A senior Conservative candidate reportedly placed an £8,000 bet on losing his seat at the general election.Sir Philip Davies neither confirmed nor denied the wager, first reported by the Sun, external but rejected suggestions he had done “anything illegal”.Sir Philip, who has been the Tory MP for Shipley since 2005, told the newspaper he expected to lose the seat on 4 July.
Sir Philip said it was “nobody’s business” whether he placed the bet or not.He said: "What’s it got to do with you whether I did or didn’t.
"He added: “And if anyone’s alleging I’ve done anything illegal, they’re very welcome to allege it, but I’m afraid I haven’t.”When contacted by the BBC, Sir Philip said he stood by his comments to the newspaper but did not offer any further comment.The Conservative party has also been approached by the BBC.
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The report about Sir Philip came after several parliamentary candidates were accused of placing bets surrounding the date or outcome of the election.Earlier this week, the Conservative party withdrew support from Craig Williams, the candidate in Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, and Laura Saunders, the candidate in Bristol North West, who are both being investigated by the Gambling Commission.Russell George, a Conservative politician in the Welsh Parliament, is also facing inquiries by the regulator and has “stepped back” from his frontbench role.Meanwhile, Labour suspended Kevin Craig as its candidate for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich after learning he had placed a bet on losing his bid to become an MP.Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, external, X (formerly Twitter), external and Instagram, external.
Independent - NagbeaReform UK - Simon DandyConservative - Philip DaviesLabour - Anna DixonThe Yorkshire Party - Will GrantWorkers Party of Britain - Waqas KhanChristian Peoples Alliance - Darryl Morton-WrightLiberal Democrat - Graham ReedSocial Democratic Party - Paul ShkurkaGreen - Kevin Warnes
The original article contains 395 words, the summary contains 333 words. Saved 16%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A senior Conservative candidate reportedly placed an £8,000 bet on losing his seat at the general election.Sir Philip Davies neither confirmed nor denied the wager, first reported by the Sun, external but rejected suggestions he had done “anything illegal”.Sir Philip, who has been the Tory MP for Shipley since 2005, told the newspaper he expected to lose the seat on 4 July.
Sir Philip said it was “nobody’s business” whether he placed the bet or not.He said: "What’s it got to do with you whether I did or didn’t.
"He added: “And if anyone’s alleging I’ve done anything illegal, they’re very welcome to allege it, but I’m afraid I haven’t.”When contacted by the BBC, Sir Philip said he stood by his comments to the newspaper but did not offer any further comment.The Conservative party has also been approached by the BBC.
Live: Follow the latest news about the UK general electionPoll tracker: How do parties compare?Compare all the election manifestos and policiesWhat photo ID will you need to vote?General election 2024: All BBC stories and analysis
The report about Sir Philip came after several parliamentary candidates were accused of placing bets surrounding the date or outcome of the election.Earlier this week, the Conservative party withdrew support from Craig Williams, the candidate in Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, and Laura Saunders, the candidate in Bristol North West, who are both being investigated by the Gambling Commission.Russell George, a Conservative politician in the Welsh Parliament, is also facing inquiries by the regulator and has “stepped back” from his frontbench role.Meanwhile, Labour suspended Kevin Craig as its candidate for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich after learning he had placed a bet on losing his bid to become an MP.Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, external, X (formerly Twitter), external and Instagram, external.
Independent - NagbeaReform UK - Simon DandyConservative - Philip DaviesLabour - Anna DixonThe Yorkshire Party - Will GrantWorkers Party of Britain - Waqas KhanChristian Peoples Alliance - Darryl Morton-WrightLiberal Democrat - Graham ReedSocial Democratic Party - Paul ShkurkaGreen - Kevin Warnes
The original article contains 395 words, the summary contains 333 words. Saved 16%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!