Losing Tory candidate accused of ‘parading around as an MP’

A former Conservative minister who lost his seat at last year’s general election has been accused of continuing to “parade around as MP” by the leader of the House of Commons.

Brendan Clarke-Smith was a children’s minister under Boris Johnson and the MP for Bassetlaw from 2019 until July last year, when Labour’s Jo White won the seat.

More than six months later, White has complained that Clarke-Smith’s former constituency office is still displaying his title as MP, as well as the official portcullis logo of the House of Commons.

Commons Leader Lucy Powell said she was “appalled” by the allegations – but Clarke-Smith dismissed by them as “daft”.

He told the BBC he had handed back the keys to his office in November and the landlord would be replacing the sign when a new tenant is found.

The issue was raised in the Commons by White, who asked: “What action can be taken when the previous MP continues to promote themselves in the constituency where they lost their seat, retaining the Portcullis insignia and title in their publicity?”

Responding, Lucy Powell said she takes the matter “very seriously indeed” and would be checking on reports to the House authorities and the Standards Commissioner.

She said: “I’m really appalled to see some of the evidence she’s sent about her predecessor effectively parading around her constituency as an MP – or shadow MP, or other such things that don’t exist – and making use of the portcullis symbol, which is absolutely against the protocol for its use.”

White told the BBC: “He’s the only election loser in the country who is reminding people daily they didn’t vote for him.

“My constituents are telling me they want it taken down – it’s well over time for him to get over it and move on.”

The former MP’s office has a bright blue sign running the length of the building that reads: “Brendan Clarke-Smith MP, Member of Parliament for Bassetlaw” and is flanked on either side by a large portcullis topped with a crown, which is the accepted emblem of Parliament.

The window of his office door is displaying a more than a dozen political posters attacking White for the Labour government’s winter fuel allowance cuts, which must have been put up inside the office since the election.

Clarke-Smith dismissed the complaint as “a bit of a whinge… No-one is pretending to be an MP”.

“It’s an empty office which has got a sign up still and I think the thing she doesn’t like is its got a big picture of my face on it, which is very visible as you drive into town,” he said.

“When someone moves in there and it becomes a cafe or whatever, they will rip that off – I don’t think I’m authorised to.

“I think she just expects me to disappear and politics doesn’t quite work like that.”

When asked about the posters attacking the Labour government in the window, he said: “Somebody has probably left that in there.”

He said his office had formerly been a clothing shop that had been empty for about a decade, still with the original sign reading the Schoolwear Centre above the door when he moved in.

“Ironically, Jo White was the deputy leader of the council and responsible for regeneration for many years,” he added.

Clarke-Smith said MPs no longer had to clear out their offices and take down signs during elections because “it was costing huge amounts of money”.

Following every election there is a four-month period where former MPs move out of offices, make staff redundant and pay final bills, known as “wash-up” and Clarke-Smith said “I think most MPs have only just closed their offices”.

He also criticised White for using her time in the Commons to complain about him, saying there were many other more important local issues, including flooding and the new Accident and Emergency department.

The pair also clashed during the last election, when Clarke-Smith reported White to the Standards Commissioner for an offer of visits to Parliament, although the complaint was not upheld.

The House of Commons and Standards Commissioner were approached for comment.