An unprecedented by-election will take place in Peterborough in the coming weeks after 19,261 people signed a recall petition to remove the Fenland city’s sitting MP, who was in January briefly jailed after lying over a speeding offence.
Fiona Onasanya, who has already been ejected from the Labour party, is the first MP to be forced out of her seat under new measures introduced in 2016 — allowing a by-election when more than 10 per cent of registered voters in a constituency sign an official petition.
The by-election would usually be a straightforward head-to-head battle between Labour — which took the seat at the 2017 election with a majority of only 607 — and the Tories.
Yet there is also the potential for an upset given that Nigel Farage’s new “Brexit party” plans to put up a candidate — perhaps Mr Farage himself — in the Leave-voting city. Mr Farage has previously tried and failed half a dozen times to become an MP for Ukip, the party he used to lead.
Ms Onasanya, a solicitor, had been sitting as an independent MP after being expelled by Labour. According to Peterborough City Council, some 27.6 per cent of eligible residents voted for the by-election.
“Fiona Onasanya is no longer the member for Peterborough and the seat is accordingly vacant,” Speaker John Bercow told the House of Commons. “She can therefore no longer participate in any parliamentary proceedings as a member of parliament.”
David Cameron set up the recall system in response to the 2010 MPs’ expenses scandal, which undermined the public’s confidence in their elected representatives. The recall procedure can be triggered if an MP is convicted of a criminal offence.
The first attempt to use the system occurred in July last year against Ian Paisley Jr, MP for North Antrim, who had failed to declare two holidays funded by the Sri Lankan government. The petition failed to hit the requisite target by 444 signatures, leaving Mr Paisley in place.
Meanwhile an attempt is taking place in Brecon and Radnorshire to oust Chris Davies, the sitting Tory MP, over his conviction for a false expenses claim.
Paul Bristow, the Tory candidate for Peterborough, said local people deserved a “better MP” who would help to deliver Brexit. Ian Lavery, chair of the Labour party, said voters would have a “stark choice” between Tories who had cut police numbers and “destroyed” the NHS or Labour would put more funding into the police and health service.
Ms Onasanya was found guilty in December of lying to the police about a speeding charge and was jailed for three months. She lost an appeal to overturn the conviction when it was dismissed in March at the Royal Courts of Justice.
