The alleged threat to withdraw funding from a school in Radcliffe if an MP didn’t toe the party line has been branded ‘appalling’ by Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham.
Chrstian Wakeford, representing Bury South, who defected from the Conservatives to Labour this week, claimed on Thursday that he was threatened with a roll-back on funding if he did not vote with the Government.
On Sunday, Mr Burnham, who conceded he’d heard ‘dark mutterings’ of posturing and power plays during his time in Gordon Brown’s Cabinet, told the Manchester Evening News he’d never before known young people’s education to be put at risk to influence a vote.
This, he said, was a ‘new level’ which marked a need for ‘root and branch reform’.
Christian Wakeford, representing Bury South, who defected from the Conservatives to Labour this week, made the explosive claim on Thursday that he was given the ultimatum around voting with the Government.
Mr Wakeford, who in 2019 became the first elected Tory in the Greater Manchester constituency for more than 20 years, went on to accuse Boris Johnson of ‘poisoning’ the party in a piece for the Sunday Mirror.
Now Mr Burnham has shared his views on the ongoing saga, describing the alleged threat as ‘just so appalling it’s almost beyond belief’.
He added: “The idea that the education of young people in Radcliffe is a bargaining chip in Westminster power battles against Marcus Rashford basically stinks.
“It tells you everything that is wrong with the Westminster system, all the power is held there over very local things like a new school that’s desperately needed.
“Young people’s education in our part of the world is a bargaining chip in a Westminister power game.”
Asked if he had experienced this kind of power play during his time on Gordon Brown’s Cabinet, he recalled: “When I was an MP I sometimes had doubts about certain votes and - it was never from my experience - but there would be dark mutterings about being told you’d be ‘out in the cold’.
“But never did I hear of a constituency issue playing into it. It feels like this is a new level," he added.
“It does feel as though the Government hoards power in Westminster and they use that to sustain themselves in power.
“This is the biggest argument yet to demand devolution.
“Schools in Radcliffe should not be tied up in Westminster power battles."
He added: “Funding for that should be devolved and decided outside of all that on a needs basis, at a regional local level. The idea that it should be swept up in all that nonsense in Westminster is totally wrong."
Meanwhile, Bury South MP Mr Wakeford has also said the investigation into No 10 by civil servant Sue Gray would show Downing Street was “hosting parties while the rest of us were obeying the rules”.
“The PM attended and then lied about it. He showed no respect for the Queen while she was in mourning for her husband,” Mr Wakeford wrote.
“His behaviour has been an insult not just to Her Majesty but to the whole nation.
“His lack of honesty and integrity has poisoned the once great party he leads.”
Mr Wakeford claimed that the "bully boys at Westminster" told him that he "wouldn’t get a promised new school in Bury South if I voted the wrong way".
"The police are now being asked to investigate allegations that other Tory MPs were blackmailed into putting Boris Johnson’s interests ahead of their own constituents," he said.
Mr Wakeford added he had “too much respect for the people who voted me into Parliament to stay silent in the face of such intimidation”.
The MP also criticised Mr Johnson's plans for levelling up, saying that people in his constituency wanted to see "wealth and opportunity" for the region under a Tory government.
"The Tories have let them down," he said.
"Only Labour with Keir Starmer has a serious plan for levelling up. The Labour Party I joined last week is serious about making Brexit work. There’s no going back into the EU."
It comes amid calls for another inquiry after Tory MP Nusrat Ghani claims was told that she was sacked from her ministerial post because her Muslim faith was “making colleagues uncomfortable”.
Ms Ghani claims when she lost her job as a transport minister in 2020, a government whip told her “Muslimness” had been raised as an issue at a Downing Street meeting to discuss the reshuffle.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Ms Ghani, the MP for Wealden, said she was shocked when the issue of her background and faith was raised during a meeting in the whips’ office after the mini-reshuffle in February 2020.
“It was like being punched in the stomach. I felt humiliated and powerless,” she told the paper.
Chief whip Mark Spencer said that he was the individual who spoke to Ms Ghani – although he strongly denied using the words claimed.
“To ensure other whips are not drawn into this matter, I am identifying myself as the person Nusrat Ghani MP has made claims about this evening,” he said in a statement posted on Twitter.
“These accusations are completely false and I consider them to be defamatory. I have never used those words attributed to me.”
Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi said there was no place for Islamophobia or any form of racism in the party, and that her allegations must be “investigated properly and racism routed out”.
The senior Tory who first raised the issue of the conduct of the whips’ office, Hazel Grove MP William Wragg, also voiced his support for Ms Ghani.
“Nus is very brave to speak out. I was truly appalled to learn of her experience. She shows such strength and integrity supporting others,” he tweeted.
Mr Wragg was due to discuss his concerns – including claims whips threatened to withhold public funding from the constituencies of MPs calling for Mr Johnson to resign – with a Scotland Yard detective this week.
Deputy PM Dominic Raab has defended the prime minister, saying he “has taken a few hits but he’ll come out fighting”.
