Tories take a break from canvassing

Tories Mark Time as Nominations Close for Uxbridge By-election

Nominations for the contest have now closed. The by-election, to be held on July 31, was caused by the death of the Conservative MP Sir Michael Shersby.

A letter obtained by the BBC, which has been sent to Tory activists, urges them to spend at least six hours canvassing in Uxbridge; a timecard is enclosed to be filled in and sent to Central Office.

Several Conservatives, who hope to be candidates at the next election, have expressed their displeasure at the system being used to persuade them to canvass in Uxbridge.

The letter from Geoffrey Harper, a party official, says: "I am asking you to give a minimum of six hours canvassing." It adds: "Uxbridge is on the west side of London."

An attached timecard has six boxes which Tories are told should be independently initialled to show every hour that they have worked.

One former MP and would-be future candidate told our political staff: "I have put thousands of pounds and hours into my party and they're treating us like children. It's a disgrace. The implication is my future may suffer if I don't go to Uxbridge."

William Hague: "Nothing sinister"

The Conservative Party Leader, William Hague, defended the practice when he visited the constituency on Friday.

"All future candidates and past candidates should be keen to help the party in a by-election campaign," he told reporters. "I was a by-election campaign candidate myself and when you are a by-election candidate you want the rest of the party to come and help."

But he denied that would-be candidates would be dumped if they did not come to Uxbridge, although he admitted that such information was kept on record.

"I want to know who has helped us in a campaign. I want to know the Tory Party is pulling together."

Mr Hague spent two hours in Uxbridge, talking to people in the main shopping precinct before spending almost an hour with local Tory activists at a pub called The Turning Point.

He is the first Tory leader for 20 years to visit a by-election. He is also the last Conservative to have won one.

The Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, ridiculed the Conservatives' use of timesheets.

"Being forced to blackmail their own activists into working for them is a sign of a party disintegrating before our very eyes," he said.