‘WE cannot provide any information on any complaint, including whether or not a complaint has been received.’

It is 12 months since Somerton and Frome MP David Warburton hit the headlines amid a string of allegations, including drug taking and sexual harassment.

In April 2022, Mr Warburton had the Conservative whip withdrawn as the allegations surfaced, with an investigation by the parliamentary harassment watchdog still being carried out – or so we believe.

Mr Warburton says he has complied with the probes into his behaviour and that not being able to speak out against the allegations ‘has been the most appallingly frustrating and painful experience’.

Casework continues, he says, as well as voting by proxy on Commons business.

But a year on, the 82,000-strong electorate in Somerton and Frome is still in limbo over the future of their elected representative.

Will he stand at the next general election? Will he be the Conservative party candidate? When will any investigations conclude – and what will happen when they do?

The short answer is, we don’t know. In fact, no one seems to have any answers.

The Liberal Democrat hoping to take his seat at the next general election is among those calling on the MP to make things clearer himself, by standing down.

Sarah Dyke, the Lid Dem prospective parliamentary candidate for Somerton and Frome, has called on Mr Warburton to stand down

Sarah Dyke said: “How an MP who has been banned from entering his own place of work and who has been missing in action for a year now could genuinely feel he is representing his constituents is baffling.

“This scandal, following dozens facing the Conservative party in recent years, has had a serious impact on the representation of local people.

“Our MP’s absence during the period he’s been investigated has meant Somerton and Frome has suffered as result.

“David Warburton has failed the people of Somerton and Frome for too long. He has never once put his constituents first and we are fed up of being taken for granted by him and this Conservative Government.

“He should resign immediately and allow the electorate to elect a new voice in Parliament to speak up for us.

“Local people are telling me they want a hard-working constituency MP who is fully focussed on the cost of living crisis, dangerously high ambulance wait times and working to stop raw sewage being pumped into our precious rivers and seas.”

Following the allegations, published on April 2 last year, Mr Warburton has also faced probes into financial dealings.

In one, the 57-year-old was found to have breached the MPs’ code of conduct over a £150,000 loan, with claims of another donation and mortgage applications also hitting the headlines in recent months.

The snowballing controversies have led to increased frustration at home.

Two councils in the constituency – Langport and Frome – have passed votes of no confidence in the MP.

Sean Dromgoole, leader of Langport Town Council and the Labour candidate against Mr Warburton at the last two elections, said: “The lack of parliamentary representation is felt right across the constituency.

“Perhaps … we can move Mr Warburton towards considering his own position in the light of those he cannot now represent.”

READ MORE: Frome Town Council passes motion of no confidence in MP David Warburton

But Mr Warburton remains unmoved, working on more than 4,000 pieces of casework since the allegations emerged, himself dealing with increasing levels of frustration as the saga remains unresolved after a ‘long, painful year’.

“Frustratingly for all concerned, nothing has changed other than Mr Speaker has been able to grant me a proxy vote so I continue to vote in the Commons each day,” he said.

“All Ministerial meetings, Written Questions to Govt, surgeries and casework continue as normal. I have worked on almost 4,000 pieces of casework since this all began.

“The investigation has now taken a long, painful year and I can only hope it concludes as soon as possible.”

But when will that be? For everyone, that’s the million-dollar question.

Meanwhile, political business continues – except, it seems, for the Conservatives in Somerton and Frome.

Tory associations across the country are announcing their candidates for the next general election – expected any time between now and summer 2024.

But not in Somerton and Frome.

We contacted the Conservative Association for the constituency, asking for an update of the selection process, but heard nothing back.

Mr Warburton is, currently, an independent MP having had the Conservative whip withdrawn.

Everyone, it seems, is in limbo.

The Sunday Times published allegations in April last year

In a letter to Mr Dromgoole the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Daniel Greenberg, said, well, not very much.

“Delays can occur for a variety of reasons, and can cause a wide range of difficulties and injustices; which is why we aim to pursue all investigations without any avoidable delay,” he wrote.

Despite refusing, quite rightly, to speak about individual cases, Mr Greenberg said ‘all investigations carried out or overseen by my office are carried out as quickly as is compatible with rigorous collection of evidence and complete fairness of decision making’.

The Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS), which deals with cases of bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct in the parliamentary community, has also declined to comment on the case – or to acknowledge it exists.

A Parliament spokesperson said: “Parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) operates on the basis of confidentiality for the benefit of all parties. Therefore, we cannot provide any information on any complaint, including whether or not a complaint has been received.”

So, a year on, it seems none of us is any clearer on when, or how, this will all end – save for a general election, which may well come first.