Brexiteer Peterborough MEP wants to '˜shock the establishment' as he puts name down for potential by-election

Peterborough MEP Patrick O'Flynn hopes to give the main two political parties a bloody nose over their Brexit 'betrayal' should a by-election be held in the city over the coming months.
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The former UKIP economics spokesman hopes to soon be selected as the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate in anticipation of a vote in Peterborough following the conviction of MP Fiona Onasanya for perverting the course of justice.

And he is hopeful of encouraging Brexit supporters who may not want to vote for UKIP to back his new party and “shock the establishment”.

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Mr O’Flynn, whose office is based in Peterborough, defected from UKIP in November after it employed EDL co-founder Tommy Robinson as an adviser on rape gangs and prison reform.

Patrick O'FlynnPatrick O'Flynn
Patrick O'Flynn

He said: “I hope I will be selected as the candidate. I think the people of Peterborough, particularly those that voted for Brexit, but also anyone that believes in democracy, will feel the establishment parties are betraying it in front of our eyes.

“I want to give the people of Peterborough a pro-Brexit, democratic choice.

“The vast majority of Brexit voters are not supportive of Tommy Robinson and do not want to lend their support to that kind of political approach.

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“Many people passionate about Brexit will not want to vote for my old party but won’t want to be stuck between Tweedledum and Tweedledee. I’m determined to give them somebody to vote for.”

Mr O’Flynn said the SDP’s stance is for Britain to trade with the EU on World Trade Organization (WTO) terms unless the EU offers a better option.

He added: “I think that’s what the majority of Peterborough wants. People are disgusted by the antics of MPs in the House of Commons conspiring to keep us in the EU or stop us from getting what we voted for.”

Ms Onasanya is due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey where any custodial sentence of a year, even if it is suspended, would see her lose her seat.

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A prison sentence of less than a year, once the appeal process has ended, would trigger a recall petition which would allow the MP’s constituents to trigger a by-election.

Mr O’Flynn said he hopes Ms Onasanya will “stand down voluntarily”, but that if a recall petition is set up all politicians in Peterborough should help to secure enough votes to force her out as MP.

On his hopes for the SDP at a by-election, he added: “The only thing that would shock the establishment parties and give Peterborough a note in the history of the campaign for Brexit is if there’s an uprising against the establishment.

“Or at least we need a big vote for something new. That way the people of Britain can stop the betrayal of Britain.”

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The SDP will choose its candidate for the potential by-election shortly.

Mr O’Flynn also confirmed that the party hopes to put up candidates to stand in the Peterborough City Council elections in May.

The SDP was set up by Labour’s “gang of four” Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams in 1981.

It is styled as a centrist party with a pro nation-state, eurosceptic outlook.

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Other confirmed candidates in Peterborough are: Paul Bristow (Conservative), Beki Sellick (Liberal Democrat) and John Whitby (UKIP).

The Green Party is in the process of selecting its candidate while Labour is also looking to choose its candidate.

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