Chris Huhne has already withdrawn from the cabinet as he faces trial for allegedly perverting the course of justice — and now it appears his Conservative coalition partners already have their eye on his parliamentary seat, even though the outcome of the trial has yet to be decided.
In an in-depth interview with The House magazine, Sayeeda Warsi, the co-chairman of the Conservative Party, has said that she is readying the Tories for a potential by-election fight in Eastleigh:
The party is ready for any by-election at any time. When a by-election is called in Eastleigh then of course we will kick in to action.
Note the use of “when”, not “if”. She added:
It is a target seat and I think we would fight it hard and we would fight it to win. I don’t think the Lib Dems are dug in there. It’s winnable. We will do everything we can to win it.
Last month, Guido Fawkes reported that 2,000 Tory party activists were dispatched to Eastleigh just two days after Huhne’s court appearance. The Eastleigh Conservative Party insisted that the surge was to do with upcoming local elections rather than a potential by-election, but the timing was difficult to ignore. Warsi said that she has already been campaigning in Eastleigh, recently appearing at an event for local members.
Warsi — not known for her discretion — took the unusual step of suggesting that Huhne could step down even if he is found innocent. While she acknowledged that the outcome of the trial is yet to be decided, she said:
The by-election could be called because, you know, Chris might stand down irrespective of what happens at the court case.
The Tories have hardly been supportive of Huhne, who is accused of persuading his ex-wife Vicky Pryce to take his penalty points for a speeding offence nearly ten years ago. In February the Daily Mail reported that David Cameron told attendees of a Tory ball for wealthy donors: “we had to speed to get here on time. It’s a good job Samantha was driving — or at least, that’s what it says on the forms!”
In response to Warsi’s comments, a Lib Dem spokesman said: “Chris Huhne is denying the allegations against him, so talk of a by-election is extremely premature.” The Times (£) quotes an unnamed Lib Dem source saying that the suggestion that Huhne could stand down even if found innocent “display[s] a slight lack of knowledge of Chris”.
Huhne denies all allegations and is next due in court in May. While his thoughts may be on the pending trial, perhaps he should also be keeping an eye on the activities of the coalition partners already eyeing up his grave.
Content from our partners
Related
