Mike Amesbury has officially stepped down as an MP today after he was convicted of punching a man in the street.
Amesbury, who was suspended from the Labour Party, was jailed on 24 February for 10 weeks after he pleaded guilty to assault by beating of 45-year-old Paul Fellows in Main Street, Frodsham, Cheshire, in the early hours of 26 October.
However, following an appeal, his sentence was suspended for two years, so he does not have to serve it in prison.
“I have today tendered my resignation as Member of Parliament for Runcorn & Helsby constituency,” he said in a social media post.
“I have notified Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves of my decision to step down following a deeply regrettable incident for which I have rightly been punished by the courts.
“I made a serious mistake. All I can say is I am sincerely sorry to Paul Fellows, my family, colleagues and constituents.
“Thank you to everyone who has supported me on my political journey. I wish it didn’t have to end this way but I have nobody to blame but myself.”
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A by-election will now be triggered in his seat of Runcorn and Helsby, where constituents will vote to elect a new MP.
It will be the first by-election since Sir Keir Starmer became prime minister last year.
Reform UK started targeting the seat even before Amesbury was sentenced and remains the bookies’ favourite, with Labour coming in second.
Reform has yet to announce a candidate, but Karen Shore, the deputy leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, will run for Labour in the by-election, while the Conservatives have opted for Sean Houlston, a membership services manager for the National Federation of Builders.
Under parliamentary procedure, an MP cannot simply resign but must be disqualified from holding their seat.
To do this, they must apply for a role in the paid office of the Crown, meaning they automatically lose their seat because working for the Crown is not seen as impartial.
Some of the titles include the Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds and the Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead.
Amesbury had not yet applied for one of the offices of the Crown.
Once he does, the chief whip will put forward a motion to Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker, to officially begin the process of disqualifying the MP – known as “moving the writ”.
Read more:
How is a by-election triggered?
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The Speaker then puts the motion to MPs for a vote and and if they agree, the writ passes through the Commons and ends up with the Returning Officer in the local constituency who oversees the by-election.
The writ is typically issued within three months of the MP resigning from their seat and in doing so, the date of the by-election is fixed.
In last year’s general election, Amesbury came first in Runcorn and Helsby with 22,358 votes – equating to 52.9% of the electorate.
Reform UK came in second with 7,662 votes – 18.1% – and the Tories in third with 6,756 votes – 16%.
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