Tory candidate demands by-election in Leyton and Wanstead as Labour MP quits

Just after the writ was moved yesterday for the by-election in Norwich North, another Labour MP hit by expenses revelations announced his intention to quit at the general election.

Harry Cohen, MP for Leyton and Wanstead, came under fire for redesignating his main home as a property 70 miles from his east London constituency and in announcing his decision to stand down cited the "intolerable stress" he had suffered over the issue, which had also been "detrimental to [his wife] Ellen's heart condition".

Leyton and Wanstead's Conservative candidate, Edwin Northover (pictured), has been making an issue of Mr Cohen's expenses in recent weeks and wasted no time yesterday in saying that he should follow Ian Gibson's example and stand down now to prompt an immediate by-election.

He said:

"Through conversations with local people here it has become clear to me that Harry had lost the respect of those that put him in Westminster. There was genuine anger about his expenses claims and quite frankly bemusement at his claim to be a "better MP than Churchill" . Though he has been a long-standing servant of Leyton and Wanstead, the expenses scandal has raised serious questions about Harry's judgment. It is right that he should step down and he must also consider paying back any money that was claimed inappropriately".

"However, we would like to give Harry Cohen a chance to retire to his Essex home early. We are therefore calling on him to stand down now and call a by-election. We want to offer the people of Leyton and Wanstead a clear alternative to this moribund government".

Jonathan Isaby