A councillor who accused the Liberal Democrats of unfairness in their MP candidate selection process in Reading is considering running as an Independent.
The Liberal Democrats have recently selected their candidate for the newly formed Reading West & Mid Berkshire MP seat.
Party members voted for Helen Belcher to represent them at the next general election.
But a former Lib Dem councillor has accused the party of being “incompetent or corrupt” during the selection process.
Councillor Adrian Abbs, who was elected as a representative for Newbury Wash Common in May, was hoping to be the Lib Dem candidate for Reading West & Mid Berkshire.
However, cllr Abbs was excluded from the voting process after he claimed he won the first round of voting.
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A spokesperson for the Reading West & Mid Berkshire Liberal Democrats said: “All political parties set rules for candidates applying for selection.
“In cllr Abbs’ case, he was found to have broken the rules and was therefore disqualified.
“While understandably very disappointing for Cllr. Abbs, all candidates are fully aware of the rules, and having broken them, there was no other option than to disqualify him.”
Cllr Abbs also accused winning candidate Mrs Belcher of an implicit endorsement by the Lib Dem party headquarters.
In response, Mrs Belcher said: “I never claimed or implied an endorsement from anyone, in accordance with the selection rules.”
Mrs Belcher currently lives in Corsham, Wiltshire, which is around an hour’s drive from Reading. However, she was born in West Reading and grew up in Burghfield Common.
A spokesperson from Liberal Democrat headquarters said: “Candidates are selected by local party members in a process run by independent returning officers.
“Adrian Abbs was disqualified for breaching the selection process rules and his appeal was dismissed.”
A point that the spokesperson made that cllr Abbs is under an investigation by the party’s independent complaints process is disputed by cllr Abbs, as he is no longer a party member.
He has since left the Liberal Democrats, becoming an Independent, giving up his role as an executive portfolio holder for climate action, recycling and biodiversity in the process.
He is now considering standing as an Independent candidate for Reading West & Mid Berkshire.
Cllr Abbs said: “I’m now being encouraged by people in the Reading West and Mid Berkshire constituency to run as an independent MP.
“It’s a huge undertaking when you don’t have a party structure behind you, but if enough people indicate they would prefer an Independent then I’ll step forward to do that."
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Cllr Abbs added that in a Facebook poll he set up, 88 per cent of respondents preferred an Independent MP, 100 per cent wanted a local person to represent them and 96 per cent said that they would prefer an MP who had a career before getting into politics.
Giving his reasons for considering an Independent run, cllr Abbs said: “1st having campaigned there; its clear people want something different.
“2nd It’s a new constituency. So, whilst every party will try and paint a picture that they are the obvious choice.
The problem they face is that the two halves, Mid Berkshire & Reading West, have different local needs and different leanings politically.
“3rd The party that should have been the obvious middle ground, the Lib Dems, have already fallen apart because the candidate announced lacks legitimacy & does not live locally. Therefore, they will have to rely on a local team that is already split on if they will support her or not.”
The local Lib Dem spokesperson said: “Our members are fully behind Helen’s campaign for Reading West & Mid Berkshire, Lee Dillon’s campaign for Newbury, and Clive Jones’ campaign for Wokingham, and when we have selected our candidates for Earley & Woodley and Reading Central, we will campaign hard for them as well.”
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