As reported here on Friday and as originally broken by Recess Monkey, The Daily Telegraph is now reporting the story about Bob Neill's ineligibility as a by-election candidate in Bromley and Chislehurst.

The by-election campaign for a safe Conservative seat was thrown into confusion last night after claims that the Tories' candidate was ineligible to stand.

Bob Neill, the Tory hopeful for Bromley and Chislehurst, confirmed that he was a £5,000-a-year member of the north-east London strategic health authority. Under the House of Commons' Disqualification Act 1975, membership of a such an authority is one of dozens of posts that MPs are not allowed to hold.

What the story doesn't spell out clearly is that the law states that the candidature is invalid; it's not that Mr. Neill would, if victorious, be forced to choose between the two positions (the Health Authority role is soon to be disbanded anyway) but rather that he is ineligible to stand whilst occupying an "[office] or [place] of profit under the Crown". This is because all candidates must sign a legal declaration stating that there are no reasons for their disqualification at the time of their nomination. Mr. Neill's excuse that by the time he would be taking up the seat the Health Authority post would no longer exist is irrelevant under the letter of the law. Quite simply, he made a false declaration by signing the form.

A sympathetic person may observe that perhaps he was simply too busy; holding down three jobs whilst campaigning for a fourth must place a considerable strain on any individual, so perhaps it's not all that surprising that he can't remember which jobs he has. But a harsher judge might note that this is not the only legal mis-step in his campaign; for a lawyer, he seems unusually unlucky in placing himself on the wrong side of the law (see here for more examples).

Whilst the Lib Dems are attempting to ensure that Mr. Neill does not become MP by the more traditional means of trying to win the by-election, UKIP's candidate Nigel Farage is actively considering legal action. From the Telegraph article:

Nigel Farage, the Ukip candidate, accused him of "inexcusable arrogance" and said he could not be excused on a legal technicality.

"We will certainly consider launching an election petition to have the result on Thursday overturned were Mr Neill to win," he said.

Time will tell whether there is a reasonable case for legal action. For now, the decision still seems to be in the hands of the voters of Bromley and Chislehurst.