There is a fair bit of excitement in Westminster today that Boris Johnson could take over the Hertsmere seat of James Clappison now that the Tory MP has announced he is standing down at the 2015 election.
But one thing that this announcement misses is that Clappison has not voluntarily stood aside. MPs are being told to stick to his statement, in which he said:
‘By May 2015, I will however have served as a Member of Parliament for a full 23 years: a generation of time. It is difficult letting go but I do feel now is the time to move on. There is a world elsewhere.’
But many parliamentarians know that the truth is that Clappison was not re-adopted by his association, who want a different candidate. This is different to being de-selected, as with Tim Yeo and Anne McIntosh, and Clappison was able to say that he is leaving, rather than there being an ugly scene in which he was ousted.
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