The former Conservative MP Chris Pincher has said he will quit the House of Commons, triggering a byelection in what was previously considered the safe seat of Tamworth in Staffordshire.
Days after he lost an appeal against an eight-week suspension from parliament for groping two men at a private members’ club last summer, the former deputy chief whip said he wanted to put an end to his constituents’ uncertainty.
In a short statement, Pincher said he had “made arrangements to resign and leave the Commons”. He added: “Tamworth is a wonderful place and it has been an honour to represent its people.”
The move fires the starting gun on a long-expected third byelection likely to take place this autumn.
Rishi Sunak is already facing the headache of trying to defend the seat of Mid Bedfordshire, which was recently vacated by former Tory MP Nadine Dorries, who had a 24,000 majority. Meanwhile the SNP are fighting to retain the Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency in Scotland, formerly represented by Margaret Ferrier.
Pincher was nearly 20,000 votes out in front in Tamworth at the last general election, making it one of the safest Tory seats in the country. However, bigger majorities have been overturned in recent byelections and nationally, the Conservatives remain about 20 points behind Labour in the opinion polls.
A further problem for Conservative campaign headquarters is posed by their choice of candidate for the upcoming Tamworth byelection.
Eddie Hughes, the current Conservative MP for Walsall North, which is in effect being abolished under proposed boundary changes, had been selected as the party’s Tamworth candidate at the next general election, but has confirmed he won’t be standing in the byelection.
“I have a commitment to my constituents until the next general election,” he said.
Hughes said his focus was squarely on supporting the Conservative candidate at the next byelection and he was already out in Tamworth delivering leaflets. “Once we win, we’ll figure out what happens to me,” he said.
While no date has yet been set by the Conservatives for the byelection, it is likely to be held on 19 October – the same day as Mid Bedfordshire. Bookmakers have Labour as the favourite.
In May’s local elections, the Tories lost overall control of Tamworth borough council for the first time since 2004, losing six seats to Labour.
Huw Loxton, a Tamworth resident who helped organise protests last year calling for Pincher to resign, said many constituents would be relieved the MP was quitting.
“I think a lot of people feel vindicated that he’s finally gone. And at least he’s done the decent thing and gone now without having to draw it out with a recall petition,” he said. “He’s barely been seen in the town since the allegations broke. But the whole process has taken so long, and the silly thing is we’ll be doing it all again in 12 months for the general election.”
Richard Kingstone, a councillor and former Tamworth mayor who said he would be standing as an independent candidate in the byelection, said: “We have been treading water for over a year, and the vast majority of people have been clamouring for Chris to resign.
“He has held on with a vice-like grip while he’s been drawing his salary, while he has not been representing the people who elected him and gave him their votes, and so now we can draw a line in the sand. We need to find someone who can restore some decency to the political seat of Tamworth, which is of course the seat of former prime minister Sir Robert Peel.”
Pincher stayed away from Westminster and has kept a low profile since the allegations against him surfaced last July and were investigated. Friends said his mental health had seriously deteriorated in that time.
