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We don't normally report on readoptions of sitting Conservative MPs but I am pleased to confirm that John Bercow was readopted as the Conservative candidate for Buckingham last night. A local Conservative told me that Mr Bercow made an "excellent" speech. That's one name that the Chief Whip can strike off his defection watchlist.
The Conservative leadership has suspended Andrew Pelling's party membership following his second wife's allegation that the MP for Croydon Central had assaulted her.
Last week ConservativeHome encouraged the Conservative Party to take decisive action and welcome this suspension.
The Daily Mail and Independent have the story.
It gets worse for Andrew Pelling MP.
Lucy Pelling, the Croydon Central MP's second wife who accused him of assault last week, has been interviewed for the News of the World (unpaid) and has made damaging claims about her husband:
A leader in the News of the World pours more criticism on Mr Pelling's head. The newspaper calls him a "super-snob" and a "Dishonourable Member". If he stands again for election, the newspaper writes, "we trust his constituents will remember what he thinks of them when he goes begging for their votes."
We still do not know Mr Pelling's side of the story but it's clear that the storm surrounding him is not going away.
On Friday ConservativeHome called for the party to mount an Ethics investigation into Mr Pelling's conduct. It is more vital than ever that that investigation takes place.
An operation to smear the Conservative candidate in Hammersmith, Shaun Bailey, is underway. A post on Paul Bristow's blog alerted ConservativeHome to a story on BLINK - the Black Information Link's website. BLINK has been sent a copy of a dossier - Shaun Bailey – a phenomenon or a fake?. It attempts to question Mr Bailey’s My Generation charity - which it dubs “a sham” - and accuses him of “extreme right-wing views.”
Mr Bailey told BLINK:
"I have always been open to any questions about my charity work, and in particular My Generation, which I set up to help young people in inner city London. My political views are well documented and if my political opponents want an open debate, at any time, I say bring it on."
The existence of the dossier appears to be confirmation that Labour sympathisers fear Mr Bailey's appeal amongst the large number of black voters in the Hammersmith seat. BLINK ends its report by saying that the existence of the dossier undermines Gordon Brown's professed commitment to a new kind of politics.
Simon Hart is Chief Exec of the Countryside Alliance.
The seat has a notional Labour majority of about 2000.
Deputy Editor
Sir Patrick Cormack is expected to win a vote of confidence of all local Tories in his continuing as South Staffordshire's MP. The result will be announced on Friday.
He has been interviewed by his local Express & Star newspaper about the saga that began when his executive officers voted for his deselection:
"I have tried very hard not to be angry. I have tried to be relaxed and behave normally when I have talked to people who I know jolly well have tried to put the knife between my shoulder blades. I have just had to grin and bear it."
"I had been led to believe my reselection would be a formality and I thought that would be the case because nobody has ever criticised the way I did the job either in the constituency or at Westminster. I went to the first selection meeting last February thinking there would be no problem."
Sir Patrick also explains why he was reported as threatening to stand as an independent:
"I am a loyal Conservative who has been proud to take the Conservative whip for the past 37 years and wish to continue to do so. But I do not regard myself as the Member of Parliament for the South Staffordshire Conservative Association. I am the Member of Parliament for South Staffordshire - and I think that attitude is at the root of my present problem. I do what I think is right for my constituents regardless of who they supported at the last election and if that doesn't always accord with party policy then tough luck."
Today's Daily Mail reports "grassroots fury" at Newark and Retford MP Patrick Mercer and Buckingham MP John Bercow - who agreed to undertake advisory roles for Gordon Brown last week.
The article by Ben Brogan provides little substance for believing that serious efforts will be made at deselection, however.
The strongest on-the-record quotation that could be found against Mr Mercer came from the leader of the Tory group on Newark and Sherwood council, Tony Roberts. Cllr Roberts told The Mail: "The bulk of people I have spoken to have concerns."
The strongest quote against Mr Bercow was still weaker. County councillor Bill Chappell said: "I would feel happier if John was feeding his expert knowledge into the Conservative machine."
More angry is the Conservative leadership. On Friday night Sir Malcolm Rifkind was authorised to attack Gordon Brown for making political appointments in order to score party political points.
Messrs Bercow and Mercer were criticised on last night's Westminster Hour programme by their fellow Conservative MP Nadine Dorries. Nadine Dorries said that opposition MPs were paid and elected to oppose the government and hold it to account. This did not mean that they had to be negative and confrontational, she said, but the two MPs were wrong to work for Gordon Brown.
The party is expanding on last year's campaigning awards to cover some other aspects of excellence in local branches:
Campaigning Award
"Have you undertaken a really successful campaign? Maybe you have prevented the closure of your local post office; or you achieved amazing results in the local elections?"
Social Action Award
"Every project, be it career-mentoring for under-privileged young
people, promoting healthy eating among children, internet lessons for
the elderly, or e-books to prepare students for life at university,
adds enormous value to the local community and makes a real difference
to people's lives."
The Membership and Affiliations Award
"We want to hear from you if you have reached out to a hitherto untapped section of the electorate; have run a successful membership drive; organised a series of discussion forums for a wider and new audience; or have recruited lots of extra volunteers to help with canvassing and leaflet drops."
Best "Communication Champion"
"The Communication Champions are playing a vital role in bringing us closer together. Working on the ground, the Communication Champions communicate and distribute messages and feedback throughout the country."
Click here for more info, the deadline for applications is in December. The prize ceremony will be in January but the prizes haven't been decided yet. Last year members in Bassetlaw went to America to visit the Republican Party as a reward for their success in campaigning.
Deputy Editor
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