There is a lot of speculation this afternoon about the future of the Windsor MP who this morning was declared bankrupt over debts of £1.7m owed to the Inland Revenue.

Being bankrupt of itself does not lead to an MP having to quit. Under the rules sitting MPs who are declared bankrupt have to step aside if a bankruptcy restrictions order is made against them. These can happen if the bankrupt refuses to cooperate with the process. There is no suggestion that this is taking place but it could.

Looking at the record of the Tories defending seats against the Lib Dems during this current Parliament then the chances of them holding Windsor would seem to be very low. Ed Davey’s party start off in second place so there will be no doubt over who would be the challenger.

What makes the seat particularly attractive from a Lib Dem point of view is that it is close to a centre of real strength for the party where there are hundreds of activists who would not have to travel far to campaign. The LDs hold nearby Richmond Park, Kingston and Twickenham seats and totally dominate the local councils.

It is for this reason that the Tories are going to do everything in their power to try to ensure that there is no by-election. The last thing that Sunak needs is a by-election loss.

Mike Smithson