Ashworth rules himself out of Runcorn by-election

With Reform surging in the polls, no one in No. 10 wants a by-election anytime soon. But thanks to ‘Iron’ Mike Amesbury, such a contest now looms in Runcorn and Helsby. The ex-Labour MP was sentenced on Monday to ten weeks in prison, triggering a recall petition. Already Nigel Farage’s ‘People’s army’ is up in Cheshire collecting signatures, following the party’s second place finish here last July.

So with a difficult race on their hands, who might Labour party managers turn to in their desperation? Perhaps Jon Ashworth, the former shadow cabinet mainstay cruelly turfed out in Leicester last year. Ashworth, who now works as Chief Executive of the Labour Together group, has been rumoured to be looking for a way to make a comeback into parliament. Might Mike Amesbury’s downfall be the resurrection of his political career?

Alas not, it seems. For last night Ashworth appeared at a Coffee House Shots Live event with Robert Jenrick, at which Katy Balls, The Spectator’s political editor asked him if he might stand.