Senior Tories predict loss in Blackpool by-election as counting gets under way

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Senior Tories are predicting they will lose the Blackpool South by-election as counting gets under way. The by-election was called after the former Conservative MP Scott Benton was caught in a sting by the Times newspaper, suggesting he was willing to break lobbying rules for money. In an added painful twist for the Tories, the candidate standing to replace him, David Jones, was revealed as the chairman of the Fylde Conservatives - the area represented by the latest scandal hit MP Mark Menzies.