Restore was unlikely to have been a major threat to Reform in this by-election:
“Restore Britain will stand in the Clacton by-election. The second one, held later this year, when the investigations into Farage’s finances conclude as we all suspect they will. We are not going to participate in a Reform-sponsored media circus over the summer months that is designed to puff up Farage’s ego and deflect away from wholly fair questions over why he has concealed such vast and irregular financial donations.
Farage can play with his toys for the next six weeks, but Restore Britain is going to continue producing detailed policy papers, exactly as we have been, outlining how we can fix our country. That is what I am interested in. Detail. Data. Policy. A plan. I feel for the people of Clacton who deserve so much better than this unnecessary sham forced on them throughout their summer.”
Ed Davey meanwhile says the LibDems working to delay Farage by-election in parliament and is unable to say if his party will stand:
“First I want to explore with parliamentary colleagues if we can delay this by-election until the parliamentary commissioner for standards has reported.”
Democracy denied?
UPDATE: Badenoch says: “We’re not standing in a fake by-election.”
Robert Jenrick on the Today programme:
“Can you now give a guarantee to your listeners this morning that no BBC presenter in the future will be exposed as a paedophile, as a number have been in the recent past? No, of course you can’t…”