Labour has selected a candidate to run in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election to replace Mike Amesbury, who said he would quit the Commons after punching a constituent.

Labour has selected a candidate to run in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election to replace Mike Amesbury, who said he would quit the Commons after punching a constituent. Cheshire West & Chester councillor Karen Shore will run as Labour’s candidate.

Labour has announced it has selected Cheshire West and Chester councillor Karen Shore to contest the expected by-election in Runcorn and Helsby. The by-election is expected to be called after Mike Amesbury announced his intention to stand down as an MP this week.

LABOUR is set to face a tough by-election challenge after disgraced MP Mike Amesbury bowed to the inevitable and announced that he will quit. Mr Amesbury has been under pressure to leave the Commons after receiving a 10-week sentence, suspended on appeal, for punching a constituent.

The Runcorn and Helsby MP said he will begin the "statutory process" of winding up his office before resigning as an MP "as soon as possible".

Labour has announced that a Cheshire councillor will be its candidate in the forthcoming Runcorn and Helsby by-election. It follows the recent decision by Mike Amesbury to quit the House of Commons after he was convicted and given a suspended prison sentence for repeatedly punching a constituent in the street.

He won his seat last year with a majority of 14,696 over Reform UK and his resignation will be a first by-election test for Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party. “Karen Shore will