08 June 2024 , 22:31
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Tory armed forces minister Leo Docherty faces questions over his links to his constituency - amid claims he's lived somewhere else for three years.
Mr Docherty is was not on registered to vote in his Aldershot seat when the most recent version of the electoral register was published. And records held by Parliament's expenses watchdog suggest he moved his primary address to London in February 2021.
Mr Docherty is facing a tough local challenge for the first time - with recent polls putting Labour neck-and-neck in the Home of the British Army. And his position will have been made more precarious by Mr Sunak’s decision to ditch D-Day commemorations this week, leaving Normandy to sit down for a pre-recorded interview with ITV.
A local Labour insider said: “It will come as no surprise to people in Aldershot and Farnborough that their Tory MP refuses to live in the constituency he has represented for two terms. He is never seen about and has delivered nothing locally for people.”
Mr Docherty insisted he was on the full electoral roll in his constituency - but had opted out of the “extended” register available to third parties and businesses. But local sources with access to the full register said he was not on it as of 1 June, the most recent update.
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Mr Docherty did not respond when asked when he registered to vote.