Julie Must Go!

Julie Kirkbride, Conservative MP for Bromsgrove, faces growing demands for her resignation after more than 4,000 constituents signed a petition calling for her to quit. The petition was organised by the local campaign group Julie Must Go!

Furious Constituents

Her husband Andrew Mackay, MP for Bracknell has already been forced to stand down at the next election after furious constituents held him to account at a meeting last week. He claimed £23,000 a year in second home expenses despite having only one home. The couple claimed total expenses of £813,730 between 2005 and 2008.

'Special Circumstances'

According to the Daily Telegraph Ms Kirkbride received extra public money to build a £50,000 extension to her constituency flat so her brother, a bachelor who lives on investment income and owns a house in Cirencester, could occupy the property. She has claimed previously that her brother staying there caused the taxpayer no extra cost. Yet the extension added £250 per month to her expenses claims.

Local councillors gave permission for the extension - to a Grade II listed mansion on green belt land - because of 'special circumstances'.

Bandwidth Exceeded

Ms Kirkbride employs her sister, Karen Leadley, as a part-time secretary despite her living in Dorset, more than 100 miles from Bromsgrove or Westminster. Ms Kirkbride has refused to attend a constituency meeting to be held on Sunday 31st May. Her website shows a 'Bandwidth Limit Exceeded' error and is not viewable.

Secret Expenses

In an article in The Times Julie Kirkbride claims that 'stories like mine' may deter women from entering politics. She blames her husband for giving her bad advice in relation to her expenses. 

Ms Kirkbride voted in favour of MPs' expenses being exempted from the Freedom of Information Act - the 'last ditch' attempt by some MPs to keep their expenses secret after they lost a High Court battle funded by the taxpayer.

Conservative stronghold

Julie Kirkbride was engaged to Conservative MP Stephen Milligan who died of auto-erotic asphyxiation in 1994. She was a Daily Telegraph political correspondent from 1992-6 and social affairs editor of the Sunday Telegraph from 1996-7. She was elected MP for Bromsgrove, a Conservative stronghold, in 1997. At the last election in 2005 she polled 24,387 votes. Her nearest rival, the Labour candidate, polled 14,307 votes.

28-05-09

STOP PRESS

Lead item on BBC lunchtime news (Thursday 28-05-09): 

"The BBC understands that Julie Kirkbride is likely to stand down... meetings are taking place at Conservative Central Office and elsewhere... letters may be exchanged.... this situation can't go on... senior figures in the party expect this situation to come to end..."