Former Conservative MP Scott Benton has been suspended from the House of Commons for 35 days over his role in a lobbying scandal.
The Blackpool South MP is in excess of the 10-day threshold that triggers a recall petition and could lead to a by-election.
MPs approved the suspension of Benton on Tuesday evening without the need for a vote - known as going through on the nod.
Benton lost 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.
Scott Benton has been suspended from the House of Commons
Wikipedia CommonsHe appealed against both the finding and the suspension, where parliament's Standards Committee found that he had committed a "very serious breach".
However, in a report published last week, an independent panel upheld the committee’s original decision, saying there had been “no procedural flaw” in the review.
In 2019, Benton won a majority of 3,690 in a seat that had voted Labour since 1997.
If a vote is triggered, the seat will likely swing back to Keir Starmer's party, in another embarrassing defeat for the Prime Minister who suffered a double by-election blow earlier this month.
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Benton lost the Tory whip last April
PA
A by-election will occur if 10 per cent of his constituents sign the petition.
It would take the number of by-elections held under Sunak's time as Prime Minister to 11.
A probe by the Commons Standards Committee recommended the 36-year-old be suspended for seven working weeks.
In their report, the Standards Commission said Benton was guilty of "an extremely serious" breach of lobbying rules.
The Prime Minister suffered a double by-election blow earlier this month
GB News"The message he gave to his interlocutors at the March 7 meeting was that he was corrupt and 'for sale''', and that so were many other Members of the House.
"He communicated a toxic message about standards in Parliament. We condemn Mr Benton for his comments which unjustifiably tarnish the reputation of all MPs," they wrote.
Earlier this month, the Tories lost two seats to Labour in two by-elections in Wellingborough and Kingswood.
Wellingborough, which was previously held with a Conservative majority of 18,540, was won by Labour with a majority of 6,436. This represents a swing of 28.5 percentage points - the second largest swing from Tory to Labour at any by-election since World War II.
Kingswood was previously held with a Conservative majority of 11,220, but was last night won by Labour with a majority of 2,501 - a swing to Labour of 16.4 per cent.
