THE Conservative candidate for Bridgwater resigned as the chair of the publicly funded Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA) with immediate effect after being selected to contest the next general election. 

Sir Ashley Fox, a former solicitor and Member of European Parliament, was chosen as a parliamentary candidate on Saturday, September 9.

He stepped down from his role at the IMA, a government-funded arm's length body of the Ministry of Justice, two days later.

The IMA was founded after Brexit to make sure the rights of EU and EEA/EFTA citizens are upheld by public bodies in the UK and Gibraltar.

Sir Ashley was appointed as the body's first chairman in 2020 by the former Lord Chancellor, Sir Robert Buckland, after taking questions from the Justice Committee, a cross-party group of MPs that examines the Ministry of Justice's policies and spending. 

In a statement published on September 12, Sir Ashley said: “I have been honoured to be the inaugural chair of the IMA.

“During the last three years I have been privileged to work alongside colleagues across the organisation to help to establish the IMA and ensure the important work of ensuring the rights of EU and EEA/EFTA citizens living in the UK and Gibraltar since the UK left the EU are upheld by public bodies.

“I am proud of what has been achieved so far and know that thanks to the dedication of all who work at the IMA that this will continue.”

Deputy chair Leo O’Reilly has led the IMA board since Sir Ashley stepped down, with a recruitment process set to start to find a permanent replacement.

Miranda Biddle, chief executive of the IMA, thanked Sir Ashley and praised his commitment to “promoting and protecting” citizens' rights.  

Sir Ashley was selected to contest the Bridgwater seat after Ian Liddell-Grainger, the current MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset, announced he will instead stand for the newly formed Tiverton and Minehead seat. 

The next general election will be held no later than January 28, 2025.

Ahead of the last election in 2019, Sir Ashley was shortlisted to stand for the Conservatives in Devizes, Wiltshire.

He had previously applied for the West Dorset candidacy. 

No other parties have yet revealed their candidates for Bridgwater. 

Sir Ashley currently runs a consultancy firm, Ashley Fox Consulting Ltd, that helps clients “navigate a smooth pathway through the complicated world of the EU”.