The Venstre constituency board in Aalborg North has decided to resign following the exclusion of MP Preben Bang Henriksen. Constituency chair Pernille Sloth Christensen told TV 2 Nord and DR that the decision came after an extraordinary board meeting on Wednesday evening, according to Ekstra Bladet and Berlingske.
"There is no doubt that overall there really is frustration and disappointment, also over the chairmanship's handling and leadership. We very much agree it could have been done better," she told TV 2 Nord. According to DR, the board steps down at an extraordinary general meeting in mid-November.
Members have for now chosen to stay in Venstre, so the decision covers their local posts and is not a departure from the party. "At the present time we have chosen to stay in Venstre. But we are giving up the post we have here in Kreds Nord. That means all of us withdraw from the board in Kreds Nord. Then we will see what happens," Sloth Christensen said.
Preben Bang Henriksen was excluded by Venstre's parliamentary group on Tuesday because he will not follow the party line in future, but he continues as an independent. In August he and four others voted against the fertiliser law, which sets quotas for Danish farmers' nitrogen discharges into fjords and coasts. On Tuesday evening he would not promise to follow the party line, since he did not yet know what he might have to vote for.
Three other members corrected course, while Søren Gade has previously left the Folketing. The parliamentary group then voted for him to leave the party he has sat in the Folketing for since 2011.
Venstre has urged him to give up his seat so the party does not lose an MP. The first substitute in North Jutland's Greater Constituency is former minister Torsten Schack Pedersen, who announced after the summer that he has quit politics entirely. After an extraordinary main board meeting on Sunday, Venstre chair Troels Lund Poulsen made clear that the parliamentary group must vote uniformly and not "east and west," as happened with the fertiliser law.
He said an MP who can no longer vote according to the party line cannot continue in the group.
The extraordinary meeting ended early because Preben Bang Henriksen's car broke down on his way to Vodskov outside Aalborg, where the meeting was held. He took part by other means. TV 2 says it is seeking a comment from Venstre's leadership.