A TOP Sheffield Tory told a parliamentary candidate he had to quit for missing town council meetings – but may have been able to stay on had he “slept with the mayor’s wife” instead.

Alan Ryder, deputy chairman of Sheffield Hallam Conservatives, emailed barman Daniel Gage, aged 24, after he stood down as the party’s candidate against Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg at the general election…

Mr Ryder told Mr Gage: “The fact is that once your council record became public knowledge your position as candidate became untenable.

“I don’t think that you still fully appreciate how serious this was.

“If you had done anything else – such as ’sleeping with the mayor’s wife’ or whatever – then we could have got round it.”

Not a headline I think we can expect to see again any time soon.

The Sheffield Telegraph reports:

Daniel Gage, one of five Tories on Dronfield Town Council, has been disqualified after failing to attend a single council meeting in the last six months.

Mr Gage, aged 24, said he is ‘heartbroken’ to have been kicked off the council just days before he was due to launch his campaign to be elected as MP for Sheffield Hallam.