The Conservative Party faces a significant challenge as it still needs to find candidates for around 150 constituencies, including the newly formed Wells and Mendip Hills seat. With the deadline for candidate nominations on 7 June, the Tories have less than a fortnight to fill all vacancies.

Candidates are in place for three-quarters of the seats in Britain, which means 474 seats are filled, leaving 158, including Wells and Mendip Hills, still without a candidate.

The party does not usually field candidates in Northern Ireland.

The task has been further complicated by many Tory MPs announcing they will not stand in the upcoming election. The number of MPs standing down has surpassed the Conservative record set in 1997 when 75 MPs decided not to run again. So far, 78 MPs have announced their departure, including senior figures like Michael Gove.

Home Secretary James Cleverly addressed the issue of the large number of unselected candidates on Sky News, stating, "The selection process has been going on. There will be lots of places where the selections were just on the verge of happening. I've been chairman of the party; you always have to do selections right up until the last minute. There is nothing particularly unusual about that. We've got plenty that we need to select. We've got a terrific pool of candidates."

In the Wells and Mendip Hills constituency, current MP James Heappey announced he will not stand in the next general election to "prioritise (his) family and pursue a different career." The Armed Forces Minister, who has represented the constituency for the Conservatives since 2015, made his decision known in a letter to John Osman, chair of the Wells & Mendip Hills Conservative Association.

In the absence of a Conservative candidate, former MP Tessa Munt is set to fight the new Wells and Mendip Hills seat for the Liberal Democrats. Current polling by Electoral Calculus shows the Lib Dems with a 56% chance of winning the seat, compared to a 38% chance for the Conservatives.

A number of prominent MPs plan to stand down, across all parties. This includes 22 current and former secretaries of state. Former prime minister Theresa May, former deputy prime minister Dominic Raab and current levelling-up secretary Michael Gove all plan to stand down, as do former Labour ministers Harriet Harman and Dame Margaret Hodge. They are joined by the former Westminster leader of the SNP, Ian Blackford, two current deputy speakers, Dame Rosie Winterton and Dame Eleanor Laing, and the chairs of 10 select committees.