The Tory peasants are (allegedly) revolting in St Austell

Word reaches me that all is less than rosy among St Austell Conservatives in the light of last week's surprise by-election defeat to the Liberal Democrats. Apparently the unrest stems from the local party's treatment of Richard Stewart, the previous Cornwall Councillor for the area, who prompted the by-election by standing down in September. Mr Stewart had been a hugely popular local representative for a number of years and was that rare breed of Councillor who commanded strong support across voters (and other councillors) from all parties.

The suggestion among some Conservative supporters in St Austell was that, when he became ill, pressure was put on him to stand down almost immediately in order to trigger a by-election in the Tories third safest Cornwall Council seat. If this is true the rationale behind this would probably have been two-fold. Firstly, an easy win in St Austell Bay would have been trumpeted as a terrific boost for Caroline Righton, their parliamentary candidate, and secondly it was a golden opportunity to parachute the Cornwall Tories' election guru, Bob Davidson, into a safe seat thus putting him at the heart of the County Hall end of the General Election operation. Mr Davidson had missed out by a mere 19 votes when he had stood in the Bethel ward in June and it does rather seem that the Tories were determined to have him as part of their Cornwall Council team come hell or high water.

The trouble is voters don't particularly like being taken for granted, and it turns out there were mutterings from Tory supporters throughout the by-election campaign about the treatment of Richard Stewart with some making it clear they would "never forgive them for what they've done to Richard". All of this is pretty painful stuff for the Tories if it's true.

Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of this is the arrogance of the Tory high command in Cornwall. Alec Robertson, Leader of Cornwall Council, and his sidekick, the perma-furious Jim Currie apparently both rolled up to the election count ready for the coronation of 'Bob the Agent'. Reportedly magnanimity was thin on the ground as, when the result became clear, they all departed in disgust (Mr Davidson wasn't even a good enough sport to stay for the official declaration).

This rounds off a poor second half to the year for Caroline Righton. A botched attempt to boost morale by forcing a by-election follows hot on the heels of the "Dickhead" smear storm and, if there really is a divided local party in St Austell, it doesn't stand her in good stead for a General Election which is only six months away. The irony is that Bob Davidson was brought in to make sure a mess like this couldn't happen.

(MK blogger Zetetist has produced an excellent review of the St Austell Bay by-election and its repercussions here.)