Today's Times reports that Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare has rejoined the Conservative Party through local associations in Vauxhall and South Cambridgeshire. The best-selling storyteller and former Deputy Tory Chairman was given a five year ban from Conservative Party membership by William Hague in February 2000. That ban was made after he was sent to prison for perjury.
Lord Archer may soon reapply to sit with other Tories in the House of Lords. Michael Howard washed his hands of the matter, telling The Times: "That will be a decision for my successor. I won’t do anything to embarrass my successor.” Messrs Davis and Cameron were unwilling to comment.
Deciding whether or not to forgive Jeffrey Archer will just be one of the headaches that will greet the incoming Tory leader. Restoring Tory finances will be of migraine proportions. Streams of income have dried up during the leadership interregnum.
If, as is now almost certain, David Cameron becomes Tory leader his EPP commitment will cause some discomfort. The more Europhile Conservative Members of the European Parliament are very unhappy about quitting the EPP. At the Frimley Hustings on Wednesday Mr Cameron appeared to kick his EPP commitment into the long grass with the announcement that his Shadow Foreign Secretary will determine the timing of the exit.
Jeffrey Archer returning to the Lords as a Tory - could William Aitken become his research assistant?
Posted by: Guido Fawkes | 26 November 2005 at 09:58
If DC wins this will be a splendid opportunity for him to put into practice all that stuff about rehab.
"A serious-minded approach to re-introducing prisoners into mainstream work and life after prison is also required if we are to make any dent in the appalling figures for re-offending from which we suffer at present." (DC website)
What better than giving Archer his old job back?
Posted by: Wat Tyler | 26 November 2005 at 10:17
A splendid opportunity to "Just say no!"
Posted by: Gillibrand | 26 November 2005 at 10:42
Let us see how Cameron flip-flops on this issue.
I shall have a commission on the subject.
No!
I shall leave it to an incoming Party Chair.
No!
This is an issue that occurred before I became an MP so I will not comment.
No!
I will not have an opinion until a few weeks before the next election, it is too soon to be making decisions about these things.
and on and on......
Posted by: John Coulson | 26 November 2005 at 11:35
Lord Archer has served his sentence, both in prison and with the expiry of Hague's "ban". I see no problem with readmitting him to the party. I'm sure many other members have criminal pasts, and the only difference here is that Archer's is well known.
Posted by: James Hellyer | 26 November 2005 at 11:42
Is it too much Mr Coulson for you to actually assume that a fellow Conservative will actually do what is right.
Its about time these petty unnecessay attacks on DC stopped!
Posted by: Jack Stone | 26 November 2005 at 11:46
Jack - Cameron is not a fellow Conservative. He may be a fellow member of the human race but that is about where my association wih him ends.
Posted by: John Coulson | 26 November 2005 at 11:50
And what do you think is the right thing in this instance, Jack?
Posted by: James Hellyer | 26 November 2005 at 11:54
I suppose he has a legitimate right to rejoin the Party, but if he cares anything at all for the Tory Party, the best thing he can do is stay as far away as possible. He is a known serial liar and a typical example of why the public distrusts politicians.
Posted by: Shaun | 26 November 2005 at 12:08
Liam Fox "
"I'm sure that in line with people having served their sentence and having done some reparations for what they did wrong, we would look at that sympathetically.
"I don't believe in vindictiveness, I don't think that has any place in politics, unlike the prime minister and Alastair Campbell."
It would have been nice though if Archer had put aside his ego and desire to create controversy to sell his new book and as a supporter of the Party thought about how he could best serve it and not himself.
Posted by: Ted | 26 November 2005 at 12:34
James Hellyer - throughout this leadership race your advice to the Tory Party on this blog has been so wrong-headed that I suppose no one should be surprised to see you leap to the defence of the disgraced "Lord" Archer. Half the problem we've had as a party in recent years is an inability to see ourselves as others see us and that pathology is epitomised by the repulsive, ego-tripping and profoundly corrupt Aroher. As for John Coulson, I've never come across a more obvious UKIP defector in the making...
Posted by: Tory T | 26 November 2005 at 12:41
Considering I am a pro-European,liberal conservative I hardly think that is an astute assessment. I will certainly (if you look at the Telegraph endorsement blog) vote Lib Dem if they get their act together on tax and the conservatives apoptose by selecting Cameron as leader.
I was a ferocious fan of Michael Howard, IDS and William Hague. They are all Conservatives. Cameron is not.
Posted by: John Coulson | 26 November 2005 at 12:47
If a Cameroon-led party conducts life-time purges against anyone who has ever embarrassed the party, does that apply to anyone who had their fingerprints on the decision to enter the ERM?
Posted by: Long memory | 26 November 2005 at 12:50
Yes, and who had a role in the writing of a 2005 manifesto that was widely lampooned in the press? Also, crafting a speech for a Home Secretary that contained the line: "Prison works", which nearly destroyed an excellent politician.
All of this is almost as bad as snorting cocaine.
Thank goodness David Cameron is the voice of reason in th Conservative Party.
Posted by: John Coulson | 26 November 2005 at 12:56
"I was a ferocious fan of Michael Howard, IDS and William Hague. They are all Conservatives. Cameron is not. "
"Thank goodness David Cameron is the voice of reason in th Conservative Party."
Explanation please Mr Coulson
Posted by: Puzzled | 26 November 2005 at 13:00
I really think accepting Archer back into the Party is a bad idea. Hes an ex-con. What will the papers do? They will love that story and Labour will stereotype the Conservative Party as the Party that accepts ex-cons and liars back into the Party. The publi will buy that story too.
If Cameron accepts him back I will be supremely disappointed in him. He needs to set a precedent.
Posted by: James Maskell | 26 November 2005 at 13:13
I'm sure many other members have criminal pasts, and the only difference here is that Archer's is well known.
Posted by: James Hellyer | 26 November 2005 at 11:42
I find it disturbing that the Conservative Party has so many members with "criminal pasts".........how can you be so sanguine knowing that birds of a feather are flocking together ?
Posted by: Rick | 26 November 2005 at 13:14
I don't think 'puzzled' has ever heard of sarcasm.
Posted by: John Coulson | 26 November 2005 at 13:41
I find it disturbing that the Conservative Party has so many members with "criminal pasts"
I think all parties are likely to have some members who have a criminal record. Why would the Conservative party be any different?
Posted by: James Hellyer | 26 November 2005 at 14:00
James Hellyer - throughout this leadership race your advice to the Tory Party on this blog has been so wrong-headed that I suppose no one should be surprised to see you leap to the defence of the disgraced "Lord" Archer
You'll forgive me for dismissing your views out of hand, but the jackboot Conservatism your posts have embodied, Tory Thug, reveal you have no right to speak about how things are perceived.
Posted by: James Hellyer | 26 November 2005 at 14:04
Anyone who for one moment thinks its sensible to say that David Cameron is not a conservative would I suspect say the same thing about anyone who had views that were slightly to the left of Gengkis Khan.
On the matter of Lord Archer the right thing I believe to do about him is allow him to rejoin the party.
He as paid his debt to society and should be allowed to rebuild his life. If we were to say he should not be allowed to rejoin we would be sending a message to all those who have made mistakes in there life or broken the law that we don`t believe people can change.
Posted by: Jack Stone | 26 November 2005 at 14:52
James, I wouldn't rise to him. The party will snap out of this trance that the Notting Hill set seems to have put them under when the polls don't improve and policies are designed on an ad hoc basis with considerable room for the U-turn.
I don't think I can stomach Ed Vaizey and Michael Gove becoming the faces of the Conservative party.
Posted by: John Coulson | 26 November 2005 at 14:52
Why is there this belief that I am an ardent right winger?
I am not, I want the Tory party to become a moderate party that has strong ideas how to reform public services, offer affordable tax cuts and become a strong player in Europe. What I do not want is to become the party of expediency and moral corruption, with no set of guiding, underlying principles.
Posted by: John Coulson | 26 November 2005 at 14:56
Why is there this belief that I am an ardent right winger?
I am not,
It is called a smear.
Posted by: Rick | 26 November 2005 at 15:20
"I suspect say the same thing about anyone who had views that were slightly to the left of Gengkis Khan."
I always imagined Genghis Khan would be a Lib Dem.
Posted by: John Hustings | 26 November 2005 at 15:30