Votes in the North Shropshire by-election tonight are being counted in the contest for a successor to Tory MP Owen Paterson, who has stepped down after being found to have broken lobbying rules.
Polls closed at 10pm in the West Midlands constituency that is a Conservative safe seat.
The result is expected to be announced in the early hours of Friday morning.
Mr Paterson represented the constituency for 24 years until his resignation after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s botched attempt to shield him from a 30-day suspension.
Mr Johnson had attempted to get his party to lead a review of the standards rules for MPs after Mr Paterson was found to have breached lobbying rules for two companies paying him £100,000 a year.
After public scrutiny, Mr Paterson resigned and said he wanted to escape the “cruel world of politics”.
The by-election also comes after the PM’s authority was in doubt after almost 100 Tory rebels voted against the coronavirus restrictions in his newly-enacted ‘plan B’.
Asked on Wednesday if Mr Johnson would quit if his party loses North Shropshire, the PM’s press secretary said: “We are fighting for every vote.”
