still in

race

for Tory

hot seat

TATTON Tories have whittled down the search for Neil Hamilton's successor to eight names.

But this week the selection committee remained tight-lipped about who had successfully passed last weekend's gruelling exam at Radbroke Barn.

All new constituency agent Hayley Brown would reveal was that the association had chosen the 'best' candidates - and only the final four names were likely to be publicised.

"The association is still discussing that particular situation," she said.

But she confirmed that the original shortlist of 23 would never be revealed.

This week one party insider revealed that the applicants did include candidates who had fought previous general elections.

But none of the expected big names is believed to be on the list.

As the Guardian went to press, it was also not known how many - if any - local candidates had made it through to the second stage of selection.

The selection committee - made up of 13 association members - questioned the 23 candidates on campaigning track record, knowledge of local electors' concerns, political opinions, public speaking ability, leadership and integrity at Radbroke Barn at the weekend.

The next stage of the selection process takes place on March 7 when the eight candidates will be whittled down to four after a grilling from representatives of constituency branches.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.