Further developments in Buckingham, John Bercow MP's constituency, where convention dictates that other parties don't put up a candidate against the incumbent Speaker:
UKIP is looking forward to a large donation, whilst claiming that fundraising on Bercow's behalf breaches Parliamentary rules. Meanwhile, Buckingham Liberal Democrats announce their plan for the General Election.
The Times reports that a UKIP member from Buckingham has complained to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards after receiving a letter from fundraising team "The Friends of Speaker Bercow":
[John Russell] has written to the commissioner expressing concern that The Friends of Speaker Bercow may be breaching parliamentary rules by appearing to operate in conjunction with the apolitical Office of the Speaker.
Strict rules govern how MPs electioneer and politicians are not allowed to use the machine of the taxpayer-funded civil service to help them with their campaigning, or exploit the services of Commons officials who are also paid by the state.
The so-called Friends of Speaker Bercow are a group of fundraisers who are trying to drum up £40,000 of donations to bankroll the MP’s constituency campaign at the election.
The letter from Bercow's Friends reportedly says,
As Speaker of the House of Commons, in accordance with convention, John has had to resign his membership of the Conservative Party in order to fulfil the duties of his office. He will be standing at the forthcoming election without the financial support of a major political party. This means that John will have to fully fund his own campaign and this is why we need your help.
Nigel Farage, the former UKIP leader, is standing for the seat where political mega-donor Stuart Wheeler
plans to give the party £100,000 to help it unseat Bercow.
Buckingham Liberal Democrats, meanwhile, have chosen a spokesperson rather than a candidate for the General Election. The local party's website explains the appointment of Marie-Louise Rossi:
Marie-Louise has been chosen by the local party members but will not stand as the Parliamentary Candidate for the Liberal Democrats in Buckingham, in accordance with the convention that the major parties do not oppose the incumbent Speaker. She will make the case locally for the Party's Manifesto, speaking on both national and local issues.
There's already been debate here on the Voice, about John Bercow's prospects in the General Election:
Stephen asked whether candidates should stand against Bercow in the Buckingham constituency and
Philip Young asked, "Why shouldn’t Buckingham Liberal Democrats join in?"
Will the arrival of UKIP cash, or indeed a Liberal Democrat spokesperson, make a difference to the result in the seat with the highest Conservative majority of 2005?
Crossposted from Liberal Democrat Voice, an independent, collaborative website run by Liberal Democrat activists. Helen is a contributing editor at the site.
