Voters in Brecon and Radnorshire will head to the polls on August 1 for a by-election after Tory MP Chris Davies was ousted from his seat, it has been revealed.
The vote will be one of the first tests for Theresa May’s successor in Number 10 – either Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt – who will have been announced as prime minister just days before.
It came after the 51-year-old, who was first elected in 2015, was convicted over false expense claims he made to decorate his office. He was later fined £1,500 and sentenced to 50 hours of unpaid work.
However, despite voters in the mid-Wales constituency choosing to oust Davies, the former MP has been chosen as the Conservative Party’s candidate in the upcoming by-election.
Tory MP Glyn Davies, who represents the neighbouring Montgomeryshire constituency, told the BBC: “He’s made a mistake. He’s apologised for the mistake.”
Voters “will have to decide what the future should be”, he added.
The Lib Dems – who held the seat for 18 years before Davies’ election – have selected Jane Dodds, the leader of the party in Wales, while Brecon town councillor Tom Davies will stand for the Labour Party.
The Brexit Party is also expected to stand in the by-election.
Recall petitions are launched when MPs receive a custodial sentence, are barred from the Commons for 10 sitting days or are convicted of providing false information about their expenses.
Peterborough MP Fiona Onsanya – who was expelled from Labour after being convicted of lying about a speeding offence – was unseated in May after more than 19,000 of her constituents called for her to be removed.
She was replaced by Labour’s Lisa Forbes in a by-election earlier this month, with the Brexit Party narrowly missing out on winning their first seat in Westminster.