Tributes after Conservative chairman dies at meeting

People battled to revive Andrew McClure, chairman of Broadland and Fakenham Conservative Association, after he keeled over at the event on Monday night.

Witnesses said Mr McClure, 68, fell from his chair at the top table of the meeting in Bungay - which was attended by Conservative association members from across Norfolk and Suffolk, just after sitting down at the end of his presentation.

Fellow Conservatives rushed to his aid and a St John Ambulance crew attended to him within minutes.

But, despite efforts to save him at the community centre on Old Grammar Lane, Mr McClure, who lived in Horsford, was declared dead by medical staff.

As chairman of the Broadland and Fakenham Conservative Association, Mr McClure ran Jerome Mayhew's successful campaign to be re-elected as the constituency's MP in July.

Mr Mayhew said: "Andrew was an unassuming, gentle man, who was selfless. He was a man of service and I am going to miss him immensely.

"He was the brick of my association and instrumental in my re-election campaign.

"As a volunteer, he worked in the constituency office seven days a week during that campaign and I don't know if I'd have been re-elected without the efforts he put in.

"Associations always have their tensions, but Andrew was someone who was a peacemaker - so good at bringing people together in a quiet and unassuming way.

"I think he got great pleasure out of being part of the community and part of the association and he gave us an immense amount."

Jerome Mayhew, Broadland and Fakenham MP (Image: Danielle Booden)

Greg Peck, a deputy chairman of the association and a Norfolk county councillor, said: "It was a real shock when I received the call about what had happened to Andrew.

Greg Peck paid tribute to Andrew McClure (Image: Norfolk Conservatives)

"I was with him on Friday evening and he was laughing and joking. This was completely unexpected.

"Andrew had managed Jerome's election campaign and had done a really good job.

"I worked with him a lot and he was a very good organiser, one of those people who was very methodical."

Mr McClure had been involved with the association for a number of years and became its chairman last year.

Mr Peck said: "He was a very nice man and he had done a really good job for the association - making sure it was on a good footing.

"He also loved his cricket. He was a big fan and used to go to Lord's to watch it."

A retired accountant, Mr McClure was an active member of the community in his home village of Horsford, where he served as a parish councillor.

He also stood as a Conservative candidate for Horsford and Felthorpe in the May 2023 Broadland District Council elections.