Deputy Chair St Albans Tories: Main is trying to “sabotage” democratic process

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

A new civil war amongst Conservatives in St Albans is increasing the likelihood that the Tories will lose their grip on the slim 1,421 majority, currently held by Anne Main.

St Albans is 30th on the list of the top target seats for Labour, and is being fought by Roma Mills. It requires a swing of just 1.5% to turn Labour.

Matt Pack, the Deputy Chair of the St Albans Conservatives – who along with the local party chair Seema Kennedy and another deputy Mary Zambra has called on Anne Main to step down because her part in the expenses scandal – said:

“The MP and her supporters are trying to sabotage the democratic process.”

But another faction is supporting Main and calling on Kennedy and Pack to stand down, sparking what the St Albans and Harpenden Review calls a “civil war among St Albans Conservatives”. Meanwhile, Tories in Beaconsfield have threatened to withdraw £7,000 funding per year if Main is de-selected.

Another member of the Pack faction, who didn’t want to be named but who is a Tory executive council member, told the Review:

“Anne’s conduct has been disgusting. She has tried to derail the democratic process. I am now firmly of the view she is not fit to be an MP.”

Clearly, not everything that comes out of local Conservative democracy is quite so inclusive.

Read the full article Civil War threatens to engulf local Conservative Party.