The exclusion of Shapps has riled some local Tories. Wrenn said: “I've had dozens of local members write to me, some of whom have campaigned for Conservative candidates for 50 years, who are completely astonished. Alluding to the juxtaposition of Shapps’s exclusion and the row over Bonehill-Paine, Wrenn said: “The optics of it are horrible.” Wrenn suggested Shapps’s exclusion could cost the Conservatives “several thousand” votes at the next general election owing to his name recognition in Welwyn Hatfield in comparison to other potential candidates. The Conservative Party has been contacted for comment.