Leicestershire North West

Yesterday’s very sad death and untimely of David Taylor MP for Leicestershire North West prompts me to hurry up and get my EBT (electron beam tomography) -- see my blog three days ago. Mr Taylor was fit and healthy having run several marathons in the 1980s, and since then taken up long distance cycling around the UK.
I wonder if Gordon Brown will be brave enough to call a by-election before he has to go to the country? It is an eminently winnable seat for the Conservatives with a fine candidate in Andrew Bridgen. He was selected three years ago and is now well respected in the area, where he runs a family business producing pre-prepared vegetables.
It would be revenge for my own visit to the Leicester South by-election in July 2004 when the Tories were squeezed into third place. At that time the Liberals were on a roll with their anti Iraq War stance, gaining the seat from Labour with a 21% swing. (The seat returned to Labour at the following year’s General Election). I remember spending the day with Peter Bone MP and his campaign team from Wellingborough.