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Blunt now faces a postal ballot of 500 or so local party members, the outcome of which will reveal much about the Tory modernisation plan. The schism in Reigate is between a socially conservative executive and a more open-minded support base; a fault-line often replicated in the party across the country. It helps to explain why, for instance, on the one hand, the party leadership is committed to welcoming prospective candidates of all backgrounds but, on the other hand, minority prospective candidates don’t get a fair crack at constituency selection events without there being a strong national ‘steer’.
The expectation is that Blunt will win. It is inconceivable that a majority of party members would share the executive’s view that being gay means a candidate, however meritorious, should be snuffed out of the political process. But, the result on 18th November will have ramifications for the wider Conservative Party.
Imran Khan was a councillor in Reigate between 2008-12 and campaigns on Citizenship issues. He tweets @immikhan
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