Changes To Party Rules Since 1997
After the Conservatives' catastrophic defeat at the 1997 election, blamed at least in part on the embarrassment caused by the open rebelliousness and infighting of some elements in the party, changes were made to the party's procedures to reduce the freedom of backbench MPs to rebel. Local constituency Associations are now permitted to select as candidates only members of the approved party list or MPs with the whip.
The party leadership could therefore require a rebellious MP (or an MP involved in a scandal) to be deselected as a candidate by removing his or her name from the Candidates' List or by removing the whip as was done to Howard Flight MP at the 2005 General Election. Local members who refuse to obey the instructions of Conservative Central Office can have their Association suspended (put on "Special Measures"), as was done to the Slough Association at that election when they refused to deselect their candidate.
Read more about this topic: Maastricht Rebels
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