Makepeace's Leadership Bid

I agree. What I found equally cringing was that this serial reinforced the popular (but totally untrue) South = Tory, North = Labour stereotype. Notice how all the Labour MPs seemed to speaking with Northern accents? Large portions of my home county of Derbyshire have long been Tory strongholds (especially up in the Peak District, where the accents resemble those of people from South Yorkshire).

To some extent you are right but he is just sitting on the opposition benches he has not resigned the party whip. Of course, in reality anyone doing such a thing would have the whip removed and therefore be ineligible to contest the leadership. I have always assumed that Urquhart, either being complacent or because he does not wish to seem afraid of Makepeace, does not direct his Whips to do this...