Butcher up for it
A former Tory MP is to stand in Shropshire against the party in a bid to win his old seat for the UK Independence Party, it has been announced.
Christopher Gill, one of the eurosceptic rebels stripped of the party whip by embattled prime minister John Major, will be a candidate in Ludlow.
The move will cause concern for the Conservatives in a marginal seat where sitting MP Philip Dunne enjoys a slim majority of only 2,027.
It is a key target for the Liberal Democrats, who dramatically snatched the seat when Mr Gill stepped down in 2001 before seeing it narrowly swing back in 2005.
Ukip secured only 783 votes there in the last general election but Mr Gill predicted his personal intervention would make it a "close call" three-way fight this time.
"I am standing against ‘call me Dave’s’ Tories because I cannot tolerate their utter contempt for the concerns of voters on matters of immigration, economy, individual liberty and the broken promise of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty," Mr Gill said.
"The huge increase in the Tories’ spin has been mirrored by the shocking decrease in their spine," he said – claiming the backing of "many" former party colleagues in the area.
He went on: "I have the advantage that, apart from millions of pounds, no one can tell the difference between Conservatives and the Liberals and, with Labour standing no chance here, I can really win this seat for Ukip and for the people of Ludlow."
Liberal Democrat candidate Heather Kidd welcomed Mr Gill’s decision, which she said would split the Conservative vote.
"I have been out on the doorsteps and this move by Gill has already had a massive impact," she said. "It is causing a big shift in our direction."
…and from the Independent
Old Tory rebel returns as UKIP for his old seat
Philip Dunne, the Conservative MP for Ludlow, is a bit of a rebel, voting against the majority of his Tory colleagues on issues such as raising MPs’ salaries, or making abortion law more restrictive.
He opposed both. But he has been a model of conformity compared with Christopher Gill, a sausage manufacturer who preceded him as Conservative MP for Ludlow in 1987-2001. Gill was one of the diehard, right-wing, anti-EU rebels who did so much to destabilise John Major’s government. He also complained that immigration had made white people "almost exiles in their own country". And he was for bringing back hanging and corporal punishment.
Now aged 73, Gill is back on the campaign trail, as the UK Independence Party candidate for Ludlow. The only effect of his intervention – if it has any effect at all – will be to destroy Dunne’s majority, which was only 2,027 in 2005, and let Heather Kidd, the Liberal Democrat candidate, take the seat. She is understandably delighted. If you wonder why Gill might do such a thing, it is because, like numerous old Conservatives, he loathes David Cameron and all who travel with him. "I am standing against ‘Call me Dave’ Tories because I cannot tolerate their utter contempt for the concerns of voters," Mr Gill said yesterday.