Backlash forces convicted ex-mp to pull out of election
CHRIS DAVIES, the former MP, has stood down as the Conservative candidate for Ynys Mon after he came under a fresh attack over his conviction for falsifying expenses.
Mr Davies made the announcement hours after it was announced that he would stand for the seat in North Wales. He said he would no longer be contesting the seat for the Dec 12 general election “following critical comments in the media”.
The former Brecon and Radnorshire MP lost his seat following a recall petition that was signed by more than 10,000 people, after he was convicted of submitting two false expenses invoices for nine photographs costing £700 to decorate his new office.
It triggered a by-election, which he lost to Liberal Democrat Jane Dodds.
On Tuesday the announcement that he was to stand in Ynys Mon, the island of Anglesey, was met with criticism from other parties.
Aled ap Dafydd, the Plaid Cymru candidate, said: “By imposing a convicted former MP who was found guilty of a false expenses claim as the candidate for the island shows how little they care about Ynys Mon. This makes a mockery of the people of the island.”
Baroness Christine Humphreys, the deputy leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said: “People deserve better, better than an MP who was rejected by his constituents and has fled his former constituency to seek election somewhere else.”
In a statement released by the Welsh Conservatives, Mr Davies said: “Given the reaction in the media to the idea of me being a candidate, I have decided to pull out of the selection process.
“I would not want to put my wife and family through any more distress.”
Nick Ramsay, a Conservative member of the Welsh Assembly, said: “Chris Davies has done the right thing withdrawing from the election in Ynys Mon. As John Major once said, when the curtain falls, it’s time to leave the stage.”
The confirmed parliamentary candidates for Ynys Mon are Mary Roberts, Labour, Aled ap Dafydd, Plaid Cymru, and Helen Jenner, Brexit Party.