Tonight, former Conservative leader of Thurrock Council Anne Cheale will table a motion of no confidence against the current Conservative leader, Councillor Garry Hague.
Some may see this as the errant ramblings of a disaffected grandee, a blue rinse Ted Heath for 2010. But for CCHQ, this is a pivotal seat – number 125 on the Tory target list. Visiting last week, shadow environment minister Nick Herbert agreed that if the Tories win Thurrock, they will win the general election.
The council is currently under No Overall Control and even if Cheale “wins” her vote, the Tory leader may point out that she is an isolated (they withdrew the whip yesterday) axe-grinder, bolstered by 23 Labour councillors in a precarious situation.
But there is a also view that the Thurrock Tories have become an embarrassment to CCHQ. Only eleven months ago the previous leader Terry Hipsey defected to Labour, exhausted by the perceived plots, plans and putsches.
Sources close to Anne Cheale believe she is putting the motion because she has taken a dim view of Hague’s support for appointed officers over elected representatives.
CCHQ has put pressure on Cheale not to forward her motion. Now they’ve failed, they are hoping it remains a small story, and an anomaly.
But if the Tories fall tonight, the question may be asked: when David Cameron said “if you want to see what a Tory administration will look like then just look at any Tory council”, did he have Thurrock in mind?
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