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EPPING FOREST: Laing to face confidence vote

12:30pm Monday 12th October 2009 in News By Daniel Binns

Eleanor Laing MP has been heavily criticised over her expenses claims. Eleanor Laing MP has been heavily criticised over her expenses claims.

MEMBERS of the Epping Forest Conservative Association are to debate a motion of confidence in MP Eleanor Laing.

The news emerged today as the under-fire MP denied claims she was retiring at the next election, amid suggestions that she has still not paid back £25,000 in expenses - after promising to do so four months ago.

Ms Laing told the Guardian she "welcomed" the meeting, as it would give her an opportunity to "set the record straight."

The confidence vote will be held on Monday October 26, and was called following a 50-strong petition organised by a high-profile Epping member.

Ms Laing had agreed to repay £25,000 back in June after it emerged that she had avoided a £180,000 capital gains tax bill by telling the tax office her secondary home in London was her primary residence.

She sold her Westminster flats in 2008 for £1.8m - after purchasing them in 1993 for around £300,000.

Ms Laing told the Guardian: “I welcome the opportunity that a General Meeting will provide for me to meet directly a large number of our Conservative members here in the Epping Forest constituency.

“I have been touched by the very many messages of support I have received in recent weeks and I hope that that support will be reflected in the outcome of the meeting. I am also pleased that I will have the chance to set the record straight."

Ms Laing added that a "majority" of the association's general executive supported her in a confidence vote held with a secret ballot earlier this month.

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Comments(26)

Debdenite says...
1:01pm Mon 12 Oct 09

The fact remains that the national Conservative Party website does not list any PPC for Epping Forest, although every other sitting MP who is not retiring or deselected has been listed as a PPC. I don't care about her party. What she has done is unacceptable and she has failed to meet constituents or apologise or it seems even pay back the £25,000 she agreed to pay (which is a small fraction of the profit she's made at tax-payers' expense). She should go. It's not a party political matter, it's a matter of principles and clean government.

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Morris Hickey says...
2:11pm Mon 12 Oct 09

Eleanor Laing needs to do two things URGENTLY. First, she has to pay ALL of the CGT that she has evaded, not just £25k. Second, she needs to be SEEN to be supporting the interests of RESIDENTS, like opposing Epping Forest DC's outrageous rape of the green belt in Grange Hill.

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Debdenite says...
2:22pm Mon 12 Oct 09

Eleanor Laing says she has overwhelming support from her constituents. I don't know about that, because I've not come across one single person who has not been disgusted by the way she has gone about her expenses. Now she has failed to even pay back the £25,000 she promised she would, her position is untenable. She cannot claim poverty. She has a property she can sell in central London (which we have paid for) and she can commute to work like all her constituents.

I wrote to her when this scandal broke and she never replied. I am a constituent and as far as I am concerned she is not prepared to discuss the matter with her constituents.

The fact that at least 50 local Conservatives have sponsored a no-confidence vote in her shows that there are many Conservatives who feel as strongly as I do. I hope the Conservative Association as a whole takes a principled stand and deselect Eleanor Laing, or it will look bad on the Conservative Party both locally and nationally.

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Debdenite says...
2:33pm Mon 12 Oct 09

The Conservative Association officers revealed that they would have deselected Steve Norris if he hadn't stood down because he lied to them and due to his personal life: http://www.independe
nt.co.uk/news/tory-m
ayor-race-the-letter
-from-epping-forest-
1132102.html

Eleanor Laing's situation is even worse. Norris' private life was, frankly, his own business. But Laing's use of the expenses system to make a massive on a second home, which she then avoided capital gains tax on when she sold it as her primary residence, is far, far worse. The people who wanted Norris to quit due to the adverse publicity he was creating included Epping Forest council leader Di Collins and Essex County Councillor Valerie Metcalfe. Are they also calling for Laing to quit? Who is behind the petition?

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Morris Hickey says...
2:53pm Mon 12 Oct 09

I think, debdenite, we shall all have to be patient and await the outcome of the association meeting. But it would be nice to know when it is due to take place.

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Larry Green says...
3:56pm Mon 12 Oct 09

does her record as an mp count in her defence ?

has she been a good MP?


Surely this must count.


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Debdenite says...
4:10pm Mon 12 Oct 09

Larry: I don't think she's been particularly exceptional. She's done the minimum - made brief appearances at village fetes, spoken on a couple of local planning matters, etc. I've fund that when she bothers to reply to correspondence, it can take a month or so to get a quickly penned response. My MP where I used to live - a senior Conservative - would write lengthy responses and has a lot of local support because of his active constituency work. In comparison, Laing is under-whelming. I'm surprised she is still shadow justice secretary given that she has barely made a mark in the media, particularly in relation to ID cards, the database and various constitutional issues that the Conservatives are campaigning on. Really, they need a justice spokesperson who is in the forefront and she's really not cutting it. I think many local Conservatives regret losing Norris.

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Larry Green says...
4:17pm Mon 12 Oct 09

Debdenite wrote:
Larry: I don't think she's been particularly exceptional. She's done the minimum - made brief appearances at village fetes, spoken on a couple of local planning matters, etc. I've fund that when she bothers to reply to correspondence, it can take a month or so to get a quickly penned response. My MP where I used to live - a senior Conservative - would write lengthy responses and has a lot of local support because of his active constituency work. In comparison, Laing is under-whelming. I'm surprised she is still shadow justice secretary given that she has barely made a mark in the media, particularly in relation to ID cards, the database and various constitutional issues that the Conservatives are campaigning on. Really, they need a justice spokesperson who is in the forefront and she's really not cutting it. I think many local Conservatives regret losing Norris.
fair comment....

lee scotts my MP, and he is very much hands on and an excellent MP.



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inézc says...
6:41pm Mon 12 Oct 09

She has behaved appallingly in firstly not paying back all the money she claimed, then saying - grudgingly - that she would pay back £25000, and then failing to do that four months down the line. Mrs Laing is complacent as Epping Forest is a safe seat. On the rare occasions that I have emailed her, I have never had anything back, and she appears to think that she is "above all that". She turns out for the odd fete, etc but otherwise that is all we ever see. She obviously has no idea whatsoever about the very high feelings about her that many of the electorate has, and she seems to be so deluded that she cares even less. We deserve far better than her, and she should be made to explain her stance.

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Uncle Albert says...
7:38am Tue 13 Oct 09

If the local party don't deselect her then I wonder how those loyal activists are going to feel come the next election when they are asked to campaign on behalf of a profiteering abuser of a flawed system?

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Debdenite says...
9:35am Tue 13 Oct 09

Uncle Albert wrote:
If the local party don't deselect her then I wonder how those loyal activists are going to feel come the next election when they are asked to campaign on behalf of a profiteering abuser of a flawed system?
Past experience has shown that those who don't have confidence in their candidate refuse to campaign at all or run a campaign of attrition to benefit their leading rival.

Remember Neil Hamilton? He personified sleaze under the Major government (although now cash-for-questions looks trivial compared to cash-for-peerages and the expenses scandal). Many Conservative activists supported his successful independent challenger Martin Bell. I don't think that will happen here as it is unlikely that a high profile independent 'unity' candidate will come forward, but Laing does personify everything that is wrong in British politics today: arrogance, cheating the system for personal gain, careerism, a lack of respect for constituents, etc. This cuts across all parties.

If she fails to get at least 75% of local activists (not just the stay-at-home membership, but the people who do all the leg work by canvassing and leafleting) then she is doomed.

If she stands, the general election campaign in Epping Forest will be more about Laing's expenses than national politics. It will be a contest between her and the Liberal Democrat candidate, local councilllor Ann Haigh. In such circumstances, local community activists tend to do better. She may not be a sharp-suited, young and slick person, but I think people will regard her as an honest person and a safe pair of hands.

People have lost faith in a self-serving career politician who only came here because the Conservatives cannot win safe seats in her native Scotland. The best thing the Tories could do now is deselect Laing and put in someone like council leader Di Collins, who like Ann Haigh has respect within the community. I think a lot of people would agree that we need someone with a good track record and a bit of humility and dedication who is going to champion the people of Epping Forest.

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Katie Rolt says...
10:11am Tue 13 Oct 09

Debdenite, I agree with your comments but don’t agree that it is a two horse race between the Tories and Lib Dems. The Lib Dem candidate (Ann Haigh) has done herself great damage by publicly supporting and being photographed with Noor Ramjanally, the chap who lied to Police about being abducted and arguably tried incite racial hatred in the Loughton area.

Should the Conservative Party field a new candidate, they will win Epping Forest hands down.

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Debdenite says...
10:23am Tue 13 Oct 09

Who is the alternative to Laing? I don't know who is standing for Labour, which has all but collapsed locally. Fringe parties like UKIP, BNP, English Democrats, etc, won't get anywhere. Moderate-minded, principled Conservatives who are angry about Laing will switch to the Lib Dems. Look at what happened in Grange Hill last week - the Conservatives nearly lost a safe district seat due to a 30%+ swing to the Lib Dems. A similar swing across the constituency would see the Conservatives lose a seat they thought was safe. Ramjanally fooled the police and many other people, not just Ann Haigh, and the backlash has been very localised to areas where people don't vote Lib Dem anyway.

I agree, should they deselect Laing and select a more trustworthy candidate, they will retain the seat easily - but only if they do it now. If they prevaricate until just before the election, they could still lose the seat.

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Katie Rolt says...
10:38am Tue 13 Oct 09

Debdenite, once again I find myself agreeing with you. However, it still stands that she is the only would-be MP to have publicly supported him , which will be damaging come the General Election.

Yes, the Tories need to pick a new candidate now; time is very much of the essence. Should they not do this or take too long then they will land UKIP votes not the Lib Dems.

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Morris Hickey says...
10:45am Tue 13 Oct 09

Debdenite wrote:
Who is the alternative to Laing? I don't know who is standing for Labour, which has all but collapsed locally. Fringe parties like UKIP, BNP, English Democrats, etc, won't get anywhere. Moderate-minded, principled Conservatives who are angry about Laing will switch to the Lib Dems. Look at what happened in Grange Hill last week - the Conservatives nearly lost a safe district seat due to a 30%+ swing to the Lib Dems. A similar swing across the constituency would see the Conservatives lose a seat they thought was safe. Ramjanally fooled the police and many other people, not just Ann Haigh, and the backlash has been very localised to areas where people don't vote Lib Dem anyway. I agree, should they deselect Laing and select a more trustworthy candidate, they will retain the seat easily - but only if they do it now. If they prevaricate until just before the election, they could still lose the seat.
Just two points. First, the Lib Dems recently held 2 of the 3 council seats in Grange Hill ward. They lost one when a very popular and local man moved home and stood down, and the other when their councillor left the area and resigned shortly before the end of his term of office. Second, in last week's byelection there was no Labour candidate, so all anti-Conservative votes went to the only other candidate - the Lib Dem.

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Bill Candie says...
11:04am Tue 13 Oct 09

She would do well at a Halloween party

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Debdenite says...
11:05am Tue 13 Oct 09

I guess we can all agree that we deserve a good constituency-minded MP - Tory, LibDem or whatever - and that no-one could be worse than Eleanor Laing. She's earned her money and she can get a big pot of cash from the property we've paid for, so she won't be strapped for cash if she is unemployed. She should take what little dignity she has and resign immediately. She should have done that months ago. The fact that Cameron has kept her on in her position as shadow justice minister (who will presumably have some jurisdiction over these kind of matters), even when she has defied his order to repay a fraction of the CGT she avoided and the massive profits she made from the tax-payer-funded second home, reflects really, really badly on his leadership. He should sack her now and consign her to the backbenches for the few months she's got left as an MP.

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Morris Hickey says...
11:14am Tue 13 Oct 09

Come back Steve Norris - much is foregiven......... (maybe).

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SN3 says...
2:25pm Tue 13 Oct 09

The Lib Dems have no chance of winning Epping Forest and they know it. If there was a 31% swing to any of the parties they would take the seat from Laings Conservatives. It then comes down who you want to vote for.

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girlfromessex says...
2:41pm Tue 13 Oct 09

At last common sense prevails.

I have written to Eleanor Laing on a number of occasions, and she hardly ever replies. Once she wrote back some weeks after my email, apologising for keeping me waiting, but said that she lost my email. She asked me to remind her of its subject, and added she fully sympathised with my problem. I had actually invited her to an event I was organising.

Sorry, but I want an MP who will respond and who will take all our concerns seriously.

My mum lives in Redbridge. When Social Services let her down big time, I emailed Mike Gapes and he replied the following day. He took action immediately, and then monitored the situation. Shame we cannot encourage him to move over here.

The problem is that we still vote for parties rather than people who will serve us properly. We don't want some ambitious young MP in Epping Forest. We want someone who actually cares for their consituents and will put them first.

One thing about Anne Haig. I wrote to her many years ago about something happening in her ward and although I do not even live in Buckhurst Hill and the fact that she did not know me, she came over the next day to answer my question in person. I think that suggests that she would be an excellent MP - who cares about her politics?

Does anyone know who is standing for Labour?

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Debdenite says...
3:11pm Tue 13 Oct 09

I agree with you, girlfromessex, particularly about Laing's failure to respond to letters and emails. I know other people who have had this problem. She's a really disappointing constituency MP, even without the expenses scandal. She turns up to events for local press photo opportunities and then vanishes because she doesn't want to mix with the local riff-raff. She treats us with contempt. She says she has been "touched by the very many messages of support I have received in recent weeks", so where are her supporters? Where are the hoards of her constituents who are crying out for her to remain as MP? She has a majority of a dozen or so sycophants on a committee who'll go down with her if she is deselected, that's all. That was before they found out she had not fulfilled her promise to repay £25,000 of the £180,000 of expenses she claimed for her 'second home'.

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SN3 says...
3:27pm Tue 13 Oct 09

Tony Clements is standing for Labour I believe.

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Hoister Vestry E17 says...
3:18pm Wed 14 Oct 09

I am angry about Jackie Smith not paying her 100k back.

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girlfromessex says...
4:52pm Wed 14 Oct 09

Two wrongs don't make a right. At least Jackie Smith apologised yesterday in parliament, which is more than what Eleanor Laing has done!

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jonnyk5614 says...
9:52pm Thu 15 Oct 09

Actually, Eleanor Laing has done no wrong.
BEFORE becoming an MP, Eleanor bought 2 flats in Westminster which she and her husband knocked through into one flat.
When she became an MP, she bought a home in her constituency also.
She registered her Westminster flat as her 2nd home when claiming expenses.
After divorcing her husband after his affair, she sold the Westminster flat, at a profit. HM Revenue informed her that her second home was her constituency home (presumably because the flat had the higher value).
She, like everyone else in the land, therefore owed no CGT on her first home (the flat).
She, and HMRC, has always said the WHEN SHE SELLS HER CONSTITUENCY HOME, SHE WILL BE REQUIRED TO PAY CGT. She has done nothing wrong.
Unlike some other MPs, her situation was different, because the second home was owned before she became an MP.


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jamjay says...
6:32pm Fri 16 Oct 09

I have had little faith in Laing even before this expenses debacle, locally I see, read & hear very little of what Laing does for Loughton.
She has barely caused a ripple in parlaiment concerning the undemocratic way that traveller sites are to be enforced upon the Epping Forest district.
MP IDS of Chingford puts Laing in the shade, he runs one house & commutes, his expenses have always been modest & fair, do we not deserve similar?
LAING GO NOW YOU HAVE ENJOYED THE GRAVY TRAIN LONG ENOUGH.

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