Tory MP Patrick Mercer resigns, triggering an upcoming by-election
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ix-months.html
Farage eyes safe Tory seat after sleaze MP quits: Showdown looms in summer by-election
- Newark MP referred himself to the Commons standards comittee last year
- Shadow Minister was caught up in cash-for-questions probe
- Accused of agreeing to set up group at request of undercover reporters
- Now admits he is 'ashamed' telling reporters there was 'no point in shilly shallying'
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daily Mail
David Cameron faces the prospect of a nightmare by-election showdown with Nigel Farage after shamed Tory MP Patrick Mercer quit last night.
The former Tory frontbencher said he would step down immediately after a sleaze inquiry ruled he should be suspended from Parliament for six months over his involvement in a lobbying scandal.
His decision will spark a Tory showdown with Ukip this summer in what is normally a safe Conservative seat in Newark, Nottinghamshire.
Ukip leader Nigel Farage said last night he would ‘seriously’ consider standing himself, despite facing a Conservative majority of more than 16,000.
The seat went to Labour in 1997 during the first Tony Blair landslide but returned to the Tories in 2001.
Local Tories scotched suggestions of Boris Johnson being selected, saying they had already chosen businessman Robert Jenrick to fight the seat.
It is unlikely that a by-election would be held before next month’s European elections. Senior Conservatives privately urged Mr Mercer to serve out his term as MP rather than sparking a damaging by-election. But the bitter personal enmity between Mr Mercer and Mr Cameron meant their pleas fell on deaf ears.
In a statement last night, Mr Mercer said he was ‘ashamed’ of his behaviour. The former Army colonel said that as an ex-soldier he believes that when you have done something wrong you should confess to it.
He added: ‘No point in shilly- shallying or trying to avoid it. What has happened has happened, I’m ashamed of it. Therefore, I’m going to do what I can to put it right . . . I’m going to resign my seat.’
Mr Mercer resigned the Conservative whip last year after he was caught in a lobbying sting. He was filmed agreeing a £2,000-a-month contract to represent undercover reporters posing as lobbyists representing businesses seeking to end Fiji’s suspension from the Commonwealth.
He is said to have tabled five parliamentary questions and a Commons motion on behalf of the bogus lobbyists after they paid him £4,000.
He was caught on film telling them: ‘I do not charge a great deal of money for these things. I would normally come out at £500 per half day, so £1,000 a day.’
A Standards Committee on Mr Mercer’s case is due to report tomorrow. But its conclusion that he should face a six-month ban from Parliament leaked to the media last night. Mr Mercer was once seen as a rising star of the Conservative Party, but had a catastrophic falling out with Mr Cameron
The Tory leader fired him as shadow homeland security minister in 2007 after he was reported saying he had met a lot of ‘idle and useless’ ethnic minority soldiers during his Army career and he claimed that racism was ‘part and parcel’ of Army life.
The sacking created a lasting enemy on the Tory benches. In 2011 Mr Mercer reportedly described the Prime Minister as a ‘despicable creature’. His decision to force a by-election is viewed by some in Tory central office as a final act of spite.
In recent years, the main parties have called by-elections as quickly as possible to prevent Ukip having time to gather momentum.
But last night Tory sources confirmed the by-election could not be held on the same day as the European Parliament elections on May 22. The earliest it can be held is May 29, but it could well slip into June.
The timing means the Tories will now have to fight the contest in the wake of the European elections, in which they are widely expected to trail behind Ukip.
Last night, a Ukip source said: ‘We are watching the situation with very close attention. If there is a by-election very soon after the European elections it would be a big deal, particularly if Ukip has given the Tories a bloody nose. We would want to run a serious and impressive candidate.’
David Cameron's worst nightmare come true. :P
This by-election could be even more interesting and intense than the Eastleigh by-election last year. I may place a bet or two.
Thoughts?
