Cash back or not, Tories don’t deserve to win Westminster North
Last night Iain Dale was “astonished and gutted” over the announcement that the Tory candidate in Westminster North, Joanne Cash, had stood down amid party infighting. Now there is a mad scramble to try clear up the mess as Paul Waugh reports this afternoon.
Cash has tweeted today in such a way to indicate that ‘rumours’ should not distract from the election – but according to the Daily Mail Conservative central office had already confirmed that Cash had resigned. However, he added: ‘This is a local association matter. We don’t have anything further to add at this time.’
Joanne Cash is standing against the Labour MP Karen Buck, whose commitment to the constituency has even earned her praise from other parties – she was described by the Green candidate in a recent local by-election as ‘a good MP’ who she would hate to see lose.
Perhaps Cash will be reinstated – but either way the chaotic infighting in the local Conservative association indicates that whatever the outcome they don’t deserve to win the seat from Karen Buck.
What a silly thing to say. A lot of people feel the Labour Party “don’t deserve” to win a single seat in May. It’ll take a lot more than a couple of Tories in a single association throwing their toys about, or a Watermelon praising a fellow left winger, to justify that it should be otherwise.
Im not entirely sure it was just a couple of torys throwing their toys about, well that certainly wasn’t the opinion of the bbc, and as for your comment that you think a lot of people feel the labour party dont serve to win a single seat in May, is that really the view of the public? or is that the view of you and your mates down at your local conservative club?, because correct me if i am wrong but opinion polls show that over the past month labour has narrowed the tory lead quite considerably.
There’s been a lot more on this subject since it was first posted.
Here’s a piece by Paul Waugh of the Standard that shows the issue is still developing, with Joanne Cash due to meet local activists to try to patch things up: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23804843-cameron-cutie-joanne-cash-to-meet-local-tories-in-bid-to-end-vote-row.do
Paul reports :“It looks like the wheels are coming off all over the Westminster Conservative Party. Once again, David Cameron’s judgment is called into question,” said Westminster North Labour MP Karen Buck.
From the right, Gerald Warner on the Telegraph blog is in furious mood over the whole issue: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/author/geraldwarner/
Here’s Paul Waugh’s blow-by-blow account of the resignation fiasco: http://waugh.standard.co.uk/2010/02/joanne-cash-that-meeting-in-full.html