THE saga surrounding the political future of Councillor David Pearson appears finally to be drawing to a close.
And the news of Wednesday night’s meeting of Southport Conservative Association’s Executive Committee has confounded some expectations – confirming the popular Dukes ward figure will defend his seat in May.
It was only on the day of the meeting that another newspaper in the town published speculation that the Association’s vice-chairman Jamie Halsall was in the running to take over the Tory Dukes ward candidacy. Being charitable to the reporter in question, there has been a fog surrounding developments of late; authoritative party sources have adopted a Trappist-like stance where once there was a fair degree of chatter.
The other area of difficulty concerns the procedures at play. The Conservative leader in the council chamber, Cllr Paula Parry, confirmed on Thursday that the Association’s decision did not automatically lift Cllr Pearson’s suspension from her group, first imposed last November. A recent additional suspension was, Cllr Parry said, a procedural matter and “nothing new�. Cllr Pearson has also been stripped off his places on all committees he occupied by benefit of his party allegiance.
But the way to Cllr Pearson’s full return to the Tory fold does now seem to be open. I understand Sefton’s Conservative group will re-examine his suspension at its next meeting. With Cllr Pearson confirmed as an official Conservative candidate on May’s ballot paper, restoring the whip must be the likeliest outcome. Electors would justifiably be scratching their heads were that not the case.
As for talk of Cllr Pearson standing as an ‘independent conservative’, I always suspected this was tittle-tattle and am not aware of it ever being endorsed by the man himself or close supporters. The precedents for such bids are poor and the ties of loyalty for longstanding politicians are deep. All parties beyond the clutches of the far-right and left tolerate a degree of internal dissent – but giving electoral succour to opponents is universally punished by expulsion and opprobrium.
Much about this episode has not seeped into the public domain. But Wednesday’s decision at Stanley Street undoubtedly marks an attempt to draw a line under what has been seized on by Southport’s Liberal Democrats. Election mode is kicking in, and there is nothing like the prospect of the ballot box to sharpen political concentrations.
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