Reform UK is “going all out” to win the Runcorn and Helsby seat which is now vacant after Mike Amesbury’s formal resignation, Richard Tice has told GB News.
Speaking to Political Editor Christopher Hope, Tice refused to be drawn into who Reform has selected as its candidate but said he was “excited”.
Asked about the “major” opportunity Reform has to add another MP to its ranks, he told GB News: “We’re now looking forward to the by-election, it’s very exciting.
“It looks like it may be on May 1 to coincide with the council elections, whenever it is, we’ll be ready.
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“It’s a two-horse race between us and Labour. The Tories should stand aside, they’re splitting the vote.
“We can win it. We’re going all out to win it. It’s not going to be easy but we’re going to be working incredibly hard.”
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Asked who the candidate will be, Tice said: “We’ll be announcing our candidate soon. You will just have to be a little bit patient.
“We’re excited about our candidate and we’re excited about the opportunity. We’re not taking it for granted, it’s a safe Labour seat.”
Amesbury resigned as an MP after being handed a 10-week prison term after punching a constituent.
Following an appeal, the prison term was reduced to a suspended sentence which left him at risk of being ousted from Parliament through the recall process.
Richard Tice spoke to Christopher Hope on GB News
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Amesbury pleaded guilty in January to assaulting constituent Paul Fellows, 45, after a row in the street in Frodsham, Cheshire, in the early hours of October 26.
“It is with a heavy heart that I write to inform you of my decision to resign from the House of Commons by accepting an office under the Crown,” he wrote in the letter.
“This step, though immensely difficult, is the honourable course of action that I believe is in the best interests of my constituents— whom I have been proud to represent throughout my tenure.”
Speaking to GB News, Amesbury revealed he now wears an alcohol tag and the events have left him ‘devastated’.
Mike Amesbury revealed he now has to wear an ‘alcohol tag’GB NEWS
In an interview with Gloria De Piero, he explained: “That particular night I had been binge drinking, there is obviously an issue in regards to that.
“As part of my sentence I need to wear an alcohol tag and it measures your sweat, it needs to stay at zero alcohol. I need to wear it for 120 days.”
The Runcorn & Helsby MP added: “I look at what I have done and I don’t recognise myself. I am uncomfortable with my reaction to Mr Fellows.
“As a part of my sentencing I am also having 20 hours of anger management. I have also been having some support through a psychiatrist for the last four months.”
The MP explained that he is “sad” and “devastated” for himself, his staff and his family.
Amesbury said: “I felt threatened, I should have walked away. I don’t recognise myself I should have just walked away.
“In that video clip that you viewers have seen, something that I have watched time and time again, but it is me.”