Sir, – I have been puzzled by the appointment of Rishi Sunak who was selected from several candidates to succeed William Hague as the prospective Conservative candidate for Richmond. In my view two of the other candidates were better qualified to represent North Yorkshire constituents and having recently encountered Mr Sunak in Leyburn market, I am still not convinced that he is the right person to represent our party locally.

However the penny may have dropped with regard to the selection of Mr Sunak. Recently, the Daily Telegraph quoted Grant Shapps, Conservative party chairman, as saying "the [Conservative] party would field more women and ethnic minority candidates than ever before – 35 per cent of prospective Conservative MPs are women and 20 per cent of the most winnable seats will be fought by black and Asian candidates".

This statement from Tory high command makes one wonder whether the choice of prospective candidates has more to do with achieving Conservative Party targets than ensuring that local people get the right MP for their area.

Mr Sunak’s selection was swift and largely unheralded. Few locally, apart from the faithful Richmond Conservative party members who overwhelmingly voted him in, appear to have heard of Mr Sunak. Both Press and tv/radio, national and regional, have been surprisingly mute on the matter, apart from the photograph and editorial in the D&S Times immediately after his selection.

In view of Mr Shapps’ comments in the national press, is it possible that Mr Sunak’s appointment was more from 10 Downing Street rather than from any genuine belief at local party level that he was the right candidate?

Only time will tell whether Mr Sunak is primarily going to focus on his constituency work rather than be a rising star in the Conservative Party concentrating on his Policy Exchange role as head of the BME Research Unit.

ROBERT BROWN

Springfield Close, Leyburn.