Rishi Sunak faces prospect of by-election as MP Scott Benton recommended for 35-day suspension

Scott Benton was caught in a sting by The Times suggesting he would be willing to break parliamentary lobbying rules in exchange for money.

Tim Baker

Political reporter

Thursday 14 December 2023 10:25, UK

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Rishi Sunak is facing another by-election after the Commons standards committee recommended MP Scott Benton be suspended from the chamber for 35 days.

Mr Benton was suspended from the parliamentary Tory party in April after being caught by The Times suggesting he would be willing to break lobbying rules for money.

In its ruling handed down this morning, the committee said "by repeatedly indicating his willingness to disregard the House's rules, and by giving the impression that many Members of the House had in the past and will in the future engage in such misconduct, Mr Benton committed a very serious breach" of the rules.

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A suspension of more than 10 days - if passed by a vote in the Commons - means that a recall petition is triggered.

This means Mr Benton's constituents can decide whether they want to hold a by-election.

He was elected as the Tory MP for Blackpool South in 2019, and has a majority of just 3,690. It had been a Labour seat since 1997 - but was Conservative before that.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats have both overturned five-figure majorities in recent by-elections.

The committee highlighted aggravating factors in their decision about Mr Benton - including him providing an "incomplete and incorrect picture of what had transpired".

They also noted that it was a "repeat offence, or indication that the offence was part of a pattern of behaviour".

'Toxic message about standards in parliament'

"Mr Benton's comments about his past willingness to collude with companies in making false valuations of hospitality suggest that this could have been a pattern of conduct on his part," they added.

Analysis by Serena Barker-Singh, political correspondent

This is yet another blow for the Tories after an already bruising week.

Scott Benton had already lost the whip pending an investigation, after a Times investigation filmed him indicating he would be willing to break lobbying rules.

He told reporters from The Times posing as employees of a fake company, TAHR Partners, that he could see a minister seemingly on cue, and he could provide them "real time" updates and information.

And that behaviour was described in a report this morning from the standards committee as a very serious breach of parliamentary standards.

In fact, the report is scathing. They say he had given the message he was "corrupt" and "for sale" – but there is one particular part that stands out: "the bar for breaching paragraph 11 of the rules is a high one but Mr Benton significantly exceeded that".

The committee is making it clear it would be almost impossible for MPs not to approve his suspension, and they’ve suggested a 35-day pause from parliament, which far exceeds the 10 days necessary to trigger a recall petition.

That means it’s not just one potential by-election on the way, but two. Earlier this year another MP, Peter Bone, was accused of bullying and sexual misconduct in a separate report – something he denies. The results of his recall petition are due next week.

Labour will be eyeing up both seats, but particularly at that relatively small majority in Blackpool South and gearing up for yet even more by-elections. Something they've been lately quite successful at winning.

The committee categorised what the former Tory MP did as an "extremely serious breach".

The report added: "The message he gave to his interlocutors at the 7 March meeting was that he was corrupt and 'for sale', and that so were many other members of the House. He communicated a toxic message about standards in parliament."

The 35-day suspension is one of the longest ever recommended by the committee - although Boris Johnson would have been recommended for a 90-day period if he had not resigned from the Commons first for misleading parliament over the Partygate scandal.

Mr Benton met undercover reporters from The Times who were posing as employees of a fake lobbying company.

The chair of the all-party parliamentary group for betting and gaming suggested he would be happy to be paid between £2,000 and £4,000 a month to help the fake company - complete with a logo, website and office addresses in London and Chennai in India.

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There are strict rules that prevent MPs from carrying out paid lobbying or advising how to influence parliament.

Mr Benton ultimately did not accept any financial payment arising from the meeting.

Rishi Sunak faces prospect of by-election as MP Scott Benton recommended for 35-day suspension

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Analysis by Serena Barker-Singh, political correspondent

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