Rishi Sunak facing another by-election as MP Peter Bone loses seat in recall petition

Published

2 years ago

December 19, 2023

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An MP suspended from the parliamentary Conservative Party has lost his seat in a recall petition, leaving another by-election for Rishi Sunak to contend with.

The voters of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire have decided they want to choose a new MP after Peter Bone was found by parliament to have subjected a staff member to bullying and sexual misconduct.

Mr Bone has denied the allegations.

Sky News understands 13.2% of constituents signed the recall petition, which means that the Wellingborough constituency is now vacant.

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Mr Bone was suspended from the Commons in October for six weeks – although he returned in time to support the prime minister’s Safety of Rwanda Bill.

The Conservative Party suspended the whip from Mr Bone, meaning he sits as an independent rather than a Tory in the Commons.

However, he was seen campaigning with the party during his suspension.

In a statement posted on X following the result, Mr Bone said: “The recall petition came about as a result of an inquiry into alleged bullying and misconduct towards an ex-employee which was alleged to have occurred more than 10 years ago. These allegations are totally untrue and without foundation.

“I will have more to say on these matters in the new year. May I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year.”

Anneliese Dodds, chair of the Labour Party, said the results showed that “Wellingborough is ready for change”.

“The Conservative Party has presided over 13 years of failure, not least in the ‘professionalism, integrity and accountability at all levels’ that Rishi Sunak promised.

“Despite serious allegations made against him, Peter Bone has dragged his constituents through a lengthy recall petition rather than doing the right thing and offering his resignation.”

A recall petition is triggered when an MP is suspended from the House of Commons for at least 10 days.

As more than 10% of the constituency’s voters signed it – 7,904 people – a by-election has now been triggered.

The number of registered electors eligible to sign the petition was 79,402, while the number of registered eligible voters who validly signed the petition was 10,505.

Mr Bone has been the MP for Wellingborough in Northamptonshire since 2005, and was re-elected with a majority of 18,540 at the last election in 2019.

The Conservatives have lost a series of by-elections in which they previously held five-figure majorities, including Selby and Ainsty, Mid Bedfordshire, and Somerton and Frome.

A report into Mr Bone’s behaviour found he had “committed many varied acts of bullying and one act of sexual misconduct” against a staff member in 2012 and 2013.

Parliament’s behaviour watchdog, the Independent Expert Panel, upheld a previous probe which found Mr Bone had broken the MPs’ code of conduct on four counts of bullying and one of sexual misconduct.

He was found to have indecently exposed himself to the complainant in the bathroom of a hotel room during a work trip to Madrid.

Mr Bone will be allowed to stand in the by-election if he so chooses, which will happen when the party which currently holds the seat – the Conservatives – decides.

There is also the possibility of a by-election in Blackpool South after the area’s Conservative MP, Scott Benton, was suspended from the parliamentary party in April after being caught in an undercover sting by The Times suggesting he would be willing to break lobbying rules for money.

Following an investigation into the matter, the Committee on Standards on Thursday recommended a 35-day suspension from the House of Commons, paving the way for a potential by-election.

Mr Benton has said he will appeal his recommended suspension from parliament to the Independent Expert Panel (IEP), the body that sits above the Parliamentary Standards Committee, and that he intends to make a formal complaint over it.

The appeal kicks the potential for a by-election into the long grass, as the IEP will now review the standards committee’s findings before any action is taken.

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‘We’re a team’: Jess Phillips defends PM’s decision to suspend Labour rebels

Published

12 hours ago

July 17, 2025

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'We're a team': Jess Phillips defends PM's decision to suspend Labour rebels

A minister has defended Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to discipline rebellious MPs, saying they would have used “stronger” language against those who are “continually causing trouble”.

Home Office minister Jess Phillips told Sky News’ Matt Barbet that Labour MPs were elected “as a team under a banner and under a manifesto” and could “expect” to face disciplinary action if they did not vote with the government.

It comes after the prime minister drew criticism for suspending four Labour MPs who voted against the government on its flagship welfare bill earlier this month, while stripping a further three of their roles as trade envoys.

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Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff, Neil Duncan-Jordan and Rachael Maskell all lost the whip, meaning they are no longer part of Labour’s parliamentary party and will sit as independent MPs.

Labour backbenchers lined up to criticise the move last night, arguing it was a “terrible look” that made “a Reform government much more likely”.

But speaking to Sky News, Ms Phillips said: “We were elected as a team under a banner and under a manifesto, and we have to seek to work together, and if you are acting in a manner that is to undermine the ability of the government to deliver those things, I don’t know what you expect.

“Now I speak out against things I do not like, both internally and sometimes externally, all the time.

“There is a manner of doing that, that is the right way to go about it. And sometimes you feel forced to rebel and vote against.”

Referring to a description of the rebels by an unnamed source in The Times, she said: “I didn’t call it persistent knob-headery, but that’s the way that it’s been termed by some.”

She said she would have described it as “something much more sweary” because “we are a team, and we have to act as a team in order to achieve something”.

More than 100 MPs had initially rebelled against the plan to cut personal independent payments (PIP). Ultimately, 47 voted against the bill’s third reading, after it was watered down significantly in the face of defeat.

Three other MPs – who also voted against the government – have had their trade envoy roles removed. They are Rosena Allin Khan, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Mohammed Yasin.

However, it is understood this was not the only reason behind the decision to reprimand all seven MPs, with sources citing “repeated breaches of party discipline”.

Ms Maskell was one of the lead rebels in the welfare revolt, and has more recently called for a wealth tax to fund the U-turn.

Mr Hinchliff, the MP for North East Hertfordshire, proposed a series of amendments to the flagship planning and infrastructure bill criticising the government’s approach.

Mr Duncan-Jordan, the MP for Poole, led a rebellion against the cut to the winter fuel payments while Alloa and Grangemouth MP Mr Leishman has been critical of the government’s position on Gaza as well as the closing of an oil refinery in his constituency.

Ian Byrne, the Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby, wrote on X on Wednesday that the prime minister’s actions “don’t show strength” and were “damaging Labour’s support and risk rolling out the red carpet for Reform”.

Leeds East MP Richard Burgon added that “challenging policies that harm our communities” would “make a Reform government much more likely”.

Ian Lavery, Labour MP for Blyth and Ashington, warned the suspensions were “a terrible look”.

“Dissatisfaction with the direction the leadership is taking us isn’t confined to the fringes,” he wrote.