Rishi Sunak facing another by-election as lobbying sting MP’s suspension upheld

Rishi Sunak faces the prospect of yet another nightmare by-election after an MP caught up in a lobbying scandal lost an appeal against a 35-day suspension.

Blackpool South MP Scott Benton had the Conservative whip suspended last year after he was caught offering to lobby ministers and leaking confidential information in return for payment, following a sting by The Times.

The House of Commons committee on standards found the MP had given the impression he was “corrupt” and “for sale” after he was secretly filmed saying he could table parliamentary questions and provide “behind the scenes” information for up to £4,000 a month.

The report recommended that Mr Benton have the whip removed and be suspended for 35 days, which would trigger a recall petition in his constituency.

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Mr Benton had submitted an appeal to the committee’s Independent Expert Panel (IEP), but on Tuesday it announced that the decision has been upheld, meaning the MP faces a recall petition that would pave the way for a by-election.

The IEP stated in its report that Mr Benton’s behaviour “falls within the class of conduct that would cause significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons as a whole and its members generally” and a “serious sanction is appropriate”.

The finding means MPs will now vote on whether to implement the recommended suspension which, if supported, would trigger a recall petition and a potential by-election in Mr Benton’s seat if 10 per cent of his constituents sign the petition.

The prospect presents yet another headache for Mr Sunak as the Tories would be almost certain to lose the seat.

Mr Benton won the seat from Labour in 2019 with a 3,690-majority, but Labour’s recent by-election victories suggest this would be an easy win for the party.

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Last week, Labour won the seat of Wellingborough from the Conservatives – overturning a majority of more than 18,000 in the largest swing from the Tories to Labour since 1994.

The Conservatives have now lost 10 by-elections since 2019 – the highest number of Tory losses in one parliamentary term since the Second World War.

Voters will take to the polls again next week in Rochdale as constituents vote for a new MP to replace the late Sir Tony Lloyd.

Labour called on Mr Benton to resign immediately rather than wait for the outcome of any recall petition.

Jonathan Ashworth, shadow paymaster general, responding to Mr Benton’s appeal, said: “Scott Benton should do the decent thing and resign, saving the people of Blackpool South a lengthy recall petition that would leave them without the representation they deserve.

“This is yet another by-election caused by Tory scandal. Britain deserves better than this carousel of Conservative chaos.

“Labour’s Chris Webb is Blackpool born and bred, and ready to deliver a fresh start for Blackpool South.”

Mr Benton said he was “deeply disappointed” that his appeal had been rejected and renewed his criticism of the Commons committee on standards.

He said: “I am deeply disappointed by the decision of the appeal panel to uphold the standards committee’s unjust findings against me.

“The entire process has been prone to regular leaks at every stage, with journalists knowing the details throughout. This lack of integrity throughout the process has formed an inescapable appearance of bias.”

Mr Benton claimed the independent panel had “ignored” evidence that the result of the investigation into him had been leaked to the press and other “obvious flaws” in the inquiry.

He added: “It goes without saying that the standards process is designed to be open, fair, honest and transparent so the public and MPs can have trust in it.

“These events clearly mean that this trust has been breached by members of the committee and/or its administrative staff, and create an inevitable perception of partiality.”