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

Peter Bone, who has been the MP for Wellingborough in Northamptonshire since 2005, was found by parliament to have subjected a staff member to bullying and sexual misconduct.

Tim Baker

Political reporter

Wednesday 20 December 2023 11:23, UK

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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.

North Northamptonshire Council confirmed last night that 13.2% of constituents signed the recall petition, which means the 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.

It is not yet clear whether Mr Bone will run to regain the seat, though without the Tory whip, he would have to run as an independent candidate.

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."

But Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride told Sky News on Wednesday that the Conservatives would "fight for every single vote" to keep hold of Wellingborough, and the by-election was "all to play for".

He added: "When you knock on doors and you talk to people about the next general election and the tough choice that people are going to have to make, what they don't say is 'I've got a burning passion to see Keir Starmer in Number 10'."

Wide-eyed Labour hoping by-election will be sign of things to come

Gurpreet Narwan

Business and economics correspondent

Labour will be sizing up this Northamptonshire constituency, wide-eyed at the prospect of another by-election victory just two months after it wrestled control of Tamworth and Mid-Bedfordshire.

In Tamworth, the ballot was triggered after the MP Chris Pincher was suspended following allegations of groping.

All of this will no doubt be disappointing for a prime minister who promised to restore integrity to public office when he entered Number 10.

Instead, Rishi Sunak is having to fight another by-election because of a Tory sleaze scandal.

Wellingborough has a sizeable Conservative majority of 18,500, but the concept of a Tory safe seat is quickly becoming a fiction.

In Tamworth, Labour whittled away a 19,000 majority, turning the seat red for the first time since 2010 - and securing the largest swing since the party took the seat at a 1996 by-election.

And remember, that preceded a landslide general election victory for Labour.

The Wellingborough by-election will give us further clues as to whether this is a sign of things to come.

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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