"Vote for Lib Dem Duncan Clark!", says elected Tory County Councillor

8.39.55pm BST (GMT +0100) Sun 3rd Apr 2005

John Phillips, right, thinks Duncan Clark is the best person to succeed him as County Councillor

John Phillips, who was elected as the Conservative County Councillor for Frimley Green & Mytchett in 2001, has sensationally resigned from the Conservative Party. More remarkably, he has urged local voters to support Duncan Clark, the Lib Dem candidate to succeed him at the County Election to be held on 5th May.

John Phillips said, "I am supporting Duncan ...he's got the interests of the village at heart. He's got the quality that the county is looking for and he's got a modernistic view."

Although he said that he would not be joining the Liberal Democrats, John Phillips made it clear that he has had enough of the local Conservative party following his deselection as the County candidate for the Frimley Green & Mytchett Division. He told the local press that the Tories are "in total disarray".

David Whitcroft, Leader of Surrey Heath Council Lib Dem Group, said, "John Phillip's resignation from the Conservative Party and his endorsement of the Liberal Democrat candidate for the County Election in Frimley Green, Mytchett & Deepcut illustrates the dreadful state of the current Tory Party. They are in a mess nationally with the Howard Flight fiasco and in total disarray locally with the loss of John Phillips, one of their County Councillors, and many other long standing supporters."

John Phillip's endorsement of Duncan Clark in Frimley Green and Mytchett is a major blow to Chris Pitt, the Conservative now seeking election in the Division.

John Phillips declined to comment when asked for his views of Mr Pitt, beyond saying that he been 'parachuted' into the Division by the Windlesham based Surrey Heath Constituency Association against the wishes of local Tory activists.

The full text of John Phillip's resignation letter from the Conservative Party, addressed to the local Tory Party Chairman, is reproduced below:

Dear Sir,

After many months of deliberation I have come to the conclusion that the Conservative party is no longer worthy of election.

I have come to this view after attempting to achieve a degree of unity within Surrey Heath Conservative Association by building bridges wherever possible and, particularly in my role as an elected County Councillor, by attempting to promote the Conservative cause.

I am, therefore, submitting my resignation from the Surrey Heath Conservative Association and, accordingly, return my membership card herewith. It is not my intention to join any other political Party but I will continue to work for the benefit of my local community in a non-party political way.

I regret to say that your own role, as Constituency Chairman, is in large part responsible for my decision. Clearly, I remain very unhappy at my own deselection from the County seat which I won largely as a result of my personal vote. I believe I was treated in a biased and unfair way. This view is supported by the fact that one of my interviewers sent me an email four days PRIOR to the interview suggesting that I stand down from my seat! How could such an individual approach the interview in an independent frame of mind?

The way you have imposed a County candidate on my division is also unacceptable to many long standing Conservatives in Frimley Green, Mytchett & Deepcut. I also find your requirement for local candidates and elected Councillors to obey your edicts totally outrageous since they totally ignore the needs of the local community and make little allowance for personal discretion.

The candidate imposed on Frimley Green, Mytchett & Deepcut was previously rejected as a Borough Council candidate by the local branch who had selected - and advised - an alternative candidate for the County seat. This individual had previous County Council experience in another area and was totally confused and demoralised by being selected and then de-selected within a few days! The embarrassment caused by this incident was a step too far and the majority of the Branch Committee has now resigned as a result. Their replacements have little awareness of the issues facing the three villages.

The division of the Conservative Party in Surrey Heath at so many levels is extremely unhealthy. In particular, I have become sickened at sitting at meeting after meeting where Conservative Borough councillors slag off Conservative County Members and vice versa. We even have situations at Local Committee meetings where Conservative Borough Councillors sit in the public gallery making quite open derogatory remarks about their own County councillors!

I will not go into detail again over the divisions created by the de-selection of Nick Hawkins but suffice it to say that many local Conservatives have either torn up their membership cards or are refusing to work for the local Party as a result. A committed and hard working MP has been replaced by a London based member of the media, who has no real idea of the issues facing the constituency, but is making up for that by a high pressure publicity campaign and by jumping on every passing band wagon.

At heart, I remain a Conservative but I cannot continue to work with the Surrey Heath Conservative Association as it has become. I reserve the right, therefore, to make my views and the detail of some recent developments known to my local residents and, indeed, to anybody else who might wish to know my views.

I greatly regret this turn of events which could have been avoided by more positive and sensitive leadership over recent years in Surrey Heath Conservative circles.

Yours faithfully

John Phillips