Totnes primary

The Tories announce who will replace Anthony Steen as their candidate for Totnes today, having held an open primary in the Devon constituency.

Steen was the MP – now stepping down – who spent thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ cash doing up his country mansion, before accusing people of being jealous when confronted about it.

The idea of an open primary – where everyone can vote regardless of party membership – appeals to Lobbydog’s democratic soul.

Plus it’s a good move from a local party which needed to do something to divert attention away from the PR monster that Steen had become.

But the idea may fall dead if no-one has bothered to vote. It’s hard enough to get people to vote for their own parties in a general election, let alone someone else’s during a primary.

Eric Pickles says a turnout of 15% – about 10,000 people – would be considered a success. The result should come out at around half past midday.

UPDATE 1.25pm: There were 16,497 votes cast, a turnout of 24.6%. Quite a stunning figure.