Calder Valley Conservatives deselect candidate
Conservative parliamentary candidate Sue Catling has been deselected by her local association at the third attempt.
Mrs Catling reduced Labour’s majority to 3,000 in the Calder Valley seat at the last election.
But the Bristol University graduate and mother of two was dropped by the local Conservative association at Lightcliffe Conservative Club last night.
She had survived two deselection bids in the recent past.
After the two-hour meeting in front of 100 members, Mrs Catling said she had been deselected by “the sad, the mad and the bad”.
The former Cheshire Businesswoman of the Year has complained of a “witch-hunt” waged against her.
She faced claims of having a sexual relationship with the association’s chairman, Barrie Henderson, last year.
Both denied the accusations.
And more recently, a two-page document detailing her alleged misdemeanours, was circulated at a meeting of the association’s executive committee.
It included claims she misled the association over campaign donation money and flagged up her apparent lack of decorum in public.
It also alleges she spoke to constituents and association members “in an abusive and derogatory manner” and held “vendettas” against those who disagreed with her.
Mrs Catling said there was faction in the local party “hell-bent on getting rid of me and it has turned into a total and utter witch-hunt”.
