North Shropshire by-election: Farmer discusses requirements

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Despite being considered a safe Tory seat, Neil Shastray-Hurst, Conservative candidate, has admitted there has been anger over the alleged Christmas parties held in Whitehall and No10 last year. Amid the damage caused by the alleged parties and Tory sleaze scandal, Mr Shastri-Hurst admitted he shared the voters’ anger. He told Express.co.uk: “Clearly there’s been anger over any potential breach in the rules.

“I share that anger. Mr wife got pinged last year and I had to lock down with her.

“But it is essential we adhere to the rules and get our booster jabs.”

Indeed, the Conservative candidate, who served as a British Army doctor and is a qualified barrister, admitted there had been “distractions” over the last weeks of the campaign.

He added: “There have been some distractions.

“But my focus is on delivering for North Shropshire, and indeed the country.

“National issues do come up on the doorstep and the Prime Minister is right to call for an investigation.

“If there have been breaches in the rules, there needs to be disciplinary action.”

The North Shropshire by-election was called after former MP, Owen Paterson, resigned after breaking parliamentary rules on paid lobbying.

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Mr Paterson rejected any claims of wrongdoing but was forced to resign last month after Downing Street reversed its backing for the former MP.

Mr Paterson had been a paid consultant for clinical diagnostics company Randox since 2015, and to meat distributor Lynn’s Country Foods since 2016, earning a total of £100,000 a year.

The standards committee found he had breached rules after making approaches to the Food Standards Agency and the Department for International Development.

Following accusations over alleged Christmas parties held last year in No10, some bookmakers have placed the Liberal Democrats as the favourites to win the seat.

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The seat has been a Tory stronghold since its inception in 1983, and had been won by a majority of close to 23,000 in 2019.

Such is the fury, bookmakers have now placed Lib Dem candidate, Helen Morgan as the favourite at 1/2 and the Tory candidate at 6/4.

Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case will now investigate four parties which were allegedly held last year: a Downing Street quiz on December 15, a party in No10 on December 18, a gathering in No10 on November 27, and another gather at the Department for Education on December 10.

In November, the country was in lockdown and any indoor gatherings were not permitted.

For both events in December, London was placed in tier 2 restrictions, meaning social mixing indoors with people outside of your household were not allowed.

Due to these alleged breaches, Mr Johnson’s approval rating has fallen to 30 percent, a Survation poll of 1,193 people reported.

In contrast, when asked who would make a better Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer stood at 39 percent.

The Tory party now sits on 32 percent in terms of general election voting, while Labour sits at 39 percent.

The fieldwork for the poll was conducted between December 9-11.

A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “Neil is the only candidate with a plan to deliver for the people of North Shropshire.

“Neil will work positively with Government to get things done and isn’t focused on the short-term aim of using this by-election for yet more Party politics.

“Voters are experiencing a strong campaign from five parties – as well as ourselves, you have Labour working to defend their second place, the Greens keen to build on their breakthrough in the local elections especially in Oswestry, the Reform Party in the mix and the Liberal Democrats trying to catch up and overtake Labour.”

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