The Herald reveals what went on at the Stratford Conservative Association meeting when 'toxic' MP Nadhim Zahawi was reselected

And the Herald has been told by this source and an entirely separate source that Mr Zahawi’s name is “toxic” for Tory candidates standing in the local elections which are taking place on 4th May.

The decision to stick with Mr Zahawi, despite his sacking from the government for breaching the ministerial code over his tax affairs, was taken last Friday evening by the executive council of Stratford Conservative Association.

This caused surprise in some quarters because there was an expectation that Mr Zahawi might be de-selected as a result of his ignominious dismissal as national chairman of the Conservative Party and minister without portfolio because of his seven breaches of the ministerial code.

But the insider told the Herald: “The most striking thing for me from this is the disconnect between the executive and the membership/voters.

“The divide in the local association is stark. There is a loyalty among some to Nadhim which I suppose is understandable because they have got to know him over the years.

“But on the doorstep he is nothing short of toxic and all of us who have been out canvassing ahead of the local elections have seen that at first hand.

“He has shown no remorse, made no apology, or even offered an explanation. He clearly still thinks he is innocent despite the independent review into him being so damning.”

Tellingly, the insider added: “In the short term, there are going to be a lot of good local Conservative council candidates who lose out because of Nadhim’s actions and the fact that he has been reselected.

“In the long-term, I expect this uber-safe seat will be targeted by the Lib Dems and they will be in with a decent shout with Nadhim as the candidate. Frankly, there are more than a few within the association who would accept a term of a Lib Dem MP to be shot of him.”

The Herald made strenuous efforts to find a local Conservative who was prepared to publicly support Mr Zahawi. The usual reaction to our enquiries was “no comment”.

However, one Tory who was prepared to back Mr Zahawi was Jed McCrory, the chairman of Stratford Town Football Club who is standing as the Conservative candidate in Studley South in the Stratford District Council elections.

Mr McCrory said: “I think it’s great for the town Nadhim has been voted back in and hopefully we can get behind him for the benefit of the community.”

He added: “I would like to think people would stop and review what our local MP has achieved under great duress.”

Mr McCrory pointed out how much support Mr Zahawi had given to Stratford Town F.C., and said the biggest project he’d supported was the club’s academy, helping local children in education and sport, which gave them an opportunity to move forward in life.

“Nadhim’s support locally is sometimes forgotten and whilst he was delivering the most successful vaccination programme in the world, he served as Secretary of State for Education, Chancellor of the Exchequer and organising her late Majesty’s funeral,” said Mr McCrory.

“Nadhim has dealt with and helped over 40,000 Stratford residents and dealt with over 75,000 different cases in his time as local MP, which shows he gets things done locally and nationally.”

Mr McCrory said he also commended Mr Zahawi’s support for Stratford Town F.C. following the death of the young footballer Cody Fisher. He said Mr Zahawi was one of the first people to contact him to offer condolences and support.

The MP followed this up by meeting the family, with the crime commissioner offering further support to fight knife crime and push through Cody’s Law, that would benefit the whole country.

But Mr McCrory spoke as a lone voice. Another Tory insider who, like the first, wished to remain anonymous, told the Herald: “The reality is – and there’s no doubt about it – Nadhim Zahawi is toxic on the doorstep.”

This second insider said Mr Zahawi faced about an hour-and-a-half of “very hard questions” at the meeting - mainly from Tory candidates in the forthcoming local elections - about why he hadn’t made a statement explaining his behaviour.

“They probed him very hard about why he had made no statement,” said the insider. “On Friday he made a commitment to give all the candidates a briefing on what happened, the context of the tax implications and the background to him having broken the Nolan Principles on Public Life.

“He gave that commitment to the meeting. Basically, we wanted him to come clean because at the moment we don’t know the full story.”

A vote was subsequently taken of the 40-odd members of executive, at which it was decided to retain Mr Zahawi as the candidate for the constituency. But the voting figures were not revealed – even to members of the executive.

The insider said: “A great many of the candidates in the local elections feel they’ve been ‘hung out to dry’ by the association. What happens to us on election day doesn’t matter as long as Nadhim survives.”

This insider was especially critical of the Conservative association in regard to the Zahawi controversy. “Even if you’re a member of the Conservative Party asking too many questions is definitely frowned upon,” said the insider.

“I think it’s been handled appallingly by the association. The timing of this is appalling. The lack of explanation is appalling. I think the association has stored up trouble for itself.”

Asked by the Herald if there had been any pressure on the association from Downing Street or Conservative Central Office to de-select Mr Zahawi, the insider said: “There was no indication from Downing Street that they wanted him ditched.”

The insider believed that if such pressure had come from London the association would have gone along with it. “They [the association] would have done as they were bidden because they’re loyal and do as they’re told,” said the insider. “There are, within the party, an awful lot of people who will toe the party line regardless.”

After taking its decision on Friday the association announced it in an extremely terse statement on its website.

The statement said: “Tonight the executive council of Stratford-on-Avon Conservative Association re-adopted Nadhim Zahawi as our parliamentary candidate.

“We look forward to continuing to work alongside him to deliver for the residents and communities within the constituency.”

Asked by the Herald if she wished to add anything to this, the association chairman Lynda Organ declined to do so.

Mr Zahawi was dismissed from the government just over two months ago after ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus found him guilty of seven breaches of the ministerial code.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak acted swiftly to sack Mr Zahawi after receiving Sir Laurie’s report early on a Sunday morning.

In an exchange of letters Mr Zahawi did not apologise for breaching the code, and shortly afterwards allies of the MP made it clear that he felt he’d been unfairly treated and had not been given sufficient time to put his case.

They even hinted that Mr Zahawi would be issuing a full statement explaining his position, but that never came.

Mr Zahawi has never spoken directly to his constituents to explain himself, despite being given numerous opportunities to do so via the Herald. The paper has repeatedly asked him for an interview and he has repeatedly failed to respond, even by way of an acknowledgement.

The controversy surrounding the MP came to a head when it emerged that he’d been engaged in a dispute with HMRC over payment of taxes and had even had to pay a fine of around £1 million at a time when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer, the minister in charge of the nation’s taxation system.

The decision by Stratford Conservatives to retain Mr Zahawi as their candidate not surprisingly drew criticism from the MP’s political opponents.

Manuela Perteghella, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Stratford, said: “It’s disappointing that Mr Zahawi has not resigned as our MP after he was sacked from government for serious breaches of the ministerial code regarding his tax affairs.

“It’s even more disappointing to hear that the local Conservative party has reselected him to stand again, and therefore believes him to be fit to represent our great constituency.

“Perhaps now we will see Conservative candidates at the local elections here putting Nadhim on their leaflets. He seems to have been remarkably absent so far.

“Stratford-on-Avon deserves a local champion, standing up for our towns and villages, and not an MP mired in sleaze and scandal. As the Liberal Democrat MP, I will work hard representing our beautiful area and will fight tooth and nail for our local services, which the Tories have run to the ground.”

“Cat Price, chair of Stratford Labour, said: “We were disappointed but not surprised to see local Conservatives once again choose to support the disgraced Nadhim Zahawi.

“In the run up to May’s election we’ve seen them trying to distance themselves from the sleaze and incompetence within their party but when they have the chance to rid us of our shamed MP and give the people of Stratford the choice of a new candidate, they have shown exactly where their loyalties lie.

“They have been taking the voters of Stratford for granted for years and this shows they continue to do so. Voters will have their say at the ballot box in the upcoming local elections and we look forward to hearing the message they have for the Tories.”

Sherron Guise, the Green Party’s parliamentary candidate for Stratford, said: “It is disappointing that the Stratford Conservative Association have reselected Nadhim Zahawi as their candidate when he has actually broken the ministerial code. The constituents of Stratford district deserve better.”