Turnip Taliban bid to unseat Liz Truss

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Former prime minister Liz Truss faces an try to oust her as a Norfolk MP by one in all a gaggle of dissident Tories often called the Turnip Taliban.

Lawyer and ex Army officer James Bagge is planning to stand towards Ms Truss within the forthcoming common election as an unbiased candidate.

He will immediately announce a collection of public conferences to win backing for his problem and has already held the primary of a collection of native public conferences to canvass help for his plan, as well as to a social media marketing campaign.

If Mr Bagge defeated Ms Truss it could be one of many greatest election upsets of all time.

He is amongst distinguished Conservatives who resigned from the Party in protest at her choice as its candidate for South West Norfolk in 2009 after complaints she was “foisted” on them by Tory HQ.

They argued she had no hyperlinks to the realm and accused Party chiefs of failing to inform them she had had an affair with a married Tory MP.

It led to Ms Truss’ critics within the conventional East Anglian agricultural constituency being labelled the Turnip Taliban.

Asked concerning the Turnip Taliban tag, Mr Bagge, 71, instructed The Independent: “It is not a label of choice. But a turnip has deeper roots than a lettuce.”

The quip is a reference to a social media jibe that Ms Truss’ premiership was outlasted by a lettuce.

Mr Bagge claims she has “put personal ambition above the interests of local people” and been a “failure” as an MP.

He and older brother, seventh baronet Sir Jeremy Bagge, have been amongst her most vocal critics within the 2009 deselection row.

Defeating Ms Truss is not going to be straightforward. She had an enormous 26,195 majority on the 2019 election and was just lately backed by her native celebration to stand once more.

Mr Bagge confused he desires to canvass native opinion earlier than making a remaining choice, pointedly stating “because that is what Ms Truss failed to do”.

But associates anticipate him to go forward together with his fastidiously deliberate problem. He has resigned as deputy lieutenant of Norfolk to pursue his parliamentary ambition.

Announcing his intentions in The Independent, he stated: “It was clear to many of us years ago that Ms Truss was not the right MP for this area. She appears to have put her political ambition above the interests of local people.

“I have been disappointed and unimpressed by the lack of attention she has given to the interests of the constituency over the last 14 years and by her failure to engage in a real way with the challenges which confront its constituents.”

Mr Bagge, who describes himself as Norfolk born and bred and a “mainstream, small “c” conservative” stated he can be a greater “champion” of native pursuits.Unlike Ms Truss, as an Independent MP he would have the opportunity to spend his time within the Commons campaigning for his constituents as an alternative of meekly obeying Party whips by “filing obediently through the right (voting) lobby”.

He would “hold people in power to account and make a thorough nuisance of myself” to get a greater deal for native folks.

His private and political model is in distinction to the unconventional Right wing insurance policies Ms Truss adopted as prime minister which triggered an financial disaster.

Mr Bagge stated he’s towards “quick fixes” for main nationwide points.

Ms Truss’ document in energy was an instance of an tried political “quick fix” which required larger planning and a focus, he stated. “In my career in the Army, law and business I have found that giving serious consideration to serious issues is the best approach.”

Mr Bagge is from one in all Norfolk’s most distinguished households. It owns the Elizabethan mansion Stradsett Hall within the county. His nice nice grandfather was a Norfolk MP.

He has a large ranging public {and professional} CV.

He was appointed High Sheriff of Norfolk by the Queen in 2017.

He served in Northern Ireland as an Army officer within the Seventies and later was an aide to Sir Mark Oliphant, governor of South Australia. Oliphant was additionally a nuclear physicist concerned within the Manhattan Project, which developed the US atom bomb in WW2 and was featured within the blockbuster film Oppenheimer.

Mr Bagge certified as a barrister, labored for the Serious Fraud Office combatting monetary corruption together with the large Guinness inventory market scandal within the Eighties and was head of litigation at international regulation agency Norton Rose. He advises Norfolk’s Citizens Advice and is concerned in two native youth charities.

The 2009 deselection row over Ms Truss induced bitter divisions in South West Norfolk Conservative Party.

David Hills, native celebration chairman, who backed her choice after initially opposing it, was awarded an MBE in her controversial resignation honours record final week.

If Mr Bagge unseats Ms Truss it could be a larger shock than Conservative Cabinet Minister Michael Portillo’s defeat by Labour political unknown Stephen Twigg in Enfield within the 1997 election.

Portillo’s humiliation, introduced at 3am, got here to establish the dimensions of the autumn of a discredited and exhausted Conservative administration.

“Were you up for Portillo?” grew to become a preferred catchphrase.

If political unknown Mr Bagge defenestrates Ms Truss, it could be the same image of Tory decay.

It will not be the primary mountainous process he has taken on lately. Having accomplished the 1,000 mile pilgrim path to Santiago de Compostella in Spain, he did it once more in 2018. Starting in Norfolk, he raised £75,000 for the county’s ‘unpaid carers’ in a 1,500 mile marathon trek throughout Europe.

James Bagge’s assertion in full

“I have been both disappointed and unimpressed by the lack of attention our current MP has given to the interests of the constituency here in South West Norfolk over the last 14 years; and by her failure to engage in a real way with the challenges which confront its constituents.

“I will be running a series of Public Meetings across the region over the next three months, to gauge local appetite for my proposed candidacy as an independent MP in the forthcoming General Election. I have already successfully canvassed views at my first meeting in December, which was well attended and gave me confidence that I could offer people a real commitment to resolving a significant number of local issues.

“I am seeking people’s views on their expectations of their MP, whether these are being met currently, and whether they would like to be offered an independent option at the next election.

“With the necessary level of support, I will stand as an independent for South West Norfolk and, instead of filing obediently through the right lobby, I will use my time as best suits my constituents’ interests. I will be free to speak and free to act. I will focus on matters that impact most directly on our lives, and on policies and decisions at all levels of government that affect our local Norfolk community.”

Mr Bagge’s Public Meetings might be marketed on his web site and social media channels and are free to attend.