The MP for Blackpool South has lost an appeal against a Commons suspension, potentially putting Rishi Sunak on course for yet another nightmare by-election defeat.
Scott Benton, elected in 2019, was suspended as a Tory MP after a newspaper sting that saw him apparently break MP lobbying rules.
Following an appeal from Mr Benton, the Independent Expert Panel for MPs has now upheld the Standards Commission’s punishment, meaning that the MP is on course for a 35-day suspension.
Given the length of the suspension, Mr Benton’s constituents will now have the opportunity to spark a by-election provided 10 percent vote for a recall petition.
If the threshold for a by-election is reached, the Tories face losing yet another seat to Labour.
Mr Benton has a mere 3,690 majority, significantly lower than the sizable majorities Labour recently overturned in Kingswood and Wellingborough.
Blackpool South voted Conservative for the first time in 2019, after having voted Labour in every election since 1997.
The Commons’ Independent Expert Panel concluded that the comments made by Mr Benton, and filmed by The Times, indicated that he had “breached the House’s rules in the past, would be willing to breach or circumvent rules again on behalf of the company in return for payment and that other Members behaved in a similar manner”.
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