The former Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke will not stand as the party’s candidate in Dover at the general election, but his wife will contest the seat.

Elphicke, 48, who has represented the Kent constituency since 2010, lost the Tory whip in 2017 when allegations of sexual assault - which he denies - were referred to the police.

He was readmitted to the party last December before a confidence vote in then-prime minister Theresa May, but was again suspended when he was formally charged in July this year.

His wife, Natalie, was formally selected as the Conservative candidate for the seat in a vote by local members on Friday.

Q&A Which MPs are standing down at the 2019 general election? Show Conservatives Alistair Burt North East Bedfordshire; Keith Simpson Broadland; Nicholas Soames Mid Sussex; Michael Fallon Sevenoaks; Nick Hurd Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner; Jo Johnson Orpington; Caroline Spelman Meriden; Claire Perry Devizes; Richard Benyon Newbury; David Jones Clwyd West; Mark Prisk Hertford and Stortford; Bill Grant Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock; Hugo Swire East Devon; Jeremy LeFroy Stafford; David Tredinnick Bosworth; Glyn Davies Montgomeryshire; Mark Field Cities of London and Westminster; Seema Kennedy South Ribble; Sarah Newton Truro and Falmouth; Richard Harrington Watford; David Lidington Aylesbury; Patrick McLoughlin Derbyshire Dales; Alan Duncan Rutland and Melton; Peter Heaton-Jones North Devon; Nicky Morgan Loughborough; Margot James Stourbridge; Mark Lancaster Milton Keynes North; Ross Thomson Aberdeen South; Henry Bellingham North West Norfolk; Nick Herbert Arundel and South Downs; Ed Vaizey Wantage; George Hollingbery Meon Valley; Charlie Elphicke Dover; David Jones Clwyd West Labour Kevin Barron Rother Valley; Paul Farrelly Newcastle-under-Lyme; John Mann Bassetlaw; Kate Hoey Vauxhall; Teresa Pearce Erith and Thamesmead; Stephen Pound Ealing North; Geoffrey Robinson Coventry North West; Stephen Twigg Liverpool West Derby; Jim Cunningham Coventry South; Ian Lucas Wrexham; Albert Owen Ynys Môn; Roberta Blackman-Woods City of Durham; Gloria De Piero Ashfield; Ronnie Campbell Blyth Valley; Jim Fitzpatrick Poplar and Limehouse; Ann Clwyd Cynon Valley; Owen Smith Pontypridd; Adrian Bailey West Bromwich West; Helen Jones Warrington North; Tom Watson West Bromwich East Independent

Philip Hammond* Runnymede and Weybridge; Justine Greening* Putney; Rory Stewart* Penrith and the Border; Guto Bebb* Aberconwy; Oliver Letwin* West Dorset; Ken Clarke* Rushcliffe; Jared O'Mara** Sheffield Hallam; Louise Ellman** Liverpool Riverside; Amber Rudd* Hastings and Rye; John Woodcock** Barrow and Furness; Kelvin Hopkins** Luton North; Ian Austin** Dudley North; Sylvia Hermon North Down; Nick Boles* Grantham and Stamford Liberal Democrats Heidi Allen*** South Cambridgeshire; Sir Vince Cable Twickenham; Norman Lamb North Norfolk Independent Group for Change

Ann Coffey Stockport; Joan Ryan Enfield North

Democratic Unionist Party David Simpson Upper Bann Speaker

John Bercow Buckingham * Formally Conservative party

** Formally Labour party

*** Originally elected as a Conservative

Elphicke is accused of a sexual assault against one woman in 2007 and two assaults against a different woman within a week of each other in 2016. He denies the allegations and has stood down to fight them in court.

He said: “Representing Dover and Deal has been the greatest honour and privilege of my life. I’m incredibly proud of what our Conservative team has achieved working together for our community.

“I am standing down today with huge regret, because it seems that we no longer abide by the basic British value of an individual being deemed innocent unless and until proven otherwise in a fair trial.”

Natalie Elphicke, a finance lawyer who works as a volunteer with a local night shelter, said: “I am delighted to have been adopted as the Conservative candidate for Dover and Deal.

“Our Conservative team has achieved so much since 2010, and I am looking forward to building on these tremendous achievements.

“This election is about the future, and the choice is simple. To get Brexit done and move forward with the Conservatives, or stay in Europe forever and go backwards with Jeremy Corbyn.”

The chairman of Dover and Deal Conservatives Association, Keith Single, said: “We considered matters most carefully and it is clear to us that Natalie will be an outstanding candidate for the Conservatives in Dover and Deal.

“She has loyally and effectively campaigned for the Conservatives over the past 30 years, and with us in Dover and Deal for over a decade. Nationally, she has led a government review into housing policy and been director of the Conservative party’s policy forum.”