Shapps Is Sacrificed

A week, Harold Wilson once observed, is a long time in politics. Why this should be has just been pointed out as former Tory Party co-chairman Grant Shapps has become the latest casualty in the fallout from the bullying scandal now engulfing it. Previously, nothing, but nothing, could dislodge Shapps from his co-chair position; this tells anyone who may have thought otherwise that this is very serious problem for the party.

Previously, Shapps had been discovered to have promoted a piece of software that operated in flagrant violation of Google’s rules. His routine deceits included pretending to be someone else: at least two aliases, Michael Green and Sebastian Fox, are well-known. He had used his position in the Tory Party to bully a constituent, and threaten legal action against them. None of these was sufficient to dislodge him.

Nor was his singularly ill-judged “Tory Bingo” graphic, which suggested that the working class were “they”, and was therefore patronising in the extreme. The only thing that removed Shapps from the co-chair was when he was forcibly removed after the General Election. Some right-leaning pundits concluded he had been badly treated. They did not know the half of it. Sadly, they might not even now.

Shapps resigned for one reason, and one alone: it was he who welcomed Mark Clarke back into the Tory fold last year, awarding him the title of “director” in charge of RoadTrip 2015. For this, and apparently not acting earlier to head off complaints about Clarke’s behaviour, he had to go. But he is only resigning his ministerial portfolio, remaining as MP for the seat of Welwyn Hatfield. That’s not good enough.

Shapps’ litany of double-dealing, dishonesty, bullying, chicanery, and forthright spivvery, added to his singularly unfortunate judgment call on Clarke, should easily be enough to have him drummed out of the Commons. At the very least, the Tory Party should expel him, and man up sufficiently to put a new candidate before the electorate in a by-election. Only then will the catalogue of misbehaviour be properly closed.

And, as I outlined in an earlier post today, there are several others with questions to answer, and that is several as in additional to Andrew Feldman, the current party chairman. Meanwhile, in case anyone had forgotten, this is first and foremost about Elliott Johnson, and his Dad Ray has spoken approvingly at Shapps’ decision to venture into the room with the whisky and revolver and do the right thing.

But, as he points out, “It’s about time, he should have resigned several weeks ago … It justifies our view of Grant Shapps. But there are others involved and we need to ensure there’s a clearout of all these unsavoury characters at CCHQ”. Added to that I would include those who may not be at CCHQ, but are active on the fringes and have knowingly and enthusiastically participated in bullying.

Zelo Street readers will hear more on one of those fringe figures tomorrow.