Like so many Tory members, I can’t stay in this broken party

I’m not your typical Shire Tory; I was raised by a single parent and am the product of a Northern comprehensive. Yet I have supported the party for almost three decades, ever since my teenage years when I first realised the vital importance of capitalism, self‑reliance and freedom. But this Government’s disastrous handling of Brexit and betrayal of the electorate means that not only did I cut up my party membership card this week but I’ve decided never to vote Conservative again – and I’m not alone. Many members of my local association say they are doing the same.

Though able to deliver a clean Brexit, our PM has ignored the public will and the wishes of her party, choosing instead to concoct a deal with a Marxist previously deemed a national security threat. She has never taken the no‑deal option seriously, alienating Brexiteers while letting unelected Europhiles like Olly Robbins dominate negotiations. And now – either to pool the blame with Jeremy Corbyn, or push MPS towards her deal – she is willing to split her own party. It’s a typical miscalculation, threatening grave damage to democracy.

Two weeks ago, I was encouraging others to stay in the party, get involved in their local associations and retain a say in picking MPS (and the next leader). Yet democracy is broken at a national and local level. I was one of many who had “no confidence” in my local MP, Dominic Grieve. His views on Europe are out of step with his voters. But his hypocrisy is the real issue. Unlike Ken Clarke, he has not been transparent – pledging to uphold the referendum one day, calling to revoke Article 50 and meeting EU leaders to undermine negotiations the next.

Yet when we condemned his double‑dealing, party chairman Brandon Lewis

and Tory grandees closed ranks to defend him. We were branded “extremists”, while fellow MPS tweeted sanctimoniously about his “integrity”. All this reinforced a sense of “Parliament against the People”. What is the point of local associations if high command treats members like ignorant leaflet‑fodder? Being a Tory activist is no picnic. We spend many a weekend door‑knocking in the rain, being branded “Tory scum” or blamed for thousands of deaths. Without this infrastructure and with donors leaving in their droves, the party will struggle at the next election.

Brexit should have enabled national renewal, galvanising the country like the 2012 London Olympics. Yet the PM’S move away from her Lancaster House red lines has sown division. John Bercow has shamelessly twisted the rules for his own ends. Party democracy has vanished, Britain’s biggest electoral mandate has been frustrated and we’ve lost a sense of decency and fair play once integral to national life.

Though I’d never vote Labour, I will actively work against the Tories at the next election, possibly through the Brexit Party, to channel my energy into a worthwhile cause. Beyond nanny statism and petty tinkering, the Tory party has no intellectual base, no principles and no reason for being.

Of course I’m worried about the impact of Corbyn‑led Labour, but the Conservatives must change, and the next 50 years matter more than the next five. This week’s lamentable display suggests only a reckoning at the ballot box will do that. The people have sensed a democratic stitch‑up, and the results will not be pretty. follow Paul Ennew on Twitter @paulennew; READ more at telegraph.co.uk/opinion