Matthew's Journal

Hum. My mother wouldn't have been able to stand in the unwinnable seat she stood in under that rule, having only been asked to do so (and able to do so) about two months ahead of time. While she's probably going to be moving to somewhere in the area in the next couple of years, there's no guarantee she'd find or want to find a house within the exact constituency she stood for.

The alternative in that case this year would have been no LibDem candidate, and given she got 20% of the vote without huge effort I think that would have been unfair on the LibDem voters. While I think that the local party concerned could have been more organised, it's actually quite hard to get people committed enough to stand for parliament at all. I think forcing them to move house every time they're asked to stand in an unwinnable seat is a bit much. (Winnable seats are a different matter).

As there are a lot more people standing for seats they won't win than people standing with a chance of winning, your suggestion would simply reduce the number of candidates in every seat, and the ability for people to register "protest" votes.

Living somewhere for a year doesn't magically make you a perfect expert on it, it's a lot more to do with how much effort you are willing to put in to learn from the locals, and your commitment to move to the area if you do well. I'd also say it was living in the *area* not the exact constituency that mattered, and your ability/willingness to be available to your constituents.

Both my parents have represented council wards they don't live in for 15+ years. My dad moved into his ward after the divorce, but before that they were both living in a village five miles away. Not a huge barrier when you visit the relevant town nearly every day, and you have regular surgeries, and your constituents have your phone number and postal address (and email address these days).