Welsh Conservative becomes fifth party member under investigation by Gambling Commission

Craig Williams and Laura Saunders, the two candidates accused of betting on the election date, will still appear on ballot papers as Conservatives even though Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has withdrawn the party’s support.

“When a validly nominated political party candidate has their party’s support withdrawn after an election nomination deadline has passed, there is no legal mechanism to remove their name from the ballot paper,” said Peter Stanyon, chief executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators. 

“If a candidate in these circumstances has opted to include a political party description and emblem on the ballot paper, by law this must also still be included.”

Williams, a former parliamentary aide to Sunak, is standing in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr. He won the seat in 2019 with a majority of more than 12,000 but is expected to lose to Labour on July 4, according to the FT’s poll tracker. 

Saunders, a Tory staffer and the wife of the party’s campaign director, is standing in Bristol North West. The seat has been held by Labour since 2017 and is expected to return a large majority for the incumbent Darren Jones, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury. 

If either candidate is elected, the result will stand. They could then either serve as an independent MP, join another political party or resign their seat, according to Stanyon.