Blackpool South MP Scott Benton caught in lobbying sting faces suspension from Commons after appeal fails

Blackpool South MP Mr Benton, who was elected as a Conservative but now sits as an independent, was found to have breached Commons rules after he was caught by the Times offering to lobby ministers and table parliamentary questions on behalf of gambling investors.

He appealed against both the finding and the suspension, but in a report published on Tuesday an independent panel upheld the Standards Committee’s original decision, saying there had been “no procedural flaw” in the process.

The panel also described Mr Benton’s arguments against the recommended suspension as “misconceived or erroneous”, finding the sanction was “neither unreasonable nor disproportionate”.

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% of his constituents sign the petition.

The Conservatives won Blackpool South in 2019 with a majority of just 3,690, raising the prospect of another difficult by-election for the Prime Minister after losses in Wellingborough and Kingswood last week.

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

Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow paymaster general, 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.”

A by-election in Blackpool South would be the fourth such vote held this year, while defeat would be the 11th time the Government has lost a seat in a by-election since the start of the current Parliament in 2019.

After Labour’s two victories last week, the outcome of a third by-election, in Rochdale, remains uncertain after the party was forced to withdraw support from its candidate over comments he made about the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Mr Benton had argued that the investigation into him by the Commons Standards Commissioner was “materially flawed”, claiming the commissioner had “drastically over-reached” and “arrived at conclusions which were unsupported by any adequate evidence”.

He also claimed that the Standards Committee’s decision had been leaked to the press, which was evidence of an “appearance of bias” against him.

The independent panel dismissed both arguments, saying there was “no substance” to his claims against the commissioner and that an investigation by the Standards Committee found there had been no leak of its decision.

The panel also found there was “no substance” to Mr Benton’s claims that the recommended suspension was “unreasonable and/or disproportionate”.

The Government will now move the proposal to suspend Mr Benton, which is likely to pass the Commons without difficulty, triggering the six-week long recall petition process.

If 10% of Mr Benton’s constituents sign the petition, he will be recalled and a by-election will take place, meaning the poll is unlikely to occur until the end of April or the beginning of May.