The only Tory MP to gain a seat at the last election is under threat

The only Conservative to gain seat for the party at the last general election is in danger of deselection, reports BBC News:

Leicester East MP Shivani Raja has faced an attempt to block her standing as a candidate in the next general election.

The Leicester Conservative Federation met at the end of September to vote on whether Raja would be selected to defend the seat she won in 2024.

The BBC understand she narrowly lost the secret ballot and was not readopted.

However, party officials have subsequently declared the meeting null and void, saying it was not properly constituted.

So the drama isn't over yet. 

I do recall gossip before the election that the Tories had "chosen the wrong candidate", and I think it's fair to say that Raja hasn't made a huge impact since her victory.

If she were to be deselected and stand as an independent next time, she would only be following the best traditions of the constituency.

Leicester East was won by the Tories last time largely because two former Labour MPs for the seat, Claudia Webbe and Keith Vaz, stood against the official Labour candidate.

The full result is here: note the creditable third place for the Liberal Democrat Zuffar Haq in a constituency without a single branch of Gail's.