RIBBLE Valley MP Nigel Evans has said that he thinks that he will be reselected as the Conservative candidate for next year’s General Election.

Speaking on the BBC’s Daily Politics programme, Mr Evans said that ‘there may well be a challenge’ to his selection but that it depended the local Conservative association.

Mr Evans was speaking after he was cleared on a series of sex charges last month.

He said: “I have always left it late when going to reselection because I never thought that there would be a problem. When there’s an opportunity to reselect there is always the option to deselect.

“I have left it to 12 people to decide my fate once and I will now leave it to the members of my association to will decide who their candidate will be at the next election but I'm there if they so wish.

“I’m the only politician in Westminster who is happy with only getting 12 votes.

I think there were a lot of people thinking ‘dead man walking’.”