Peterborough will head to the polls to vote for a new MP just days after the European elections. The regional vote is going ahead after Peterborough’s Labour MP Fiona Onasanya’s was removed by a recall petition after she lied about a speeding offence, and was jailed. The Brexit Party is campaigning to win its first seat in Parliament at the by-election.

When is the Peterborough by-election?

The Peterborough by-election will be held this Thursday, June 6.

The polling stations will be open for Peterborough residents to vote from 7am until 10pm on Thursday.

Those registered to vote will have received a polling card with information about which polling station to attend.

What happened to Labour MP Fiona Onasanya?

Former Peterborough MP Ms Onasanya was jailed for perverting the course of justice by lying to police over a speeding offence.

She was then effectively sacked by constituents in a recall petition.

Onasanya won the Peterborough seat for Labour at the 2017 general election by beating the sitting Conservative MP Stewart Jackson by 607 votes.

In 2017 Peterborough was the most marginal Labour constituency in the Anglia region.

There are 15 candidates standing in this week’s by-election and while the constituency would normal be a straight battle between Labour and the Tories, the Brexit Party could now be in with a decent chance.

If the recent EU elections are anything to go by then the Brexit Party candidate, Mike Greene, could be in with a good chance.

The Brexit Party was heavily backed by the Cambridgeshire city in the recent EU elections.

The Brexit Party secured 16,106 votes, followed by Labour on 7,272 votes and 6,491 votes from the Liberal Democrats.

Mr Farage told a packed rally in the city on Saturday that the by-election is the opportunity for the next chapter in this great story” following his party’s success in the EU elections.

He said former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s decision to rally Labour supporters by visiting Peterborough showed the Brexit Party “must be doing quite well”.

He added: “It shows you that our political establishment was absolutely mortified by what happened last Sunday (in the European elections).

“But in some ways what happens here on Thursday (in the by-election) is even bigger.”

Voters concerns include Brexit, stagnant wages and the housing crisis.

Source: Read Full Article