Political

Parliamentary by-election in Brecon and Radnorshire is on

Brecon Beacons in Wales - CC0 Public Domain
CC0 Public Domain

News from the BBC of a new Parliamentary by-election heading our way:

A by-election will be held in Brecon and Radnorshire after 10,005 people signed a petition to remove the constituency’s MP, Conservative Chris Davies.

That 10,005 total on the petition is nearly 1 in 5 of the constituency’s electors and nearly double the minimum required to trigger a by-election.

It’s a highly winnable contest for the Liberal Democrats, with Jane Dodds and the team hard at work for months campaigning in the seat which used to be held by the Liberal Democrats.

Liberal Democrat Jane Dodds reacted to the news saying:

Thousands of residents across Brecon and Radnorshire have taken the chance to demand better than a Westminster politics that fails to take their concerns seriously.

Now we have a golden opportunity to do things differently. The clear choice in this by-election is between the Conservatives, whose chaos and infighting is letting our communities down, and a better future for our area with the Welsh Lib Dems.

The successful recall petition was triggered by the MP’s conviction over expenses offences.

5 responses to “Parliamentary by-election in Brecon and Radnorshire is on”

  1. The Tories get to call it. I suspect they will delay it until after Brexit happens – if it does – possibly to coincide wth a general election. We can be pretty sure the Tories will not win.

  2. I well recall the by-election in the 1980s in what was clearly a Tory-Labour marginal which the Liberals had no chance of winning. One of the most extraordinary campaigns ever with the Liberals winning by about 500 – there were almost exactly 500 polling stations and each one was manned by Liberal tellers, one had a mere 7 electors. It was also the first time computers were used in a parliamentary by-election. This time it looks eminently winnable by a pro-Remain party – I sincerely hope the other Remain parties will back a unity candidate and Jane Dodds is perfect in that role.

  3. What of the Brexit Party? Are Tory voters likely to decamp to them just for this by-election? We ought to find out how much support they are likely to pick up – if they split the vote, good, but not if they just replace the Tories.

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