Anna Soubry has defeated an attempt to deselect her – as the association chairman behind the plot resigned his post. Guido has previously reported how John Doddy, chairman of Broxtowe Conservatives, was on manoeuvres to remove Soubry as the Tory candidate for the next election. Soubry hit back by reporting Doddy to CCHQ and accusing him of plotting to take her job. Guido now hears that at a meeting of the association executive last week, Doddy lost a no confidence vote 6-0 and he stormed out of the meeting. Doddy has now resigned as chairman with his tail between his legs.

Dear ALL ,

I am currently in the unfortunate position of being conflicted by being the Chairman of the Broxtowe Association but also a long serving well respected local GP .

The current internal conflicts in the Association cannot be resolved by myself as many of the members involved are either patients , ex-patients , relatives of patients etc . Therefore I cannot pick sides or complicate my responsibilities to patients . I must choose being a GP first and politician/chairman secondly .

Therefore I offer my immediate resignation as Chairman but am happy to support the search for my replacement and continue to support our efforts to retain control of BBC in the 2019 elections.

Lets get on and win as one .

Wishing everyone the best

Cllr. Dr. John Doddy (ex-chairman ! )

On Saturday, Soubry held a meeting of local members inviting them to raise concerns about her public positions on Brexit. It ended on amicable terms. Seems Doddy’s ambition was considerably greater than his ability…

Anna Soubry has reported her Conservative Association chairman to CCHQ, accusing him of plotting to oust her in order to replace her as the MP for Broxtowe. In a letter sent to her association executive and local Tory councillors, Soubry accuses John Doddy, who himself is a Remainer, of exploiting her views on Brexit to “further your own ambitions to oust me”. She says Doddy has exaggerated the extent of discontent with her among Broxtowe Tories, noting that only one of 17 critical emails sent to the association came from a constituent, and they were not a Tory party member. Soubry says the email campaign against her is “part of a concerted co-ordinated campaign organised by UKIP / Leave.EU” and implies Doddy is in league with a “UKIP infiltrator”. Here is her letter outlining her case against Doddy and her complaint to Tory party chairman Brandon Lewis and CCHQ head of candidates Gareth Fox:

Doddy obviously does harbour ambitions to replace Soubry. His claim that 80% of local members are unhappy with Soubs is bold. There is clearly discontent among some Broxtowe Tories with their MP’s opposition to Brexit and talk of a new party. We will find out how deep that discontent is next month…

Anna Soubry’s row with her local association has escalated further, with the embattled Broxtowe MP accusing her own chairman of being “driven by ambition”. After John Doddy sent a survey to local members asking if they were happy with Soubs, she tweeted implying he had motives other than Brexit:

“My Chairman is driven by ambition not Brexit. I know it makes good copy but don’t you think it’s time to heal the divisions and move on?”

Last night a local source told Guido: “atmosphere turning toxic here in Broxtowe”. When an MP is openly attacking her association chairman, you know all is not well…