Welsh candidate who bet on July election has support withdrawn from Conservatives
The Conservative Party has withdrawn its support for a Welsh candidate caught up in allegations of betting on the date of the timing of the UK General Election.
It’s not yet clear if Craig Williams has also been suspended from the party. It’s too late for him to be removed from ballot papers which will still list him as a Conservative, but the party will no longer back him.
It means that if he wins on 4 July, he will not be allowed to sit in Parliament as a Conservative but as an Independent MP.
Another candidate, Laura Saunders who is standing in Bristol North, has also had support withdrawn after being implicated in the betting row.
Craig Williams posted to X, formerly Twitter, to say he had “committed an error of judgment, not an offence” and that he intends to clear his name.
Craig Williams, who’s the candidate in Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, was Rishi Sunak’s Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS), meaning that he was one of the Prime Minister’s closest aides.
He’s admitted making a “huge error of judgement” in placing the bet days before it was officially announced. He’s one of four Conservatives being investigated by the Gambling Commission.
In a video posted on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Williams said: "I just want [to send] a quick message to the constituents of Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr: I remain on the ballot paper and on 4th July and I hope to secure your support after years of delivery.
"I committed an error of judgement, not an offence, and I want to reiterate my apology directly to you.
"I'm fully co-operating with routine inquiries by the Gambling Commission and I intend to clear my name.
"In all these things due process is important and that is what sets us apart from other countries and the commission must be allowed to do its work."
Rishi Sunak has come under increasing pressure to take tougher action on the alleged use of inside information to place bets.
A Conservative Party spokesman said: “As a result of ongoing internal inquiries, we have concluded that we can no longer support Craig Williams or Laura Saunders as parliamentary candidates at the forthcoming General Election.
“We have checked with the Gambling Commission that this decision does not compromise the investigation that they are conducting, which is rightly independent and ongoing.”
As well as the candidates, two senior Conservative Party officials have taken a leave of absence after being drawn into the row.
Ms Saunders’ husband Tony Lee, the party’s director of campaigning, and chief data officer Nick Mason, have both stepped back from their duties.
And a police officer who served in the Prime Minister’s protection team has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over alleged bets on the election date.
For Welsh Labour, Steve Witherden said, “The Tory betting scandal has left a stain on the Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party. Rather than taking action, the Prime Minister has dithered for almost two weeks.
"People across Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr deserve a Member of Parliament that puts them first. A Labour government will never gamble with our future.
"I'm part of a changed Labour Party that's once more in the service of our country. But that change can only happen by voting Labour on 4 July."
A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said, "This took them long enough. Craig Williams should have been suspended from the start.
"This is another nail in the coffin for the Tories. They're finished.
"The people of Wales deserve better than London parties mired in scandals - be it the Tories' betting scandal or Labour's dodgy donations. Plaid Cymru is the only party offering real alternative for Wales this election."
Welsh Liberal Democrat leader, Jane Dodds, said: “It has taken the Conservatives weeks to do the right thing, as has become all too normal for their chaotic and scandal ridden Government.
"The Conservatives are now out of the race in Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr and Labour have always neglected Mid Wales.
"Given the seat has historically been a Liberal bastion, residents should now rally around our fantastic candidate Glyn Preston who is already a hard-working locally elected councillor.”
The full list of candidates standing in Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr is as follows:
Jeremy Brignell-Thorp - Green Party
Oliver Lewis - Reform UK
Glyn Preston - Liberal Democrats
Elwyn Vaughan - Plaid Cymru
Craig Williams - Conservative
Steve Witherden - Labour
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