Scott Benton, the former Conservative MP, has resigned, opening up a by-election in his formerly held Blackpool South constituency. Benton was facing a local recall after receiving a 35-day Commons ban this year for breaking Parliamentary standards. This was a result of an April 2020 newspaper sting which led to his suspension from the Tory party as an MP. Benton had faced possible removal from his position as MP, with his local constituents voting until 22 April on whether to keep him on as their representative.
In a statement shared on Facebook, Benton announced that he had officially resigned, thus triggering the organization of a by-election to fill his position. The by-election is expected to take place on May 2, during the same time as the local and mayoral elections in England and Wales. Benton had defeated his Labour opponents in the 2019 election by a majority of 3,690 votes.
Benton had been sitting as an independent MP since last year when he lost the Tory whip after an investigation by The Times found him offering to lobby ministers and table parliamentary questions in exchange for investments from undercover reporters who pretended to be from the gambling industry. Despite his appeal, Benton’s suspension was upheld after the investigation found that he had significantly damaged Parliament’s reputation. This started a process that could have led to his removal if 10% of registered voters in his Blackpool South constituency had signed a recall petition in his favour.
With Benton out of the picture, defending his seat will present a fresh challenge for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and this by-election will be noted as one to watch out for, given the impending general elections expected later this year
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