Those by-elections (potential and otherwise) in full

[PTK]

View attachment 397148

Sad to say, this is an MP who condemned war crimes in Gaza by the IDF

 

[PR1Berske]

Scott Benton (ex-Conservative, currently independent, Blackpool South) is recommended for a 35-day suspension. This would trigger a recall petition and a by-election if passed.

 

[DotCommunist]

we've all seen this sort of thing before but has any MP ever offered his services so completely without euphemism or circumlocution

 

[PR1Berske]

He's appealing. This from BBC News

MP Scott Benton says he will appeal against a proposed 35-day suspension from the House of Commons, after he was found to have breached standards rules.

A report by the Commons Standards Committee said he had given the message he was "corrupt and 'for sale'" in a meeting with undercover reporters posing as gambling industry investors.

Mr Benton said the inquiry was "anything but fair and transparent".

The MP for Blackpool South has said he does not believe he broke any rules.

He was suspended as a Conservative MP in April, after the Times newspaper published its story on the meeting, and he currently sits as an independent.

If MPs approve the suspension it could lead to a by-election in Mr Benton's constituency.

The committee's report, which was published on Thursday, said that in the meeting Mr Benton had suggested he could lobby ministers, set up meetings with government advisers, table parliamentary questions and provide access to confidential documents.

It said his comments suggested he would be willing to breach Commons rules in return for payment from the company, which turned out to be fake, as well as giving the impression that other MPs had disregarded the rules in the past.

The report concluded this was "a very serious breach" of rules which require MPs not to do anything that causes significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the Commons.

Potential by-election as MP faces suspension
Benton tells how MPs get round hospitality rules
In a statement, Mr Benton said: "Time and time again, this process has demonstrated itself to me to be anything but fair and transparent."

The MP said he had been "sworn to secrecy" by the committee during the process and was only allowed to see its judgement an hour before it was published.

However, he said details of the report were leaked to a journalist before they were made public, while other information was also leaked during the investigation.

"This process is designed to be open, fair, honest and transparent so the public and MPs can have trust in the process," he said.

"This trust has been breached by members of the committee. I can't have faith in a standards process that doesn't adhere to its own ethics, standards and principles."

He said the committee's decision was "heavily influenced" by an investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, which he said "makes several pivotal statements that are completely factually inaccurate".

In a letter to the committee published alongside its report, Mr Benton insisted he did not suggest other MPs would be willing to breach or circumvent rules or that he had previously done so himself.

He stressed that he had not agreed to undertake any activity that would breach rules during the meeting, which was secretly filmed.

He added that he did not have any further communications with the fictitious company following the meeting because during the conversation "it became apparent that the opportunity was a non-starter as it would not be compliant with the rules".

Mr Benton said he would be submitting a formal complaint to the Commons authorities, as well as appealing the committee's decision through the Independent Expert Panel (IEP).

He added: "I will happily fully submit myself to a process that considers the actual facts in my case, and which relies on indisputable evidence."

A Standards Committee spokesperson said MPs found to have breached the Code of Conduct had a right to appeal to the IEP, which is independent of the committee.

Unlike the cross-party Standards Committee, the IEP is made up only of experts and does not include any MPs.

Any proposed suspension must be approved by MPs in a Commons vote, which would only take place after an appeal process has concluded.

A suspension of more than 10 days triggers a recall petition, with a by-election called if more than 10% of eligible voters in the constituency sign it.

Mr Benton's Blackpool South seat has a majority of 3690 and was held by Labour between 1997 and 2019.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

He's appealing.

you spelled appalling wrong

 

[Cerv]

Scott Benton (ex-Conservative, currently independent, Blackpool South) is recommended for a 35-day suspension. This would trigger a recall petition and a by-election if passed.

with the likelyhood of a May general election. it must be getting close to the point that a potential by-election is moot.

the house is on recess till 8/1/24 so won't vote to approve the suspension until at least after that. then there's a 6 week period for the recall petition, that can't be cut short even if the requisite 10% signatures cut off is met on day 1. add another month from the result of that to the by-eleciton.
but on the other hand parliament will be dissolved 6 weeks before the general election if that happens.

 

[brogdale]

Game on.

 

[teqniq]

Was just coming here to post that. Happy happy joy joy.

 

[Bingoman]

Good riddance

 

[PR1Berske]

Kingswood

 

[Silas Loom]

The Sunday Times has pensions minister Paul Maynard bang to rights for misusing parliamentary expenses for political purposes.

https://archive.ph/5Hplp

Blackpool North and Clevelys; Con gain from Lab in 2010.

Whether there is time for another standards investigation before the GE is moot, though.

I would have put this in the Tory idiocy thread if I could have found it tbh.

 

[PR1Berske]

Both Blackpool seats at once please /nerd

 

[Bingoman]

The Sunday Times has pensions minister Paul Maynard bang to rights for misusing parliamentary expenses for political purposes.

https://archive.ph/5Hplp

Blackpool North and Clevelys; Con gain from Lab in 2010.

Whether there is time for another standards investigation before the GE is moot, though.

I would have put this in the Tory idiocy thread if I could have found it tbh.

Both Blackpool MPs caught doing something they shouldn't, I wonder what their constituents thinks of these two

 

[brogdale]

Both Blackpool MPs caught doing something they shouldn't, I wonder what their constituents thinks of these two

A variety of views, I would think. Tory supporters will excuse their men and it will likely deepen the antipathy of opposition supporters. In the current circs, both seats are relatively 'marginal' so could well be lost to the LP this year.

 

[Silas Loom]

A variety of views, I would think. Tory supporters will excuse their men and it will likely deepen the antipathy of opposition supporters. In the current circs, both seats are relatively 'marginal' so could well be lost to the LP this year.

It was a Tory constituency member who blew the whistle on Maynard, so it’s complicated: the selection process would likely be fought across a divided association, which would reduce local canvassing strength as well as increasing the number of Tory voters who would sit this one out.

I think this one would be very much Labour’s to lose.

 

[brogdale]

It was a Tory constituency member who blew the whistle on Maynard, so it’s complicated: the selection process would likely be fought across a divided association, which would reduce local canvassing strength as well as increasing the number of Tory voters who would sit this one out.

I think this one would be very much Labour’s to lose.

Agreed; the rifts through the vermin party play out at all levels, but I suppose I was thinking more of the constituency voters and the 'cores' in particular.

 

[A380]

Both Blackpool MPs caught doing something they shouldn't, I wonder what their constituents thinks of these two

Both knew the truth about the Tower fire...

 

[brogdale]

Both knew the truth about the Tower fire...

Oh no, don't kick this off again in here!

 

[tim]

Both Blackpool MPs caught doing something they shouldn't, I wonder what their constituents thinks of these two

That they've gone off the rails.

 

[Bingoman]

That they've gone off the rails.

Yeah that too

 

[SpookyFrank]

Keen to make a clean break, the tories have chosen Peter Bone's partner to stand in his vacated seat.

Tory voters, it's not often I feel sorry for them but they're being fucking laughed at by their party here.

 

[PR1Berske]

Both knew the truth about the Tower fire...

 

[PR1Berske]

We have a date, 15th February for both.

 

[brogdale]

We have a date, 15th February for both.

View attachment 407818

Kinda surprised that the vermin didn't go for the 31st of February, tbh

 

[PR1Berske]

If the mood takes you, candidate lists will be posted on 23 January 2024, so you've got until the 22nd to get everything together.

 

[PR1Berske]

From The Observer about the forthcoming byelections

MPs from across the party complained that losses in Wellingborough and Kingswood on Thursday had already been “priced in”, as one senior figure said defeatism had set in, with the party having descended into a “death spiral”.

One Sunak ally said the contests had been deliberately timed in the parliamentary recess to reduce the chances of anti-Sunak “chatter and plotting” at Westminster if the Tories lost.

But senior MPs said not properly contesting the seats risked demoralising an already deflated party during the run-in to a general election, and at a time when Labour was vulnerable after performing a massive U-turn last week over its green economic plans.

“The party hasn’t really tried,” said a former cabinet minister. “They’re expecting defeats. [It’s] rather demoralising.” Another influential figure said of the byelections: “They are very much priced into the death spiral.”

In Wellingborough, the Tories are defending a majority of more than 18,000 while in Kingswood, its majority was in excess of 11,000 at the 2019 election.

Rishi Sunak ‘up for the fight’ as Tories continue to lag in the polls
With Tory morale low, Sunak used an interview this weekend to champion tax cuts, while also insisting that he was “up for the fight” despite Labour’s stubbornly large poll lead.

He also argued his plans for the economy were working, saying it was “pointing in the right direction” and that the “future is going to be better”

 

[PR1Berske]

Partly inspired by steeplejack 's byelection post, here's a distant memory of the Tories getting absolutely pummeled in Christchurch.

 

[PR1Berske]

 

[brogdale]

Mornings like this give us a flavour of just how underwhelming/dispiriting it will feel on the morning after the next GE.

 

[steeplejack]

Mornings like this give us a flavour of just how underwhelming/dispiriting it will feel on the morning after the next GE.

I'm hoping for a few belly laughs as some of the most hated figures in the last decade of political history tumble. That's the limit of any reformist political ambitions in 2024, sadly.