Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has withdrawn Conservative Party support for candidates Craig Williams and Laura Saunders amid allegations of election date betting, a development highlighting turmoil within the Tory election campaign. The decision follows mounting pressure on Sunak to take decisive action after days of standing by the candidates.

The Conservative Party announced the withdrawal of support in a statement: “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 they are conducting, which is rightly independent and ongoing.”

Despite the party’s withdrawal of support, both Williams and Saunders will still appear on ballot papers as Conservative candidates due to the closure of nominations. However, they no longer have the official endorsement of the party.

Laura Saunders, who is a Tory staffer and wife of the party’s campaign director, is standing in Bristol North West, while Craig Williams, a former parliamentary aide to Sunak, is a candidate in Montgomeryshire. The investigation by the Gambling Commission into the betting allegations continues independently.

Sunak expressed his frustration over the situation, stating that he is “extremely angry” about the allegations but had initially preferred to wait for the completion of official investigations before taking disciplinary action. However, the ongoing scrutiny and pressure led to a change in his stance.

A Tory official, when questioned about Sunak’s reversal, attributed it to “further inquiries” and did not rule out the possibility of more individuals being implicated. The official admitted that they often learned about names involved in the scandal through media reports.

Leadershp strain

The betting scandal has further damaged Sunak’s already precarious election campaign. Labour’s shadow cabinet office minister, Jonathan Ashworth, criticized Sunak’s handling of the situation, remarking, “It is yet another example of Rishi Sunak’s staggeringly weak leadership that it has taken him nearly two weeks to see what was obvious to everyone else. Rishi Sunak now needs to come clean with voters across the country and tell them exactly how many of his Conservatives are implicated and who they are.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also weighed in, arguing that the candidates should have been suspended earlier. “I don’t know why he [Sunak] hasn’t done that. I think it’s a real measure of his leadership or lack of leadership,” Starmer stated.

The unfolding scandal, centered around the betting on the 4 July election date, has significantly undermined the Conservative campaign’s credibility. Sunak’s delayed response to the allegations and the subsequent withdrawal of support from the implicated candidates underscore the challenges his leadership faces within the party.

As the investigation by the Gambling Commission continues, the Conservative Party must navigate the fallout from this controversy while preparing for the upcoming general election. The impact of these developments on voter confidence and the party’s overall electoral prospects remains to be seen.

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