Polls open for by-elections in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth

By Faye Brown, Political reporter @fayebrownSky

Thursday 19 October 2023 07:00, UK

Polling has opened in two crunch by-elections taking place today in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth.

Voters in the constituencies will have until 10pm to decide who they want to represent them in parliament, following the resignations of Conservative MPs Nadine Dorries and Chris Pincher.

Ms Dorries, a key ally of Boris Johnson, officially quit her Mid Bedfordshire seat in August – 81 days after she announced her intention to leave the Commons with “immediate effect” after she was refused a seat in the House of Lords.

Mr Pincher stood down after being found to have drunkenly groped two men in an “egregious case of sexual misconduct” at London’s exclusive Carlton Club last year.

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The Conservatives will be seeking to hold onto the constituencies, while opposition parties will be hoping to swing the votes in their favour.

Mid Bedfordshire has been controlled by the Tories since 1931, with Ms Dorries winning the seat five times since being elected in 2005. At the last election in 2019 she won with a sizeable majority of 24,000 over second-placed Labour.

Mr Pincher, who had represented his constituency in Staffordshire since 2010, has an equally comfortable majority of around 19,000.

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The results are expected in the early hours of Friday morning, and Sky News will bring you the news, analysis and reaction on a special programme from midnight, as well as online in the Politics Hub.

Anyone who is over 18 and registered to vote in the constituencies can cast a ballot.

New rules on Voter ID introduced earlier this year mean identification is required in order to vote.

Who is standing?

The 13 candidates standing in the Mid Bedfordshire by-election are:

– Festus Akinbusoye, The Conservative Party

– Sid Cordle, Christian Peoples Alliance

– Dave Holland, Reform UK

– Emma Holland-Lindsay, Liberal Democrats

– Ann Kelly, The Official Monster Raving Loony Party

– Prince Ankit Love, Emperor of India

– Gareth Mackey, Independent

– Chris Rooney, Mainstream

– Cade Sibley, Green Party

– Alistair Strathern, Labour Party

– Alberto George Thomas, Heritage Party

– Alan Victor, True & Fair Party

– Antonio Daniel Vintello, English Democrats “Putting England First”

The nine candidates vying for the Tamworth seat are:

– Robert Bilcliff, UKIP

– Andrew Cooper, The Conservative Party

– Ian Cooper, Reform UK

– Sarah Edwards, Labour

– Howling Laud Hope, Official Monster Raving Loony Party

– Dr Sue Howarth, Green Party

– Peter Longman, Independent

– Ashlea Simon, Britain First

– Sunny Virk, Liberal Democrats