The next Bracknell parliamentary election will decide who will become the Bracknell constituency's Member of Parliament to the Fifty-Fifth Parliament of the United Kingdom. The election will happen on or before June 3, 2010. The constituency has been described as safe Conservative Party territory, with the smallest difference in vote share between a Conservative and non-Conservative in a parliamentary election being 13.3% in 2001. The constituency's only ever Member of Parliament, Andrew MacKay, as a result of the disclosure of expenses of Members of the United Kingdom Parliament, dropped his run for re-election in May 2009. The local Conservatives are currently picking a new candidate, whilst the two other historically major parties in the area, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, have chosen their candidates as John Piasecki and Ray Earwicker respectively.

Background

Called one of the Conservative Party's safest seats by BBC News,^[1] the constituency of Bracknell has voted in a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) since 1997, when the constituency was created. At the 1997 United Kingdom general election, Andrew MacKay was elected with 47.4% of the vote,^[2] and in 2001 with 46.6%^[2] followed in 2005 with 49.7%.^[3] The closest MacKay came to losing was in 2001, when the Labour Party's Janet Keene gained 16,249 votes to MacKay's 22,962, with Keene's share of the vote being 33.0%.^[2]

At the 2009 European Parliament election for the United Kingdom, the Conservatives came first in the Bracknell constituency, repeating their position from 2004, as did the United Kingdom Independence Party when they came second, and the Liberal Democrats when they came third. Compared to 2004, Labour fell from fourth to fifth, and the Green Party rose from fifth to fourth. In 2009, the British National Party came sixth.^[4]

Andrew MacKay withdraws

Sometime after his 2005 re-election, MacKay was nominated by the Bracknell Conservative Party to become the Conservatives' prospective parliamentary candidate for the next parliamentary election. However, around mid-May 2009, as a result of the disclosure of expenses of Members of the United Kingdom Parliament, it was discovered that he had "a full second home allowance towards a London property on which he had a joint mortgage with his wife", MP Julie Kirkbride. On May 22 MacKay was shouted at by constituents during his weekly surgery as a response and, after a phone call with Conservative Party leader David Cameron the morning of May 23, MacKay announced he would no longer seek re-election.^[5]

Prospective parliamentary candidates

British National Party

Mark Burke, a councillor^[6] and as of April 29, 2008, a member of Ruscombe Parish Council,^[7] is the British National Party's prospective parliamentary candidate.^[6]

Conservative Party

With the withdrawal of MacKay as the party's prospective parliamentary candidate, a new one will be decided. Applicants need to appear before a Bracknell Conservative Association selection panel, and if approved will be put on a ballot slip. The following have been put down as potential and actual applicants:

• Paul Bettison: Since 1997 he has been the leader of the Bracknell Forest Council. He is also the chairman of the Local Government Association (LGA) environment board, and a member of the LGA executive, rural commission and urban commission. He has said, "I am considering it [applying], but I'm still undecided".^[8]
• Tina Mackenzie-Boyle: A former national newspaper journalist, she is the chairwoman of Crowthorne Parish Council.^[8]
• Frank Browne: Served as the leader of Wokingham Borough Council from 2002 to 2008.^[8]
• Ian Manners: Former brother-in-law to the President of the United States, Barack Obama. He's a businessman who has said he had written a letter to the Conservative Association expressing an interest, but reported that he would only consider standing if the expenses system for Members of Parliament is changed.^[1] He has, since then, become an applicant.^[9] The 56-year-old contended that if he became the Conservative candidate, he would campaign on improving secondary education in Bracknell, giving support for small businesses, and reforming the MPs' expenses system.^[9] He denied he would use his link to Obama for a political advantage.^[9]

Green Party

The party's prospective parliamentary candidate is David Young, described as having been a "voluntary adviser on all topics at the Bracknell Citizens' Advice Bureau". He was a school governor for eight years.^[8]

Independents

Two people have so far been put forward as possible independent candidates:

• Paul Bidwell: An ex-naval engineer, Bidwell is a member of the Bracknell Royal Naval Association and Binfield Royal British Legion. He also organizes Bracknell Armed Forces Day.^[8]
• Jeremy Kyle: Host of The Jeremy Kyle Show.^[8]

Labour Party

Labour will be represented by John Piasecki, a Bracknell Forest Council member for Great Hollands^[8] from November 1998 to May 2007.

Liberal Democrats

Ray Earwicker, the Mayor of Sandhurst from 1997 to 1999, and a Bracknell Forest Council member for College Town from 2003 to 2007, is the Liberal Democrats's prospective parliamentary candidate.^[8]

United Kingdom Independence Party

The United Kingdom Independence Party is represented by Murray Barter, who ran in the Bullbrook ward by-election in February 2008, coming third behind Labour and the Conservatives.^[10]

Footnotes

External links

• Bracknell Conservatives website
• East Berkshire Greens website's Bracknell category
• Bracknell Liberal Democrats website
• Berkshire United Kingdom Independence Party website