60 Tory MPs should feel 'nervous' after Damian Green is 'deselected'

Around 60 Tory MPs warned they should feel ‘a little nervous’ after Conservative moderate leader Damian Green – who was Theresa May’s deputy – is effectively deselected by pro-Boris Johnson party activists

• Ex-Cabinet minister Damian Green rejected as election candidate by local Tories
• It fuels claims of grassroots backlash against MPs over Boris Johnson’s ousting 

Around 60 Tory MPs have been warned they should ‘a little nervous’ after Tory moderate leader Damian Green was effectively deselected by local party activists.

The former Cabinet minister, who was ex-prime minister Theresa May’s deputy, has been rejected as the Conservative general election candidate for a newly-created seat.

Mr Green, an MP for more than 25 years and the leader of the Conservatives’ One Nation group, failed to win the nomination for the Weald of Kent constituency.

It has driven speculation that those MPs who played a part in Boris Johnson’s downfall as PM last summer are now facing a backlash from the Tory grassroots.

The rejection of Mr Green by local Conservatives was hailed by the leader of one Tory campaign group as ‘hard evidence’ MPs were being ‘punished’ for their role in Mr Johnson’s exit from No10.

Former Cabinet minister Damian Green has been rejected as the Conservative general election candidate for a newly-created seat

It has driven speculation that those MPs who played a part in Boris Johnson’s downfall as PM last summer are now facing a backlash from the Tory grassroots

Mr Green said he was ‘disappointed’ not to have been selected for the Weald of Kent seat and was ‘now thinking about what to do next’

David Campbell Bannerman, chairman of the Conservative Democratic Organisation, suggested there might be ‘at least 60 MPs’ who would now be ‘getting a little nervous’.

Mr Green was one of more than 140 MPs to vote against Mr Johnson in a no confidence ballot in June last year.

Although Mr Johnson survived that vote, his premiership collapsed just a month later.

Sally-Ann Hart, the MP for Hastings and Rye, is also reported not to have been re-adopted by her local Tory party as their candidate for the next general election.

She withdrew her support for Mr Johnson in the days before his eventual resignation as PM in July last year.

Meanwhile, North East Somerset and former Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg – one of Mr Johnson’s most loyal supporters – was chosen as the Tory election candidate for the new seat of North East Somerset and Hanham.

Mr Green said he was ‘disappointed’ not to have been selected for the Weald of Kent seat and was ‘now thinking about what to do next’.

His current Ashford consituency is being split in two under the shake-up of parliamentary seats ahead of the next general election, which is due no later than January 2025.

There will remain an Ashford seat, taking in 24 of the current constituency’s 39 wards, as well as the new Weald of Kent seat.

Mr Green, who is acting chairman of the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, was rejected by the local executive.

But he could still put his name forward as the selection of an MP goes to the wider constituency membership.

He could also yet apply to be the Tory candidate in the new Ashford seat.

David Campbell Bannerman, chairman of the Conservative Democratic Organisation, said there was now ‘hard evidence’ of MPs being ‘punished’ for Mr Johnson’s exit from No10

Responding to the news of Mr Green’s failure to be selected as the Weald of Kent candidate, Mr Campbell Bannerman said: ‘There is now hard evidence MPs allegedly associated with bringing down Boris are being directly held to account and punished by members.’

Mr Campbell Bannerman’s Conservative Democratic Organisation was formed to push for an overhaul of Tory party rules following the ousting of Mr Johnson.

It wants a series of reforms to allow party members to ‘take back control’ by increasing their influence over matters such as policy and the selection of parliamentary candidates.

But Mr Campbell Bannerman has previously denied the CDO is a front to return Mr Johnson to Downing Street.

CDO vice-president Lord Greenhalgh insisted Mr Green’s deselection was not linked to the former PM.

The Tory peer said it was ‘more to do with a system of selection/deselection of MPs that needs fundamental reform’.

Senior Tories rallied around Mr Green following his rejection by his local party.

Conservative Party chairman Greg Hands said Mr Green ‘has our full support’ and ‘we stand behind our MPs’.

Former Cabinet minister Simon Clarke – a supporter of Mr Johnson – said he hoped Mr Green finds a seat because ‘he is a fantastic MP’.

‘It is important that a range of views are represented in the Conservative Party,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

‘Clearly, who candidates are in particular seats is a matter for local parties to determine.

‘That is a fundamental principle of local democracy. But I very much hope that Damian is readopted for a seat because he is a fantastic MP.

‘He has had a wonderful record of service in government.’

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