Conservative club chairman 'quits over row about toilets'

'Men kept leaving it in a disgusting state'

The clubhouse for Gosport Conservative Association (Gosport Conservatives)

The chairman of a Conservative association has reportedly quit in a long-running row over the club's toilets.

Peter Lockyer resigned as head of Gosport Conservative Association after one of its male members continued to use a unisex toilet that had been repurposed as a female bathroom because "men kept leaving it in a disgusting state", according to The Times.

Though Mr Lockyer reportedly tendered his resignation over a number of issues, “the main problem has always been the ladies’ toilets upstairs,” he said.

Mr Lockyer's successor says everyone is now "perfectly happy", but refused to say why his predecessor had quit.

Brian Taylor, who has only been in the role for one day, denied that there is an going use of toilets at the club.

He told The Independent: “We, the association, own this building. We share it with Caroline Dinenage [MP for Gosport] and her staff.

“It has three toilets. One is unisex, one is a male toilet, one is a female toilet.

“I’ve spoken to all the staff, they’re all perfectly happy

“We’ve all moved on and we’re doing whatever we’re doing.”

Apparently contradicting the reports by The Times, Mr Taylor also said that the disputed lavatory had “always been a unisex toilet".

Indeed, according to Mr Taylor, the staff who work in the building have a toilet situation enviable to most British workers: “There’s only three staff, they’ve got a toilet each if they want.”

Caroline Dinenage MP did not comment on the issue and said it was a matter for the Gosport Conservative Association.