TWO years, five months after Thirsk and Malton MP Anne McIntosh was unceremoniously deselected by the local Conservative association, it would appear her successor has already faced intense pressure from members.

Kevin Hollinrake, who announced that he would be supporting Theresa May to become the next Conservative Party leader while there were still numerous candidates in the running, is understood to have received some no-nonsense correspondence from constituents linked to the concerted campaign to unseat the now Baroness McIntosh of Pickering.

While Mr Hollinrake said he believed Mrs May was the safest pair of hands and the most able to bring the Tory party together following the Brexit vote, a former leading member of the association from a village near Thirsk fired off a letter, venting his fury that Andrea Leadsom had not been backed.

“The grass roots voted Leave and we should have a prime minister that voted Leave,” the party member said. “May was wishy washy. Leadsom was very impressive during the campaign. Around Thirsk, we are all for Leadsom.”

According to Lord Ashcroft, 58 per cent of those who voted Conservative at the last general election voted to leave the EU.

The difference of opinion appears to bring a sense of deja vu to some members of the association, who said Ms McIntosh, a one-time MEP, had also kindled disfavour locally by being pro-EU.

After hearing of the letter, some leading members of the association moved to reassure Mr Hollinrake, describing the pro-Leadsom camp in the area as "dinosaurs, who David Cameron talked over".

Mr Hollinrake's supporters say they believed he had chosen his party leader candidate on behalf of all his constituents, rather than just his party members.