How sleaze is depleting the Tory ranks one by-election at a time

As yet another Conservative MP is suspended for misconduct, Sean O’Grady examines the reasons behind an extraordinary run of by-elections triggered by scandal

Tory MP Peter Bone has been recommended for a six-week suspension from the Commons (PA Archive)

The last few years have been a strange case of famine and feast for the political classes. Very unusually, there were no parliamentary by-elections for Westminster between August 2019 and May 2021, but in the period since, 17 have been conducted, not including the two that will be held on Thursday. The current position of two more MPs, one suspended from the house and another awaiting a judgement, means that two more might well be on the way.

Some of the results have been spectacular – and one, a narrow win for the Tories in Uxbridge and West Ruislip, prompted a significant shift in the government’s environmental policies. With a general election due to take place probably within about a year, the excitement is almost too much to bear.

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