Tory rebels called the Turnip Taliban are planning to oust Liz Truss as a Norfolk MP. James Bagge, who is part of the group that first tried to thwart Truss when she was originally nominated as a candidate for her South West Norfolk seat in 2009, is planning to stand against her this year as an independent candidate.
Bagge is planning to hold a series of public meetings to win support having already launched a social media campaign and held previous gatherings.
If he was to beat Truss it would represent one of the biggest election shocks of all time.
The Turnip Taliban’s row with Truss began when they claimed she had been “foisted” on them by Tory HQ with no links to the local area.
They also accused Conservative bosses of failing to tell them she had an affair with a married Tory MP.
Bagge told the Independent Truss had “put personal ambition above the interests of local people” and been a “failure” as an MP.
But victory for Bagge will be tough as Truss commands a 26,195 majority and was recently backed by her local party to stand again.
He says he will canvass local opinion before making the final decision on whether he will stand claiming it was “what Ms Truss failed to do”.
Bagge has already resigned as deputy lieutenant of Norfolk ahead of his bid to become an MP.
He said: “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.”
Norfolk-born Bagge says he is a “mainstream, small ‘c’ conservative” and added he would be a better “champion” of local interests.
He added that if he won the South West Norfolk seat he would “hold people in power to account and make a thorough nuisance of myself”.
