Former Tory MP Scott Benton resigns from parliament – triggering by-election
A former Tory MP who was facing the prospect of being removed from his seat by voters has announced he is resigning from parliament – triggering another by-election.
Scott Benton, who represents Blackpool South, said it had been “the honour of a lifetime to represent our wonderful Blackpool community in parliament over the last four years”.
“It’s with a heavy heart that I have written to the chancellor this morning to tender my resignation as your MP,” he said in a post on X.
His resignation will trigger a by-election unless Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calls a general election sooner – something that is unlikely after he ruled out holding an election on 2 May and said he is still aiming for the second half of the year.
The by-election will be launched after MPs are asked whether they agree to it, which could be as early as tomorrow, Sky News understands. This means the contest may be held on the same day as the local elections on 2 May.
Mr Benton was elected to the Blackpool South seat in 2019 with a slim majority of 3,690 and Labour would hope to snatch it back in a by-election.
It is one of the “red wall” seats – the traditional Labour areas that switched to Boris Johnson’s Conservatives in 2019.
Mr Benton was facing a recall petition that was due to close on 22 April, after he was suspended from the Commons for 35 days over his role in a lobbying sting.
MPs approved the suspension last month without the need for a vote.
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‘Has Rishi lost the dressing room?’
Mr Benton, who has been sitting as an independent, could have been forced out by voters had 10% of his constituents signed the recall petition that was generated following his suspension.
He has now announced he will quit parliament rather than wait for the petition’s outcome.
The outgoing MP had the Tory whip removed last April after suggesting to undercover reporters at The Times that he would be willing to break lobbying rules for money.
A subsequent investigation by parliament’s Standards Committee found he had committed a “very serious breach” of the rules and recommended a 35-day suspension from the Commons.
Mr Benton then appealed the decision, but it was dismissed by the Independent Expert Panel, the body that sits above the committee.
Labour’s shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth said the MP should have resigned “much sooner”, telling broadcasters: “It’s absolute chaos in the Tory party today. A divided party, divided from top to bottom, and weak leadership under Rishi Sunak.
“We need this by-election now, as soon as possible. The Tories should move the writ and let’s get on and let’s elect a Labour MP who can represent the people of Blackpool here in the House of Commons.”
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The by-election will be the 23rd contest that has taken place this parliament and follows on from the most recent contest in Rochdale, which was won by left-wing firebrand George Galloway last month.
Earlier this month, Mr Sunak ruled out holding a general election on 2 May following speculation he could choose to go to the polls early.
The prime minister previously said it was his “working assumption” that an election would be held in the second half of this year but he had not previously ruled out a May date.
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, marks their 50th birthday amid a year of rising institutional and geopolitical adoption of the world’s first cryptocurrency.
The identity of Nakamoto remains one of the biggest mysteries in crypto, with speculation ranging from cryptographers like Adam Back and Nick Szabo to broader theories involving government intelligence agencies.
While Nakamoto’s identity remains anonymous, the Bitcoin (BTC) creator is believed to have turned 50 on April 5 based on details shared in the past.
According to archived data from his P2P Foundation profile, Nakamoto once claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan and listed his birthdate as April 5, 1975.
Source: Web.archive.org
Nakamoto’s anonymity has played a vital role in maintaining the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network, which has no central authority or leadership.
The Bitcoin wallet associated with Nakamoto, which holds over 1 million BTC, has laid dormant for more than 16 years despite BTC rising from $0 to an all-time high above $109,000 in January.
Satoshi Nakamoto statue in Lugano, Switzerland. Source: Cointelegraph
Nakamoto’s 50th birthday comes nearly a month after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, marking the first major step toward integrating Bitcoin into the US financial system.
Related: Bitcoin at 16: From experiment to trillion-dollar asset
Nakamoto’s legacy: a “cornerstone of economic sovereignty”
“At 50, Nakamoto’s legacy is no longer just code; it’s a cornerstone of economic sovereignty,” according to Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert.
“Bitcoin’s reserve status signals trust in its scarcity and resilience,” Lian told Cointelegraph, adding:
“What’s fascinating is the timing. Fifty feels symbolic — half a century of life, mirrored by Bitcoin’s journey from a white paper to a trillion-dollar asset. Nakamoto’s vision of trustless, peer-to-peer money has outgrown its cypherpunk roots, entering the halls of power.”
However, lingering questions about Nakamoto remain unanswered, including whether they still hold the keys to their wallet, which is “a fortune now tied to US policy,” Lian said.
Related: Bitcoin’s next catalyst: End of $36T US debt ceiling suspension
Is Satoshi Nakamoto wealthier than Bill Gates?
In February, Arkham Intelligence published findings that attribute 1.096 million BTC — then valued at more than $108 billion — to Nakamoto. That would place him above Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on the global wealth rankings, according to data shared by Coinbase director Conor Grogan.
Satoshi’s new addresses. Source: Conor Grogan
If accurate, this would make Nakamoto the world’s 16th richest person.
Despite the growing interest in Nakamoto’s identity and holdings, his early decision to remain anonymous and inactive has helped preserve Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos — a principle that continues to define the cryptocurrency to this day.
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The United States stock market lost more in value over the April 4 trading day than the entire cryptocurrency market is worth, as fears over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to ramp up.
On April 4, the US stock market lost $3.25 trillion — around $570 billion more than the entire crypto market’s $2.68 trillion valuation at the time of publication.
Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market”
Among the Magnificent-7 stocks, Tesla (TSLA) led the losses on the day with a 10.42% drop, followed by Nvidia (NVDA) down 7.36% and Apple (AAPL) falling 7.29%, according to TradingView data.
The significant decline across the board signals that the Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market” after falling 6% across the trading day, trading resource account The Kobeissi Letter said in an April 4 X post. This is the largest daily decline since March 16, 2020.
“US stocks have now erased a massive -$11 TRILLION since February 19 with recession odds ABOVE 60%,” it added. The Kobessi Letter said Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement was “historic” and if the tariffs continue, a recession will be “impossible to avoid.”
Source: Anthony Scaramucci
On April 2, Trump signed an executive order establishing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners and a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries.
Trump said the reciprocal tariffs will be roughly half the rate US trading partners impose on American goods.
Related: Bitcoin bulls defend $80K support as ‘World War 3 of trade wars’ crushes US stocks
Meanwhile, the crypto industry has pointed out that while the stock market continues to decline, Bitcoin (BTC) remains stronger than most expected.
Crypto trader Plan Markus pointed out in an April 4 X post that while the entire stock market “is tanking,” Bitcoin is holding.
Source: Jeff Dorman
Even some crypto skeptics have pointed out the contrast between Bitcoin’s performance and the US stock market during the recent period of macro uncertainty.
Stock market commentator Dividend Hero told his 203,200 X followers that he has “hated on Bitcoin in the past, but seeing it not tank while the stock market does is very interesting to me.”
Meanwhile, technical trader Urkel said Bitcoin “doesn’t appear to care one bit about tariff wars and markets tanking.” Bitcoin is trading at $83,749 at the time of publication, down 0.16% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data.
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