Following Tory minister Patrick Mercer’s decision to quit over a cash-for-question scandal, UKIP leader Niger Farage has announced that he will not stand in the Newark by-election.
Although he admitted that he was ‘tempted to stand’ he said that he does not want distractions from the party’s campaign for next month’s European elections.
He said: "I don't want to do anything that deflects from the European election campaign, so I am not going to stand in this by-election.
"I want to focus the next three weeks on winning the European elections."
"There is a much bigger prize than the Newark by-election and that is the general election in 2015."
Mercer had resigned after learning that he was facing a 6-month suspension from Westminster. This followed the allegation that he tabled Commons questions and offered a Westminster security pass after signing a deal that paid him £4,000 for seeking the readmission of Fiji to the Commonwealth.
The six-month penalty was agreed by the Commons standards committee.
A Conservative spokesman said: "We agree that Patrick Mercer needs to stand down and that there should be a by-election so the people of Newark can have a new MP."