F. W. S. Craig - Conservative Split

Conservative Split

At the West Sussex County Council election in 1981, Craig was elected as a Conservative councillor in Chichester West division, while his wife Phyllis won Chichester South division. He had been the Chairman of the Chichester City branch of Chichester Conservative Association for many years, but at a stormy meeting on 1 March 1982 he was voted out of office. When he spoke in support of his re-election, Craig had noted the presence of many unfamiliar faces and declared "I will oppose wets and Left Wing infiltrators who would like to destroy this great party from within". In November 1981 the Association had adopted a new policy under which it refused to pay election expenses for sitting councillors, although new candidates would be funded. Craig and the other sitting councillors considered this amounted to deselection and formed the 'Association of Conservative Councillors' which would raise funds for their election expenses.

The Association of Conservative Councillors chose Craig as its election agent and declared its intention to nominate candidates against those of the Conservative Association. The resignation of a Liberal councillor led to a by-election for Chichester District Council in Chichester West ward in June 1982; Phyllis Craig was nominated in opposition to the official Conservative. The Liberal candidate held the seat with a majority of 149, with Phyllis Craig receiving 250 votes. It was widely perceived that her intervention had led to the Liberals winning a seat which otherwise would have been Conservative. Craig and his wife had their annual subscriptions returned by the Conservative Association in January 1983, which he denounced as "a back-door method of expulsion" and "a very nasty way of getting rid of someone."

Craig and his wife stood as Independent Conservative candidates for Chichester District Council in the 1983 council elections, but were not successful. He did not stand for re-election to the County Council in 1985 when his term ended. He later became a member of Chichester and Bognor Regis Samaritans.