The jailing of Mike Amesbury, a former member of the Labour party, opens up the possibility of a by-election in the constituency of Runcorn and Helsby.
British politician Mike Amesbury has been jailed for 10 weeks for punching a man in the street in his constituency last year.
The former Labour MP, who still sits as the independent representative for Runcorn and Helsby in the northwest of England, pleaded guilty to assault by beating last month.
The assault took place in the early hours of 26 October after Amesbury was approached by a constituent called Paul Fellows by a taxi rank in the town of Frodsham in Cheshire.
Fellows had recognised Amesbury and complained to him about a local bridge closure.
After the pair exchanged words, the then Labour MP assaulted Fellows, continuing to attack him even after he fell to the ground, CCTV footage of the incident shows. Amesbury was then heard saying: “You won’t threaten your MP again, will you?’
At his sentencing on Monday, the politician was refused bail and was taken directly to HMP Altcourse in Liverpool, where he will serve at least 40% of his 10-week prison term.
Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram said the jail sentence was “necessary as a punishment and a deterrent”.
“You continued to attack when he was on the ground and it may have continued further had a bystander not intervened,” Ikram told Amesbury.
“You continued to rant. Your position ought to be as a role model to others,” he added.
The jailing of Amesbury, who has been an MP since 2017, creates the possibility of a by-election in his constituency.
A new contest for Amesbury’s seat would be triggered if he resigns. This could also happen if more than 10% of the area’s constituents sign a recall petition asking for him to be removed from office.
The Labour party, led by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, suspended Amesbury after the CCTV footage of the attack emerged in October.
In a statement on Monday, Labour called Amesbury’s actions “completely unacceptable”.
“It is right that Mr Amesbury pleaded guilty and has now been sentenced,” the party said.
“Local residents in the Runcorn and Helsby constituency deserved better and we look forward to them getting the representation they deserve in the future with a new Labour MP,” it added.
However, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, which came second in the Runcorn and Helsby constituency in July’s national election, believes it can cause an upset.
“The great people of Runcorn deserve far better than waiting six weeks for a recall petition to take place,” said Zia Yusuf, the party’s chairman.
“We call on Mike Amesbury to do the honourable thing and resign immediately so a by-election can be held.”
