A RED Wall MP has announced he is resigning from Parliament, triggering another by-election.
Scott Benton, who represents Blackpool South, said he was doing so with a “heavy heart” and that it had been the “the honour of a lifetime” to represent his constituency.
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The ex-Tory was already facing a recall petition after MPs approved a motion to suspend him from the Commons for 35 days.
The petition was due to close on April 22 but rather than wait for its outcome, Mr Benton confirmed he would be stepping down.
Mr Benton was found to have breached Commons rules after he was caught by The Times offering to lobby ministers and table parliamentary questions on behalf of gambling investors.
He appealed against both the finding and the suspension, but in a report published last month, an independent panel said there had been “no procedural flaw” in the process.
The Tories will be defending a slim majority of 3,690 votes over Labour – from whom they took the seat in 2019.
A by-election in Blackpool South will be the fourth such vote held this year, while defeat would be the 11th time the Government has lost a seat in a by-election since the start of the current Parliament in 2019.
