No further action over candidate's election bet

A Labour election candidate who admitting making a "stupid error" when betting he would lose his bid to become an MP has been cleared following an investigation.

Kevin Craig was suspended by the party as its candidate for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich after the Gambling Commission launched an investigation into his actions.

The commission confirmed it had closed its investigation, with a letter sent to Mr Craig – seen by the BBC – saying it did not have "sufficient evidence" and there would be no further action.

Mr Craig has been working on a draft bill to prohibit betting on elections by candidates and political staff.

"The actions of the Gambling Commission and William Hill triggered an awful process for me, the local Labour Party and voters in our constituency," Mr Craig explained.

"Worst of all, it left the people of Central Suffolk and North Ipswich in limbo – and it devastated the Constituency Labour Party (CLP) and officers as much as it devastated me.

"It has caused a huge amount of pain."

In June, Mr Craig said in a statement on social media he "did not place this bet with any prior knowledge of the outcome" and had planned on "giving any winnings to local charities".

The seat was won by Conservative Dan Poulter in 2019 before he defected to Labour in April and said he would not run in the 2024 election.

Tory candidate Patrick Spencer won the seat with 15,144 votes – a 32.6% share of the vote.

With his suspension from the party happening just nine days before the election, it was too late to remove Mr Craig from the ballot papers and he received 10,854 votes – a 23.4% share of the vote.

Philip Barden, a partner at law firm Devonshires who represents Mr Craig, said there was nothing to prevent politicians placing bets on general election outcomes.

"The legal obligation is that a bet is not placed with inside information," he said.

Mr Barden added that his client had "no inside information" and "no way of knowing who would win the election".

"If anyone had looked at Mr Craig's confidential gambling records, they would have seen frequent bets being placed on all sorts of outcomes and events," he said.

"It should have been clear to all involved that he was just someone who liked a bet, just like millions of other people in the UK."

Mr Craig's Gambling on Elections Bill, which has been presented to Sir Keir Starmer, would prohibit bets being placed on the outcome or date of elections by political candidates and staff.

The Labour Party has been approached for comment.

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