New party to stand for Sir David Amess's former seat

Graham Moore is leader of the English Constitution Party, and this will be the first time anyone from the party has stood for Parliament.

His bid to become an MP has been branded “a load of rubbish”, by former Southend mayor John Lamb.

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Speaking exclusively to the Echo, Mr Moore said he had two main motivations for standing.

He said: “I’m involved with the constitution, and go around the country educating people about it. As a party we believe in personal choice for vaccinations and vaccines passports.

“It’s also a response to the Conservatives not putting forward a local candidate. David Ames fought for the local people, but his party dismissed the local candidates and put in place their barrister of choice. That was completely wrong.”

Although Mr Moore is not local to Southend, he said he had been asked by several local people to stand for the seat. He also gave the example of Winston Churchill.

“I think there’s something seriously missing from politics, and it’s the Winston Churchill types,” he said.

“You need somebody who stands up to the state on behalf of the people. The government is there to protect your rights, not take them away.”

Mr Moore also said he personally liked Sir David, describing him as a “working class Conservative.”

The by-election is expected to take place next month, and other mainstream political parties will not be standing against Conservative Anna Firth.

This follows a precedent set in the 2016 Batley and Spen by-election following the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox. However there is nothing legally barring any parties or independent candidates from standing.

Mr Moore will be on the ballot with UKIP candidate Steve Laws. Far-right activist Jayda Fransen is also rumoured to be standing.

Councillor John Lamb, a former Mayor of Southend, described the English Constitution Party’s candidacy as “a load of rubbish”.

He added: “Forget the English Constitution Party. We have a constitution which embraces all British people, and the British people always pull together.

“I don’t know what they hope to achieve.”