Antoinette Sandbach has lost the support of her party, not necessarily that of the people, Hannah Miller writes

'Boris Johnson is danger of losing moderate centre-ground Conservatives’ - not my words, but those of a newly-independent MP, kicked out of the party for backing the opposition in their attempt to block a No Deal Brexit.

Antoinette Sandbach voted three times for Theresa May’s Brexit deal - a deal too Brexity for some, not Brexity enough for others.

But now, after years of loyalty to the Conservatives and to her constituents (who voted roughly 51% to leave), the Eddisbury MP has been pushed out by a party that sees no room for the compromise she embodies.

But what about the people? On Monday, I visited Tarporley, a picturesque village in the heart of the Eddisbury constituency, which has elected a Conservative MP at every election since the seat was established in 1983. But in this year’s local elections, they chose an independent councillor - Eveleigh Moore Dutton, who had previously served as a Conservative.

Now of course, our filming was not a scientific poll - it was the views of a random selection of people who happened to be out and about on that particular street on that particular morning. But it wasn’t hard to find people who felt their MP was doing the right thing - including several who said it was refreshing to hear a politician sticking to their convictions. When we did eventually find a person who was willing to go on camera and stick up for Boris Johnson, it emerged she was a long-standing member of the local party.

And there lies the problem for an MP like Antoinette Sandbach - the gap between the views of party members, and those of the public as a whole. Eddisbury Conservative Association is supportive of the Government, and will presumably pick a new candidate who supports a No Deal Brexit - but will that message really work in a constituency that is split more-or-less down the middle?

Maybe Boris Johnson no longer cares about reaching out to the moderate voters in traditional Tory shires, maybe he thinks he can win an election without them, and find the votes elsewhere. But the deselection of Antoinette Sandbach shows the Conservative Party now speaks for those who shout loudest, voters who want compromise may be going unheard.