Linda Jack blogged yesterday:
News comes to me from a very reliable source that one [Conservative] Cllr Peter Hand, lately of Nadine Dorries office, has resigned as a councillor on both the County and Borough. Not only that, but he has set in motion a domino effect. Two more candidates have resigned and others are due to follow.
Jonathan Isaby on ConservativeHome added to the story:
Over the last three weeks or so, I understand that no fewer than ten of the party’s 22 councillors or selected council candidates for next June’s elections have decided not to stand after all.
One insider has spoken to me about the situation, citing a sense of disillusionment within the group about its lack of vision and serious concerns about the visibility (or lack thereof) of a campaign on the ground.
And Bedfordshire on Sunday adds:
The group is riven with splits and allegations that rules have been changed to the advantage of ex-county Tories being slotted in to borough seats where sitting members have been deselected.
The problems are coming from North-East Bedfordshire Tories, according to those from the existing borough.
The source added: “The North-East Tories have unseated loyal hard working councillors like Nigel Sparrow from Clapham and Bob Harrison from Great Barford.
“Others, like Barry Huckle from Elstow, have been so disgusted by the machinations that they have decided to stand down rather than go through what they consider a degrading process. At the same time there are a number of vacant seats, such as Harrold and Sharnbrook where they haven’t even been selected yet.”
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Will they stand as Independents?
Looks like Richard Fuller the tory PPC is about to be told to resign then?
Is it true that he spends most of his time in New York!
When I have bumped into him he is always on his way to or from NY
So what’s the reckoning that the tory PPC from Bedford will be gone before Christmas?
It must be catching; our former Tory Leader in Sefton left and joined the Labour Party after a sustained bout of infighting, his ward colleague got suspended from the Tory group-tho reinstated after an appeal to the region-but only after their new leader had wished him and his wife a happy retirement in the local paper…it goes on and on and on….
According to today’s Bedfordshire on Sunday newspaper, things are going from bad to worse in Bedford:
Fall-out from Tory crisis talks
BY SIMON HUTCHINSON
Heated meetings, resignations, sackings – just another week of Tory turmoil.
Yet another two candidates will not be seeking election to the new unitary council in June.
Cllr Mollie Foster who represents Clapham Ward, and Cllr Tom Ashby, who represents Bromham on Bedford Borough Council have both confirmed that they will not be seeking re-election.
This brings the total number of Tories who have either been de-selected or have decided to call it a day to ten out of 20 councillors.
The latest names join a list which already includes, Cllrs Nigel Sparrow, Barry Huckle, Peter Hand, Jas Parmar, Robert Harrison, Michael Hurley, Tarsem Paul and John Tait.
Earlier in the week it also emerged that two candidates previously selected to contest Putnoe and Queens Park – former borough councillor Ralph Hall and Tariq Mahmood respectively – have informed the Chairman of the Bedford & Kempston Conservative Association, John Watson, they will also not be seeking election.
Last Saturday Tory big wigs held crisis talks in Bedford to discuss the worsening situation with MPs Alistair Burt and Nadine Dorries meeting the Chairman of the three local Conservative Associations and parliamentary candidate for Bedford and Kempston, Richard Fuller.
The meeting became very heated at one stage according to some Tories who were present.
Another incident this week saw Brickhill councillor Andrew McConnell being removed as a member of the scrutiny committee and replaced by Cllr Sparrow.
One Tory insider said: “We hoped that following the new year things would settle down and we could regain some momentum, but unfortunately they have only got worse.
“There’s a real lack of focus locally and there are major concerns that we won’t be able to find enough candidates, to fight all the seats we need to.
“If things carry on as they are, we could go from being the largest group on the council to a small rump of barely eight councillors with very little say or influence.”
Another Tory said: “Our candidates and councillors are dropping like flies, morale is very low among the candidates and activists and there is a real sense of disillusionment with the weak and ineffective leadership at the top of the group.
“Things are likely to get much worse before they get better and I know of at least three more candidates who are very unhappy and considering whether it’s going to be worth standing or not. There is even talk that a senior member may be considering a high-profile defection to the Lib Dems.”
Here is the link: http://www.bedsonsunday.com/bedsonsunday-news/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=382071