Mayor of London Boris Johnson says he hopes gay MP Crispin Blunt is reselected as the 2015 Tory candidate for Reigate.
He has quashed speculation that he was eyeing up the Surrey seat for a possible return to Parliament.
In order to remain as the Reigate Conservative candidate at the next general election, he must now win the votes of 565 local party members to secure the Conservative candidacy, and vie for a fourth term.
“Crispin Blunt is an old friend, a great local MP and I urge Reigate Conservatives to reselect him,” Mr Johnson said. “I wanted to state publicly that anything connecting me to the Reigate constituency – or any other – is a load of codswallop and I’m certainly not going to replace him.”
Claims that Mr Blunt had been snubbed by Tory activists in his constituency following his decision to come out as gay in 2010 have been rejected by the chair of Reigate’s Conservative Association.
Although many fear it’s a possible reason why Mr Blunt been made to undergo reselection.
He has been a passionate advocate of LGBT rights in recent years and a strong supporter of David Cameron’s commitment to legalise equal marriage in England and Wales.
In May 2012, Mr Blunt recorded an Out4Marriage video. The MP is also a patron of the Kaleidoscope Trust – a UK based international LGBT rights charity.
Ahead of May’s third reading of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, Mr Blunt told PinkNews.co.uk that David Cameron had shown “fantastic leadership” on equal marriage.
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