%) | 29 (56.9%) | Yes |
| Karen Finch | 6 (26.1%) | 10 (19.6%) | Yes |
| Hadrian Kipling | 2 (8.7%) | 10 (19.6%) | Yes |
| Steve Walmack | 2 (8.7%) | 2 (3.9%) | No |
Steve Walmack was the only candidate to fail to obtain the required amount of support to be nominated.
Results
Parliamentary Conservative Party Vote
This vote was held to narrow down the field of candidates from the 3 nominated to the 2 which would go to a vote of the Party Membership. Martin Banks and Karen Finch went onto the vote of the party membership following this stage.
| Candidate | Vote | % |
|---|---|---|
| Martin Banks | 16 | 69.6% |
| Karen Finch | 4 | 17.4% |
| Hadrian Kipling | 3 | 13.0% |
Membership vote
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Martin Banks | 39,650 | 85.0% |
| Karen Finch | 6,993 | 15.0% |
| Total | 46,643 | 100% |
Martin Banks was elected and would serve as Leader of the Conservative Party until his resignation in January 3015.