THE wife of a senior Conserva-tive has quit the party after a dispute involving Swindon Council leader Rod Bluh over who should have selected election candidates for Old Town.

Joyce Bawden, who is married to former council leader Coun Mike Bawden, quit after 46 years in the party, having first resigned as chairman of the Old Town and Lawn ward branch.

Where one exists in Swindon, a Tory ward branch, which comprises members from within the ward, normally recommends the candidates, who are ratified by the local executive.

But because of the boundary reforms, there was debate over who had the legitimacy to choose for the new wards of Old Town, Chiseldon and Lawn, and Wroughton and Wichelstowe.

Mrs Bawden, a former bank manager, suggested that four independent members from both the current committees of Old Town and Lawn, and Wroughton, should hold a selection meeting and the current committees of Old Town and Lawn, and Wroughton, should make their own selection.

Existing councillors or their family members should not have a say, she said.

But this was voted down by the Swindon South campaign team – a group of Tory activists including representatives from each local branch – after Coun Bluh claimed he would not get a fair hearing under this proposal.

Coun Bluh was later selected by the campaign team as one of the party’s three Old Town candidates.

In her resignation speech to the local executive in November, a copy of which was passed to the Adver, Mrs Bawden complained that Wroughton was allowed to select its candidates but Old Town and Lawn was not.

“The reason for this is that ‘one possible candidate’ said to my face that he objected as he would not get a fair hearing from this committee,” she said.

“That person was Rod Bluh and bearing in mind I had suggested the selection committee should be independent and not include existing councillors or family members I strongly feel this is a huge slur on me and this committee.”

When contacted by the Adver, Mrs Bawden said she had quit the party but declined to make further comment.

Geoff Halls, the then chairman and now the president of Swindon Conservative Association, who was not involved in selecting candidates, explained the campaign teams for north and south were given the initial right to decide whether they chose the candidates or whether this was delegated, because of the issue of branch legitimacy due to re-drawn boundaries.

Con Bluh said the Swindon South campaign team decided in a majority vote that it should make the selection, based mainly on the legitimacy issue, but confirmed that he had opposed Mrs Bawden’s proposal.

“There were suggestions that the normal open and fair selection process may have been compromised by the activities of Coun Bawden.

“Therefore I asked that the selection be made by the campaign team to avoid any chance of unfair selections being made,” he said.

“Coun Bawden was trying to ensure that any candidates selected were the only people he approved of.”

Coun Bawden refuted the allegation, saying: “The proposal was that no sitting councillor or member of their family would be part of the selection procedure and therefore how could I vote against him?

“It just beggars belief.”