Shropshire Tories praise Owen Paterson as MP resigns
Senior Conservatives in Shropshire have described Owen Paterson as an "important voice" and an "honourable guy" following his resignation.
Mr Paterson resigned as North Shropshire MP on Thursday as he again faced the prospect of being suspended over breaking paid lobbying rules.
The majority of Tory MPs voted for a disciplinary overhaul on Wednesday which would have granted Mr Paterson a temporary reprieve. But widespread outrage prompted Prime Minister Boris Johnson to make a U-turn on Thursday, with whips preparing to reschedule a vote on Mr Paterson's possible suspension.
The MP, who had served his constituency for nearly 25 years released a statement announcing his resignation, describing the last two years as an "indescribable nightmare". His wife Rose took her own life last June, and Mr Paterson believes the investigation into his lobbying played a part.
He was found to have broken the rules by repeatedly approaching ministers and officials on behalf of two companies that between them paid him more than £100,000 a year as a consultant.
Reacting to the resignation, Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard said: "Setting aside the details of the allegations levelled against Owen Paterson, I want to put on record my thanks for his near quarter of a century service to the people of north Shropshire.
"Owen was a hard-working MP who fought valiantly over many years for many good causes, and was an important and effective voice for Shropshire. But I respect his decision to resign."
Former Shropshire Council deputy leader Steve Charmley, who stepped down from his cabinet role recently having faced abuse online, described Mr Paterson as an "honourable guy", and said he had done a "huge amount of good" for the north Shropshire community. However, he thought it might be the right time to go.
"It's a bit of a surprise," he said. "He has worked tirelessly over his political career.
"With regard to the standards inquiry, none of us probably know the full details. In my dealings with him, he's always been honest and helpful.
"I think he has probably done the right thing. I know he believes this investigation was responsible for Rose's suicide. Hopefully he'll be able to move on and get on with his life. He's done an awful lot for UK politics."
Telford MP Lucy Allan voted in favour of the disciplinary overhaul in the Commons. After the furore which followed but before Mr Paterson's resignation, she was asked by the Shropshire Star for her thoughts on the government's U-turn on MP conduct rules, and whether she agreed with the move or if Prime Minister Boris Johnson should have stuck with the vote made by MPs yesterday.
She was also asked whether she thought Mr Paterson should have been suspended or not, and why.
She replied with a statement saying: "All MPs want to see better standards in public life, both in parliament as well as in local government. There is a shared view across the House that the current system needs to be improved to ensure it is a fair process in which we can all have confidence. There is a full debate on this matter on Monday.
"We need a formal disciplinary system, similar to disciplinary systems that exist in other workplaces. The government accepts that cross-party support is needed to improve the system and that government can only take forward improvements with that support. The government is now looking at how to achieve this. A new system will only apply to future cases."
