The Daily Telegraph reports that certain members of her local Conservative Association want Julie Kirkbride MP to reverse her 28th May decision to stand down at the next General Election.
She should resist those calls. Some of the hysteria of the expenses-gate period may have ended but the public remains turned off politicians. Norwich North has provided lots of evidence on that front.
Ms Kirkbride could probably win readoption from her local Association if she insists upon it and then survive an independent challenge at the General Election from a Martin Bell-style anti-sleaze candidate. What she will be doing, however, if she pursues that route will be causing damage to other Tory candidates. Her own local fight against an anti-sleaze candidate would earn lots of unwanted national media attention and will undermine David Cameron's message that he has cleaned up the parliamentary party. The Conservatives will lose votes across the country and that might be the difference for some candidates between winning and losing.
There are currently thirteen plum Tory seats seeking candidates. Although the last retirement announcement was on 27th June (David Maclean MP) half-a-dozen more departures are likely this year. Some MPs have made the decision to go but want to put some months between their announcement and expenses-gate so that they can enjoy a "clean resignation". Others are undecided and, almost inevitably, some MPs won't make a final decision until the very last moment. We'll probably get to 20 to 25 resignations by General Election time.
Tim Montgomerie
