Oaten withdrew from the leadership race citing minimal support among fellow MPs. In the betting markets, Campbell and Hughes remained neck and neck. The odds on Huhne shortened. Campbell held a formal launch for his campaign and was later one of the panelists on the BBC's Question Time. 21 January Former candidate Mark Oaten stood down from the front bench of the party over News of the World allegations that he made repeated visits to a male prostitute. 23 January Huhne overtook Hughes in the betting market with Campbell back to favourite. 25 January Nominations closed, with Campbell, Hughes and Huhne the only three candidates successfully nominated. 26 January In the wake of Mark Oaten's revelations and with rumours circulating, Simon Hughes admitted to The Sun newspaper that he had both heterosexual and homosexual relationships previously, but denied that his private life has any bearing on his ability to do his job. Earlier in the campaign, he had denied being gay; he apologises for such misleading statements. Hughes was subsequently a panellist on Question Time. 2 February Huhne was the last of the original four contenders to appear as a regular panellist on Question Time. 6 February Ballot papers were sent to the 70,000 Liberal Democrat members as the leadership contest entered its final stages. 7 February There were reports of a leaked, unpublished YouGov poll of party members. This put Campbell on 40%, Huhne on 34% and Hughes on 24%. A YouGov spokesman denies the figures. 8 February A poll for The Times conducted of party members at the Cardiff hustings put Huhne on 30.5%, Campbell on 24.5% and Hughes on 19%, with 26% undecided. 9 February A separate YouGov poll of 401 party members gave Huhne 38%, Campbell 34% and Hughes 27%. After eliminating Hughes, the figures are Huhne 52% to Campbell 48%. The data was collected 7 February-9 February. The poll was commissioned by a Huhne supporter, John Stevens, and the questions differed from the previous YouGov poll. Huhne overtook Campbell as the favourite in betting markets. The three candidates form the panel of a special edition of Question Time. 10 February Shortly after midnight, the result of the Dunfermline and West Fife by-election, held on 9 February was announced. The Liberal Democrats win with a 16% swing from Labour. The constituency is near to Menzies Campbell's North East Fife. 16 February BBC News 24 chief political