'Sour grapes' MP dismays Tories

PETER Thurnham, the Conservative MP who cannot find a seat in the "chicken run" before the general election, was yesterday called a carpet-bagger - and that was from his own side.

In another catalogue of errors to hit John Major, senior ministers did not know that the MP for Bolton North East had renewed his threat to resign the party whip - thus threat- ening to reduce the Tory Commons majority down to two - and had gone to the extraordinary length of commissioning his own opinion poll to support his defiance.

Mr Thurnham is standing down from his seat, where he has a majority of only 185 over Labour, and is piqued at not being shortlisted for the safer constituency of Westmorland and Lonsdale (Conservative majority 16,436), where he lives.

The resignation threat, delivered in a statement almost calculated to damage the Govern- ment, has dismayed local Tories.

Mr Thurnham recently met his constituency associa- tion chairman, Norman Critchley, for lunch at a secret location to thrash out his future. Mr Critchley said: "I was disappointed. I just can't explain why he has done this."

The Bolton MP is demanding an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss the "very clear message" that his constituents gave in a MORI poll, when 42 per cent said he would be right to resign from the Conservative Parliamentary Party over "falling values and standards of public service".

He declined to add to this, but others were not so reticent. Trevor Farrer, chairman of the Conservative Association in Westmorland and Lonsdale, said the 57-year-old MP was too old to be considered, and was acting "like a woman scorned".

"Ever since he was not selected, he has been saying that people in the constituency are pressing him to stand as an independent. Conservatives are now saying we got the right chap, because Mr Thurnham has shown just how unbalanced he is. We rather regarded him as carpet-bagging."

In Astley Bridge Conservative Club yesterday, there was mystification about the MORI poll, but not about their MP. "I think it's sour grapes over him not getting the seat," said the club chairman, Geoff Sofield. "We are not surprised. He has been saying that he was displeased with the way the Government was acting. I would agree with him in that respect."

Conservative Party chairman Dr Brian Mawhinney urged Mr Thurnham not to break ranks. "I hope he will see out this parliament the way he saw it in, as a Conservative MP."

Mr Thurnham has been MP for Bolton North East for 13years.