Crucial meeting to decide whether David Mackintosh remains an MP will take place at Sixfields

A senior Conservative has claimed the decision to decide MP David Mackintosh's election candidacy during a meeting at Sixfields Stadium was not a vindictive ploy.
By The Newsroom
Published 24th Apr 2017, 13:56 BST
Updated 9th May 2017, 18:52 BST
MP David Mackintosh may have to with the approval of a majority of more than 100 Conservative party members if he is to run again as an MP.MP David Mackintosh may have to with the approval of a majority of more than 100 Conservative party members if he is to run again as an MP.
MP David Mackintosh may have to with the approval of a majority of more than 100 Conservative party members if he is to run again as an MP.

Last week it emerged Mr Mackintosh's desire to fight the General election on June 8 in the Northampton South seat was likely to face opposition from local Tory executives.

In particular, former borough council leader Councillor Mary Markham revealed she would not be voting for him to remain as a candidate at a crunch meeting set for May 2.

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She claimed the way the current Northampton South MP had handled the fall-out after the failed Sixfields loan saga had damaged the reputation of the Conservatives locally.

But this morning it has emerged the crucial meeting on May 2 - that will decide who the Tory candidate is for Northampton South - has been booked at the very centre of the controversy.

Executive committee member of the Northampton South Conservatives Association, Councillor Suresh Patel, has claimed other similar-sized venues were not available on May 2, which was the earliest available date for Mr Mackintosh to attend.

"We looked at other venues and Sixfields was the only one available," he said.

"Time is of the essence here.

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"It was because the General Election had been called and we wanted to have a venue that fell within the Northampton South constituency that more than 100 members could attend."

David Mackintosh, who delivered Conservative election flyers in the Castle ward over the weekend, previously told the Chron he was ready to fight for his candidacy in Northampton South and had a good track record as an MP.

He said: “It is disappointing that a few of my colleagues have chosen to brief against me in the media when the country is about to make an important decision about who leads our country in the future. I am proud of my record as an MP, to date I have dealt with over 20,000 cases from thousands of my constituents. I would like to continue that work and intend to stand for re-election.”

The Northampton South Conservative Association meeting will take at 7pm at Sixfields, but is not open to the public.