In the news today about the man who previously tried to ban curved walls (yes, really):

As The Guardian adds:

Selection for the seat, held by Gove since 2005, closes on Thursday evening, and Lib Dem officials are planning for a possibly imminent campaign the party would fight on issues including the state of local hospitals and plans to drill for gas locally.

A Conservative source said, however, it was not true Gove planned to quit as an MP. Speculation that he might has intensified since Gove publicly backed Rishi Sunak to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister, and said he did not expect to be in government again.

Before becoming an MP, Gove was a prominent journalist for the Times, and there have been reports he is considering a return to the profession.

This isn’t the only possible by-election the party is preparing for, as the Daily Mirror previously reported:

The Lib Dems are gearing up to give Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak a by-election headache in the months after Boris Johnson finally steps down.

The party is set to launch the selection process for a race to replace Nadine Dorries if she’s installed in the Lords by the lame-duck PM…

Party bosses today told campaign teams they would also be preparing for possible by-elections in Selby and Ainsty, held by Tory MP Nigel Adams and North East Somerset, held by Jacob Rees Mogg.

Note: there’s a different selection process for (potential) Parliamentary by-elections due to the national nature of such contests.

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