A FORMER Tory councillor has said he was able to cast a vote for Liz Truss to become the next prime minister – despite being suspended by the party nearly a year ago.
Alastair Redman was thought to have been kicked out of the party in 2021 after he fraudulently responded to a consultation from an official government body.
But evidence seen by The National suggests this was not the case, and that he was only fully removed on Wednesday after the Tories were challenged over his claim that he backed the current Foreign Secretary to succeed Boris Johnson.
A Tory HQ source said their records showed no ballot was delivered to Redman’s address, that he was no longer a member of the party and that if he had submitted a ballot, it would not have been counted as votes are checked against member numbers.
An email seen by this paper shows that just hours after we made enquiries about Redman’s status as a member, he was refunded £25 from the party – the full cost of an annual membership.
Redman said he received a ballot earlier in the month and that he cast his vote on August 7.
Members must have been in the party for at least three months before they gain voting rights however, Redman had been a member for around 20 years prior to his expulsion.
He said: “I was quite surprised to be honest but I did receive it, so I just assumed it was a change in the rules so I just used the ballot.
“In retrospect, I wish I had taken a picture or something because I didn’t realise I’d have to prove it.
“Honestly, I was a member at the time of voting, I did receive a ballot.”
The Scottish Conservatives said Redman applied to re-join earlier this year but he was rejected by the management board in July.
Despite this, he was sent an email confirming he had re-joined the Conservatives on July 14 – though the Tories insist he had never been readmitted.
A spokesperson added: “Therefore he has not been sent a ballot paper.”
The former councillor, who is currently bidding to contest an upcoming by-election in the area as an independent, told the Campbeltown Courier in November last year that he believed his expulsion was part of a plot from the Tory high command who viewed him as “too much of a maverick”.
Redman was investigated by Boundaries Scotland – the official Government body which draws up constituencies – after suspicions were raised about a number of responses to a consultation it opened on creating a new ward of Islay, Jura and Colonsay.
The body said it became suspicious when it saw a “large number” of responses were coming from email addresses linked to Russia and Latvia – all using “similar language” and all against the new proposed constituency, which would have redrawn the boundaries of the area Redman represented at the time.
He told the paper he had merely been filling in responses on behalf of his constituents and that, when he worked as a postmaster, he filled in forms for customers “all the time”. The revelation sparked his expulsion from the Conservative Party.
On August 7, Redman posted to his Facebook page that he had voted for Truss to become the next prime minister.
A Conservative Campaigns Headquarters source said: “Redman's membership was rejected and therefore he cannot vote in the leadership election."
Voting in the contest closes on Friday and the result will be announced on Monday.
