A longstanding County Councillor who had been chosen to stand again in May will ultimately not contest this year’s election as a Conservative after a rerun saw another candidate selected.
Cam Valley Councillor Brian Tipper has not been selected by his party as the candidate for the division seat he currently holds on Gloucestershire County Council.
He says he had been selected as the Conservative candidate in October last year but a complaint was filed over the process and there was a rerun.
During the rerun, he says he received more than 50 per cent of the vote from the Tory membership.
But to win automatic selection a candidate must achieve at least 75 per cent of the vote, Conservative insiders say.
However, the executive decided to select Stroud District Council Conservative group leader Lindsey Green as their candidate to contest the Shire Hall seat.
Cllr Tipper said he was very unhappy with the decision but thanked his loyal supporters for backing his candidacy.
“Frankly, what it came down to was that the executive decided against the public vote,” he said.
“I know that I had a good majority on that vote which was done online and basically it went over to the executive and they decided not to select me.”
The former Stroud District Councillor, who lost his seat at Ebley Mill last year, has been a County Councillor since 2009 and had hoped to make it 20 years on the council.
“Every time I stood I always had as many votes as all the other parties put together,” Cllr Tipper said.
“All I can say is that I’ve got good loyal people around me and we’ll have to go from there. I’ve got a lot of respect, right over my patch as Berkeley and Cam East and Cam West, of course.
“I’m just a straightforward guy, and my family are well liked in the area. It’s a shame that this has happened.
“What I set out to do years ago was to do 20 years on for both councils.
“I got into politics late but what I’ve always liked about Conservatism is what I call building blocks, you know, do, do something one day.
“And you perhaps leave it alone for a period and then build onto that and keep moving forward.
“But things have changed quite a bit now. I don’t know what they’ve got in their minds, but the executive decided to go against what local people think.”
Council leader Stephen Davies (C, Hardwicke and Severn) said Cllr Tipper has been an effective and well liked County Councillor for many years.
He praised his track record in getting things done in his division.
“Brian has been an effective and well liked County Councillor for many years. He has a long track record of getting things done in his division,” he said.
“The division is slightly modified from the one Brian has previously represented.
“The process was a two step process where Conservative Members in the division vote, there were three of these, and then the executive choose to either accept that recommendation or choose someone else.
“Both were a secret ballot so I am not sure how Brian knows the members’ vote, but the executive decided it was time for a new candidate, and selected Lindsey Green as the new candidate.”
Cllr Davies added that it was a difficult decision to make given all the good work Lindsey Green does.