Local Tories allege conflict of interest between MP candidates and association chair

Local Tories have expressed concerns about the selection process for the Conservative candidate for the parliamentary seat of the Cities of London and Westminster. 

They are calling on association chair Thomas Borwick to step aside after it was alleged three of the longlisted candidates for the seat are clients of his employer, College Green Group, where he is a director and listed as a person with significant control, according to Borwick’s LinkedIn account and Companies House records.

They are calling for the race to be re-run.

The current representative for the constituency, which includes Fitzrovia West, is Conservative MP Nickie Aiken, who announced earlier this year that she will not be standing at the next election.

It also emerged one of the candidates who applied for the seat was Borwick’s mother, former Kensington MP Victoria Borwick. The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands Victoria Borwick was not longlisted.

One source told the LDRS: “How could someone be objective when they had to consider their mum as a candidate? He should have stepped aside.

“It seems obvious to anyone that if someone has a financial interest in a process that they should recuse themselves from that process.”

They added: “I have got significant concerns about the process being tainted.”

It is understood the three longlisted candidates are former Tory candidate for Lewisham East Jonathan Clamp, former Loundsley Green and Newbold county candidate and Aberdeen North candidate Sanjoy Sen and communication consultant and Tory Reform Group national vice-chair Alex Challoner. 

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing for any of the candidates.

The LDRS has seen a WhatsApp group for College Green candidates where Thomas Borwick is an admin. The group, called “Prospective Candidates ’24”, includes Clamp and Sen.

Challoner said his website was developed by College Green last year during his bid to become the Conservative candidate for London Mayor and he has not used the consultancy for any other services. Clamp and Sen have not responded to LDRS attempts to contact them. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of these candidates.

Sources also claim Borwick sat on the influential sifting committee, which is responsible for longlisting candidates. It is understood Tory members will  vote from this list for their preferred candidate to represent the constituency at the next election.

The same source claims James Spencer, the treasurer for the Cities of London and Westminster Conservative Association and Tory candidate for the seat of St Albans, also sat on the sifting committee at the last minute after one of the panellists applied for the seat. 

The source said though it was not uncommon for an association chair to sit on the sifting committee, it was more unusual to have a candidate running for a separate seat to do so. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on Spencer’s part. They also claimed it was unusual that no sitting councillors were added to the longlist.

Both Borwick and Spencer have been contacted for comment. A vote on who will be the candidate for the Two Cities is expected to take place this weekend of 23 and 24 March.

Conservative Campaign Headquarters said it will not be commenting when contacted by the LDRS.

The LDRS understands the candidates on the longlist are: Tim Barnes, Sanjoy Sen, Jonathan Clamp, Jessica Stewart, Alex Challoner, Sarah Bool, Jamie Wallace.