Blackpool MP Scott Benton has announced he has resigned ahead of potentially being forced out in a recall petition.
In a statement on Facebook, Mr Benton said it has been the “honour of a lifetime” to represent his hometown.
He revealed he wrote to the Chancellor this morning to tender his resignation, and thanked the “hundreds of residents who have sent supportive messages, cards and letters over the last few months and who have urged me to continue and fight the next election”.
He added: “In 2019, I pledged to be an active, hardworking and relatable MP who would listen to your concerns and views and act upon them: I’d like to think that I have more than succeeded in that aim. It’s in the best interests of our community that my successor succeeds and I wish them well”.
In February, the Red Wall MP lost an appeal against a Commons suspension, after being outed in a newspaper sting that saw him apparently break MP lobbying rules.
Following an appeal from Mr Benton, the Independent Expert Panel for MPs upheld the Standards Commission’s punishment, meaning that the MP was suspended for 35-days.
The length of this suspension meant his constituents were able to spark a by-election, if 10% backed such a move in a recall petition.
The Tories now face losing yet another seat to Labour.
Mr Benton has a mere 3,690 majority, significantly lower than the sizeable 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”.
MORE TO COME…
