Former Tory to stand as Independent

A FORMER Tory candidate who quit after criticising the party hierarchy is to stand as an independent in the Livingston by- election.

Mev Brown, who fought Edinburgh East for the Conservatives at the general election earlier this year, says he will be campaigning on a series of innovative policies, including using ethanol to fuel cars. He said: "To address the fuel crisis I would introduce a Private Member's Bill to create a new nationalised industry to invest in and facilitate the production of ethanol.

"The simple fact is the majority of cars and trucks in this country can run on a mix of up to 85 per cent ethanol and petrol - E85.

"Brazil has been using ethanol since the 1970s and requires an absolute minimum of 25 per cent ethanol in fuel, but because of the benefits in price, many run on E85. Indeed, Japan is now turning to ethanol and bio-diesel in order to meet its goal for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases under the Kyoto protocol."

Mev Brown, 44, who stood in Edinburgh East, resigned his membership after writing an article in The Scotsman criticising party policy; he hoped it would provoke a debate, but it elicited not even a comment from the party hierarchy.
"I despair of them," he said, adding: "I am concerned that the Conservatives and common sense have parted company."

He went on: "I fully expected to be kicked off the candidates' list. At the very least, I expected a phone call from central office, but there was nothing."

Mr Brown pointed out that Howard Flight, a Tory candidate and shadow minister in England, had been sacked as a candidate after questioning party policy before the election, but he had not even had a call from the leadership to ask him about his article.
"Any organisation needs leadership and discipline, and the Tories have neither," he said. But he stressed he was not planning to join any other party.

Mr Brown believes the Tories did not come up with policies which people could relate to, but his attempt to influence policy-making has been met with a wall of silence.

He said some Tory candidates must be married to, or in the same family, as police officers health workers and teachers but, if they were, their views had not been reflected in party policy. "Where is the professional input in policy? There has been none," he said.