The former Leicester MP will stand for a seat he has held for 32 years

Keith Vaz will run for the city’s newest party, One Leicester

Former Leicester East MP Keith Vaz is running for his old seat in the general election. Mr Vaz announced his candidacy for the seat today, challenging his successor Claudia Webbe.

Mr Vaz, who was a Labor MP for Leicester for 32 years, retired from Parliament after offering to procure drugs for prostitutes. Other MPs on the Common Standards Committee recommended he be suspended from the Commons for six months because his scandal had caused “significant damage” to the reputation of the House of Commons.

He will run on behalf of the city’s newest party, One Leicester. The party was set up by former assistant mayor Rita Patel after she was suspended from Labor along with three other councilors over their attempt to unseat the town hall in a vote at a council meeting. The city’s mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, won the vote and soon after secured his fourth term in the role when the city went to the polls in May last year.

Declaring his intention to stand, Mr Vaz said: “It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be MP for Leicester East for over three decades. I absolutely love Leicester. Today, I am shocked by what I see. Despite so many opportunities, Leicester is unrecognizable and on the verge of bankruptcy.”

Ms Patel added: “…Keith has been, and continues to be, a strong advocate for Leicester for over 35 years.”

Also vying for the seat are Rajesh Agrawal for Labour, Zuffar Haq for the Liberal Democrats, Mags Lewis for the Green Party, Shivani Raja for the Conservatives and Raj Solanki for Reform UK and Claudia Webbe as an independent.

Find out more about the other candidates for Leicester East here.

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