Waddon byelection

The Conservative MP Christopher Davies has been found guilty of submitting fake expenses invoices for £700 of landscape photographs to decorate his office, meaning he could be kicked out of parliament under the recall process. The MP for Brecon and Radnorshire was not jailed, but was fined £1,500 and given 50 hours of community service at Southwark crown court. Davies has not been suspended by the Conservative party but he will now face a recall petition to see whether his constituents want to force him to face a byelection. A petition is opened when any MP is convicted of providing false or misleading information for allowance claims and a byelection is triggered if this is signed by at least 10% of the local electorate. Davies was told he had committed two very serious offences that were absolutely intended to deceive, when he appeared before magistrates last month to admit two charges of attempting to provide false or misleading information for an allowance claim. In … [Read more...] about Tory MP Chris Davies could face byelection after fake expenses claim

Both the main political parties suffered losses in the Newport West byelection as voters expressed anger, frustration and mistrust because of the Brexit crisis. Labour retained the seat but voters drifted away from both it and the Tories, who came second, in favour of Ukip and a number of other smaller parties. The seat in south Wales is regarded as a Labour stronghold and was held by Paul Flynn for 32 years until his death in February. Ruth Jones, a physiotherapist and trade unionist, won the seat with just under 40% of the vote, down from Flynn’s share of 52% in 2017. Acknowledging that she had bridges to build, Jones said: “There is a level of distrust of all politicians at the moment because of what is going on in the House of Commons. I think that was highlighted in the low turnout [37%].” Asked how she would vote over Brexit and whether she would follow the party whip, she said: “We need to wait and see. The talks [between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn] … [Read more...] about Newport West byelection: Labour retains seat amid Brexit discord

Labour has held on to the Newport West parliamentary seat following a byelection fought against the backdrop of Brexit chaos, but all parties said they had heard anger, frustration and mistrust on the doorstep. The seat in south Wales is seen as a Labour stronghold and was held by the veteran MP Paul Flynn for 32 years until his death in February. There was a modest swing from Labour towards the Conservatives while Ukip came third, polling almost double the votes it attracted in the 2017 general election. All three leading parties claimed they were satisfied with the result but expressed concern about the mood they had come across while campaigning, anger that was reflected in a poor turnout of just 37%, compared with 67.5% in the 2017 general election. Ruth Jones, a former president of the Wales Trade Union Congress, took the seat with 9,308 votes (39.5%) She thanked the people of Newport but said: “There is a level of distrust of all politicians at the moment because of what is … [Read more...] about Newport West byelection: Labour retains seat amid Brexit chaos

Peter Lyons, a self-employed joiner from south Wales, usually votes Labour. Not this time. For this week’sNewport West byelection, he is looking elsewhere. “I think party politics clearly isn’t working,” said Lyons. “I’ve voted Labour over the years. But I don’t think either of the main parties are capable at the moment. They are self-serving and cynical.” Lyons is planning to vote for Renew, a fledgling pro-Europe party set up as a riposte to Brexit and mainstream policies. It is campaigning hard in Newport, with a city centre shop and bright, enthusiastic, idealistic workers. “They are taking the best ideas from all parts of politics,” said Lyons. “We need something different.” In other times, the Newport West byelection – called following the death of its long-serving Labour MP, Paul Flynn – would be a simple, straight fight between Labour and the Conservatives. When the seat was created in 1983, the … [Read more...] about Newport West byelection: voters look away from main parties for renewal