According to several sources, Mark Fox, one of the three shortlisted candidates for Isle of Wight Conservatives in the 2017 general election has withdrawn from the race.
Mark Wallace, Executive Editor of ConservativeHome – who yesterday broke the news of the three shortlisted Conservative candidates – tweeted this afternoon that Mark Fox has withdrawn.
OnTheWight checked with Mark Wallace who advised us that the news was “certain”.
I'm told that @MarkFoxNews has withdrawn from the Isle of Wight shortlist.
— Mark Wallace (@wallaceme) May 3, 2017
We have also attempted to contact Mr Fox for comment, but at time of publishing had not heard back. We have also spoken with CCHQ and are awaiting official confirmation of the news.
Update: Foges goes too
Just hours after Mark Fox stood down, it was confirmed by ConservativeHome that Clare Foges was also stepping down from the selection process.
It’s not clear whether the selection for the general election will remain with just Bob Seely or whether CCHQ will add another two candidates to the shortlist for members to vote for this Friday.
Update 17:51 – Added details of second to stand down. Rewrote headline.
