The suspended Labour MP Mike Amesbury could be facing the possibility of a by-election in Runcorn and Helsby, after Cheshire Police announced this lunchtime they are charging him for assault.
Mr Amesbury sparked shock and outrage last month when a video showed him punching a man in the street, who then fell to the floor before the now-suspended MP repeatedly hit him.
Cheshire Police say that Mr Amesbury has been summonsed to court to face the charge of section 39 assault, and is not set to appear in magistrates court at a later date.
Labour suspended Mr Amesbury, insisting he was « assisting Cheshire Police with their inquiries ».
« As these inquiries are now ongoing, the Labour Party has administratively suspended Mr Amesbury’s membership of the Labour Party pending an investigation. »
In a statement shortly after the incident became public, the MP claimed he had felt « threatened » and had referred the incident to the police himself.
The announcement by the local force make the chances of a by-election more likely, something Refrom UK are pushing for given they came second in the seat in July’s election.
New rules from 2015 mean an MP can be forced out by their voters under a recall petition, which can be called for three reasons.
Either the MP receives a prison sentence of less than 12 months, they are suspended for 10 sitting days or more, or they are convicted of making false or misleading expenses claims.
MPs can be suspended for bringing the house into disrepute, a ruling Mr Amesbury may face if he manages to avoid prison over the punch-up.
Mr Amesbury has a sizeable majority of 14,696, however the current government’s plummet in popularity has given Reform UK hope that they could pull off a surprise victory in any by-election.
MORE TO COME…
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