An MP is facing a 35-day suspension from parliament, leaving Rishi Sunak open to yet another difficult byelection. Scott Benton, the MP for Blackpool South, reportedly offered to lobby ministers on behalf of the gambling industry and leak a confidential policy document for up to £4,000 a month. Undercover reporters for the Times posing as representatives of a fake investment fund caught the MP, who was elected for the Conservatives in 2019, saying he could “call in favours” from colleagues and get “easy access” to ministers when queueing for parliamentary votes. The Commons standards committee said Benton’s actions were an “extremely serious breach” of the rules. The message he gave to the undercover reporters was “that he was corrupt and ‘for sale’, and that so were many other members of the house”, the standards committee’s report said. “He communicated a toxic message about standards in parliament. We condemn Mr Benton for his comments, which unjustifiably tarnish the reputation of all MPs.” The committee recommended that he should be suspended for 35 days. If the Commons backs the punishment, it could leave Benton – who was stripped of the Tory whip after the allegations surfaced – facing a byelection. Blackpool South is one of the “red wall” seats, having backed the Labour party from the 1997 election until Benton’s win in 2019. It is one of the most deprived areas in England. Labour has selected the leftwing trade unionist Chris Webb as its prospective parliamentary candidate for the seat, which Keir Starmer’s party believes it can win. Earlier this year, Labour comfortably won the West Lancashire byelection, and took back another of its former heartland seats, Wakefield, in a huge byelection win last year. Sunak suffered two byelection defeats in October, leaving senior Tory MPs warning him that the party was on the verge of giving up. Benton has had the whip suspended since April and has since sat as an independent MP. There were calls for him to step down after the Times said it touted a fictitious investment fund seeking an “expert adviser” amid a significant review of gambling laws and that “gaining insight from policymakers is a key part of our strategic investment strategy”. While some MPs declined, Benton was said to have been happy to meet.
Benton was asked what he could offer the fake company instead of a PR or lobbying firm, the Times said. According to the paper, he said: “There’s probably 10 different PR firms I know who are trying to get meetings with the minister … The beauty of politicians, if you like, are we vote in the House of Commons two or three times a day, and we’ll be voting later. “You will literally stand at the beginning at the entrance to the voting lobby. And if you wait there for five minutes, the minister has to pass you. And then you’ve got 10 minutes while you walk around to the next vote to have his ear.” Starmer said the scandal showed how the prime minister had lost control of his own MPs. He claimed Benton had showed “flagrant disregard” for the rules MPs were expected to follow. There are 18 independent MPs in parliament, who have all been suspended from their parties. They outnumber the Liberal Democrats in Westminster.