Firstly let me say that Peter Hobbins is an incredibly silly man, very silly indeed...............and, dare I say it, so is David Cameron.

Peter Hobbins has rightly been slated by colleagues and the media for his act of stupidity. David Cameron has received no criticism for his act of stupidity, an act which is in fact a far greater act of stupidity than that of his Conservative Party colleague.

Affirmative action does not work. It was a fashionable fad in the late eighties and during the nineties and has since then been totally discredited everywhere it’s been applied. The catastrophic results of its failure are still evident today in many government organisations across the United Kingdom and United States of America.

Indeed, the current disastrous labour government are a prime example of its total failure – Jacqui Smith and Caroline Flint, promoted to top jobs solely due to their gender and yet totally inept and unsuited to the job they were handed on a platter. Predictably, failure, humiliation and the sack followed.

Yet ‘Disastrous’ Dave Cameron appears intent on proving that anything labour can do, he can do better! Imposing shortlists on constituencies won’t work and will only alienate grass root Conservatives and floating voters. In an MP, I look for a person who has knowledge on, and understanding of, local issues combined with common sense. Any person parachuted in by Conservative Central Office will not have the former and will, by virtue of the fact that they have allowed them to be put on an ‘Affirmative Action List’, have shown that they do not possess the latter either.

Time for a rethink, Dave. Don’t let Orpington become your Waterloo!