DESELECT VERB (POLITICS)

Of a local constituency party in the UK: to reject (an established candidate, especially a sitting Member of Parliament) as its constituency candidate for an election. Etymology: Formed by adding the prefix de- (indicating reversal) to the verb select. This kind of formation with de- is characteristic of euphemistic verbs like deselect--compare dehire for 'sack' in the US (where deselect has also been used as a euphemism for 'dismiss'). History and Usage: The verb has been used in this sense in British politics since the very end of the seventies, when the Labour Party's reselection procedure made deselection a real danger for a number of Labour MPs. The practice was particularly common during the middle years of the eighties, and the word came to be used in other contexts (such as local government) at that time. Mr Woodall, MP for 12 years..., launched a bitter attack on his opponents in the NUM and local party who, he said, had 'connived' to deselect him. Daily Telegraph 24 Feb. 1986, p. 24 Echoes of a more turbulent past also emerged from the NEC's monthly meeting in the long-running dispute over Frank Field's deselection as Birkenhead's sitting MP. Guardian 28 June 1990, p. 20