Dominic Grieve: MPs from across the house defend former Attorney General after no confidence vote Pro-Remain MP said he was the victim of an “orchestrated campaign” to oust him after losing a vote of confidence by his local party.

Senior Conservatives from across the party have leapt to the defence of the pro-Remain MP Dominic Grieve after he lost a confidence vote held by his local association.

Mr Grieve has said he was the victim of an “orchestrated campaign” to oust him after losing a vote of confidence by his local party. The former Attorney General blamed the defeated Ukip candidate who stood against him in the 2017 general election for organising the move.

On Friday night, Beaconsfield Conservatives voted by 182 to 131 against a motion of confidence in Mr Grieve. The local constituency association has over 1,000 members. Its chairman Jackson Ng said he would be speaking to his fellow officers and executive council “as soon as possible” about what they would do next.

The i politics newsletter cut through the noise Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription.

Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis gave his backing to Mr Grieve saying the vote had no formal standing under party rules. Boris Johnson said he was “sad” to hear the result adding: “We may disagree about the EU but he is a good man and a true Conservative.”

Mr Grieve was one of the MPs behind the cross-party move to seize control of Commons business to stage a series of indicative votes on alternatives to Theresa May’s Brexit deal. The opposition in the constituency to Mr Grieve is reported to have been organised by the former Ukip candidate who stood against him in the 2017 general election, Jon Conway. The South Buckinghamshire region, which includes Beaconsfield, narrowly voted for Leave in the 2016 referendum by a majority of just 570 votes.

‘Un-conservative’

Former Prime Minister Sir John Major also said it would be a “pretty un-Conservative thing” to deselect pro-Remain Tory former minister Dominic Grieve, who lost a vote of confidence by the Beaconsfield Conservatives – his local party. He said: “It is people of his abilities that the Conservative Party should be attracting, not repelling.”

Sir John said the UK will always have a centre-right party and a centre-left party, adding: “Whether that’s exactly the same Conservative Party as we have now or not, I can’t be certain – but that there will be a Conservative Party on the centre-right of politics, but it needs to be at the centre-right if it wishes to win, not the far-right.”

Several Labour MPs also showed public support for Mr Grieve. Stella Creasy said the country’s politics “would be poorer without his input”.

She said: “I’m in a different political party to Dominic. We disagree on many things. I doubt Beaconsfield conservatives could find someone more experienced, more capable and more principled than him for their MP.”

Phil Wilson said the vote was “ridiculous”, adding: “I’m not of the same politics as Dominic Grieve but to deselect him as a Conservative candidate is to diminish politics, see an end to political integrity and deprive politics of a sincere and thoughtful practitioner.”

Other MPs at risk

David Gauke’s Conservative Association has reportedly called a special meeting over his “soft Brexit” comments on Sunday. The Justice Secretary said Theresa May cannot afford to ignore the will of Parliament if it unites around a softer Brexit. With MPs set to hold a second round of “indicative” votes on alternatives to the Prime Minister’s deal on Monday, Mr Gauke said she would have to “look closely” at any option that could command a majority.

He told The Andrew Marr Show: “If Parliament is voting overwhelmingly against leaving the European Union without a deal but is voting in favour of a softer Brexit, then I don’t think it’s sustainable to ignore Parliament’s position and therefore leave without a deal.”

Just 10 per cent of local Tory members are needed for a special general meeting to take place – a threshold that is likely to be quickly met.

Last month, Grantham and Stamford MP Nick Boles quit his local party having clashed with local members over his refusal to back a no-deal exit and his preference towards a softer departure from the EU. He continues to take the Conservative whip in Parliament.

Moderate ex-Labour MPs Angela Smith, Chris Leslie, Joan Ryan and Gavin Shuker lost votes tabled by Left-wing factions in their local parties. They quit Labour last month to form The Independent Group.

Brexit backer Frank Field MP also lost a vote and later resigned from Labour to sit as an independent. Fellow Brexit supporter Kate Hoey has also lost a vote of no confidence.