Deselection of MPs

The vote of no confidence in Dominic Grieve as the Conservative candidate for Beaconsfield, initially billed as a deselection, is another example of how the party system corrupts the country’s politics. It does not affect his position as MP, for the moment but presumably may well do when the next election comes along.

At the election in 2017, the Conservatives won Beaconsfield with a significant majority, taking over 65% of the 72% of votes cast. This gave Grieves a majority of 24,543 in what could be described as a resounding result. He polled approximately twice what all the other candidates managed in total.

What is the problem then? The local Conservative Association, who select the candidates are not happy that Grieve is not towing the party line and frustrating the Brexit process in accordance with their perceived interpretation of the manifesto on which he stood. A small cabal wishes to prevent him from standing next time round to allow someone who more closely represents their views. This may all seem legitimate except for two things, firstly the public selected Grieve and secondly the Beaconsfield voted slightly in favour of remaining in the European Union.

If you live in Beaconsfield it would seem that you have very little choice of MP. You either choose the Conservative candidate or not, it is hardly a competition, yet under half of those eligible to vote did so for the Conservatives.

Whatever you voted for in the 2017 election you got a Conservative and you got Theresa May as a Prime Minister who has done nothing to reflect the very split opinion of the country over the issue of Europe. Party Politics does not represent the will of the people but instead allows people’s views to be misrepresented and polarised.

A small number of people in Beaconsfield can play the system in such a way that their opinion becomes more important than the majority of voters and helps to deliver a government that more than 56% of voters did not want. Party politics is the problem. It is not democratic.