Reform UK has announced that Rupert Lowe is set to stand in the upcoming Kingswood by-election – just a week after the party’s leader Richard Tice steadfastly refused to put a candidate forward.
Rishi Sunak will face a tough test in South Gloucestershire after Chris Skidmore quit Parliament over the Government’s plans to mandate the issuing of new oil and gas licences.
In an interview with the PA news agency, Skidmore said his decision had followed a period of reflection after 18 months in which he had become increasingly at odds Government policy on the environment.
He said: “Taking a decision like I’ve taken, where you decide to bring an end to your political career after nearly 14 years as an MP, it was a personal decision I didn’t take lightly.
“I’d thought about it for some time and, at the start of the new year, I think, probably no different from anyone else reflecting on their own life and whether their role is the right one for them, I decided now was the time.
“I don’t regret the decision and I still think it’s the right one.”
Tice announced at the start of the month that Reform UK wouldn’t be running a candidate “on principal” in Kingswood, claiming the by-election was a wasteful use of taxpayer’s money.
But just a week later the party announced it had U-turned on that decision, resulting in this rather amusing bit of footage:
Related: Moment Ed Balls accidentally kicks Susanna Reid in the head