Lib Dems in secret talks to poach Newbury Labour activist

Richard Garvie, Labour’s leading spokesman for the district (pictured here), said that the Lib Dems had warmly propositioned him, and talked freely about their plans.
He claimed that the approach had included a meeting at the home of a leading Lib Dem councillor when up to 10 other party supporters were present and that they wanted him to replace David Rendel, who would be prevented from challenging Tory candidate Richard Benyon for the third time, having twice been defeated in the fight for the Newbury seat.
Mr Rendel was ‘stunned’ when told of his party’s approach to Mr Garvie, but accepted that such machinations could have taken place without his knowledge.
He said that he would report the allegations immediately to senior members of the party locally, and in 24 hours had publicly announced that he would not stand at the next general election.
Mr Rendel said: “Yes, it’s quite possible that Richard Garvie was approached to become a Lib Dem member, but this is the first I’ve heard of it. “I have met Mr Garvie a number of times, so I know that he’s not a malicious person.
“We are going through a selection process at present, and I have no problem with anyone standing for this seat.”
Meanwhile, Mr Garvie insisted that the Lib Dems had pursued him since Labour’s vote leapt from 0.4 per cent to a record 9.6 per cent in the 2011 local elections.
He said: “Yes, the Liberal Democrats have been trying to get me to replace David Rendel, but I intend to put myself forward to fight the seat for the Labour Party.
“After our 2011 local election success, members of the local Lib Dem party emailed me to congratulate us on our fantastic achievement.
“They then invited me to meet them for a coffee, and two senior members of the Lib Dem local branch said that they had an interesting proposal to put to me.
“We met several times in a coffee shop and discussed my leaving Labour and joining the Lib Dems, as they were looking for a strong candidate because they did not want David Rendel to stand again.
“This was a huge personal compliment to me and my party, but I could never join a party that has sacrificed its principles for the taste of power in Government, and doesn’t represent core values.
“Newbury is now a straight fight between Labour and Conservative, as I can’t imagine any sort of queue forming to vote for Nick Clegg or Vince Cable after their disastrous time in the creaking Coalition.”
The chairman of the Newbury Liberal Democrat selection committee, Tony Vickers, confirmed that party members had asked Mr Garvie to switch to them, and added: “We spoke to Richard, as we have a lot in common.
“I’m aware that meetings have taken place between Richard and people from our party. We admire him as an effective campaigner.
“He’s an honest person and I’d be delighted to have him on our side, but he’d need to learn to be a team man.”