Up now, as you’ve probably already twigged. It’s me tonight, so bunk links to generalelection@gmail.com – ta!
In other news – as yet unbroken – the death of the Liberal Democrat candidate in the safe Tory seat of South Staffordshire could cause some problems. Worth keeping an eye on, that.
Now, what with it being a Bank Holiday and all, I’m off to the pub.
In the States, it's not uncommon to vote for a dead person–Mel Carnahan won his race for the US Senate some time after his plane crashed, a consolation prize he probably didn't properly appreciate.
Can that happen here?
Electoral law in this country's all screwy, so there's still a lot of confusion up there, from what I've heard. As a mark of respect campaigning has been suspended in any case, and it currently appears that the election will be postponed for a month or so. Whether or not it's technically possible for a dead candidate to win an election in the UK I'm afraid I have no idea.
No. In Britain, if any candidate standing in a constituency dies during the election, the constituency election has to be abandoned and a by-election called for 28 days after the returning officer is given proof of death.
Essentially, it means that the former Conservative MP in that area won't be able to return to Parliament when all the other elected MPs do.
See this BBC News article.