trouble at mill

Cllr Jamie Chowdhary has been deselected by Peppard ward Tories in Reading.  So says His Master's Voice, so it must be true.  I had heard that he was standing down for health reasons, though clearly that was wrong.  Perhaps he was persuaded to stand because he is a supporter of Tory leader Andrew Cumpsty, who believes that not all his group supports him.  And Peppard ward members had other ideas.  Well, beware.  From what I know of Reading's Tory councillors (I don't know them all) they understand power, and they know that deselections rarely lead to election victory.  They had better move fast to repair the damage.  Cllr Chowdhary has been something of a loose cannon in the past, and in particular was quite remarkably unhelpful to the Tory cause in Park ward I hear from sources close to the Pakistan Community Centre, contributing heavily to the defeat of then Cllr Wazir Hussain, for which he probably ought to have been suspended from the party, but was not.  Perhaps this is why those who objected to his conduct during the election campaign have now taken their revenge.  Better to move on, I should think.   Don't take a leaf from the book of Reading Labour, who in the past 25 years have got five Asian councillors elected.  Two of them were booted out of the party, one in a particularly disgraceful episode of bullying intended to conceal a sordid episode involving Martin Salter, and one resigned in disgust.  Two remain, and are keeping their noses clean.  They had better, if they know what's good for them.  Whitey homophobe misogynist Reading Labour are making a big concession by allowing them into the Guardian-readers' tent.