ERIC FORTH, the maverick right-wing MP who died on Wednesday, was determined to scupper David Cameron’s plans to plant modernisers in safe seats by standing again at the election.

Friends of the MP have told The Times that before illness overwhelmed him, Mr Forth spoke of his fierce opposition to the new candidate system, designed to increase the number of female MPs.

In characteristic gesture of defiance, he had pledged to stay in his Bromley and Chislehurst seat to prevent one of Mr Cameron’s new elite candidates replacing him. At 61, the MP would have been expected to retire at the next election. All safe and winnable constituencies are expected to choose their next candidate from a priority list, and local officers said yesterday the seat has been earmarked for a woman.

But Mr Forth had planned to dig in and defy the new leader. “He was determined to stand if at all possible,” one friend said. “He hated the priority list and did not want one of them replacing him.”

His death will trigger a battle of wills between the local party and the leadership. Allies in the association will attempt to honour Mr Forth’s memory by seeking out another independent thinker to represent them.

Bob Neil, a member of the London Assembly, has a strong local following but is not on the priority list. He could swiftly become a cause célèbre. Central Office is thought to be pushing a female candidate, with Elizabeth Truss’s name already circulating in Bromley.

Friends said that a dispute would be a fitting testimony to the MP, a principled rightwinger. He served as a minister in both the Thatcher and Major governments but will be remembered more for his rapier wit and assiduous knowledge of parliamentary procedure.

His friend, Iain Dale, recalled how Mr Forth attended a dinner in January held by David Davis to thank those who had helped his leadership campaign. When Mr Davis proposed a toast, “To the end of Blairism”, Mr Forth said: “Especially in the Conservative Party.”

Mr Forth discovered last Friday that he was suffering from cancer, although he had been ill with the disease before.

Mr Cameron led the tributes. “Eric’s sudden and untimely death has robbed the Commons of one of its stars and Bromley and Chislehurst of a great constituency champion.

“My first job as an opposition spokesman was serving under Eric when he was Shadow Leader of the House. Watching him speak in Parliament as an MP and from the front bench was a masterclass in how you can use the Commons to hold governments to account.”

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