2024 Blackpool South by-election

2024 Blackpool South by-election
← 2019 2 May 2024 July 2024 →
Blackpool South constituency
Turnout32.5% (Decrease24.3 pp)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Con
Ref
Candidate Chris Webb David Jones Mark Butcher
Party Labour Conservative Reform UK
Popular vote 10,825 3,218 3,101
Percentage 58.9% 17.5% 16.9%
Swing Increase 26.0 pp Decrease 32.1 pp Increase 10.8 pp
Boundary of Blackpool South in Lancashire
MP before election

Scott Benton
Independent[a]

Elected MP

Chris Webb
Labour

A by-election took place on 2 May 2024 in the UK Parliament constituency of Blackpool South, the same day as local elections in England and Wales.

The by-election followed the resignation of incumbent MP Scott Benton.[1][2] Benton had been suspended for 35 days from the House of Commons after being caught in a newspaper sting operation offering lobbying services for payment. This triggered a recall petition, which had started, but was then terminated by Benton's resignation.

The by-election was won by Chris Webb of the Labour Party with a 26% swing, on a turnout of 32.5%.[3] It was the last by-election of the 2019–2024 Parliament, with the general election held on 4 July.

Background

Scott Benton, the previous MP.

Constituency

Blackpool South had been a Labour-held seat since 1997. Before that election, Conservative Party MPs had won in and represented the constituency since it was first contested in 1945. In the 2019 general election it was won by Conservative candidate Scott Benton, who defeated the incumbent Labour MP Gordon Marsden. Some reporters and pollsters describe the constituency as one of the seats that make up the "red wall" and "sea wall".[4][5][6] It is one of the most deprived constituencies in England, with high levels of unemployment and crime.[7] All 14 of Lancashire's districts voted for Brexit in the 2016 European Union membership referendum, with the borough of Blackpool registering a particularly strong leave vote of 67.5%.[8]

Corruption allegations

In April 2023 The Times published an article resulting from a sting operation alleging that Benton was willing to table parliamentary questions, leak documents and lobby ministers on behalf of gambling companies in return for "thousands of pounds per month".[9] He also told the reporters that other MPs would be similarly willing to accept such payments.[10] Benton was subsequently suspended from the Conservative Party,[11] sitting thereafter as an independent MP.[12]

In December 2023 the House of Commons' Standards Committee found that he had breached the House's rules and recommended a 35-day suspension from the House.[10] This finding was appealed to the Independent Expert Panel, but the panel "found no substance" in Benton's arguments and dismissed the appeal.[13] On 27 February 2024 the Commons approved a motion suspending Benton from the House for 35 days.[12]

Recall petition and resignation

See also: Recall of MPs Act 2015 § Recall procedure

As the length of Benton's suspension exceeded the ten-day threshold designated in the Recall of MPs Act 2015, a recall procedure was triggered.[12]

The signing period began on Tuesday 12 March and was set to run until Monday 22 April 2024.[14] The number of signatures required for the petition to be successful, 10% of the constituency's electorate, was 5,634.[14] The Labour party officially registered as campaigning for the petition's success.[15]

Benton resigned as an MP on 25 March 2024, terminating the recall petition thirteen days into the signing period.[16]

Campaign

The writ of election was moved on 26 March 2024.[17] The by-election was held on 2 May 2024, concurrently with local elections and police and crime commissioner elections.[2]

Issues in the by-election included "levelling-up",[18] social deprivation,[19] overstretched NHS,[20] homelessness,[21] low investment,[22] crime, anti-social behaviour,[23] and child poverty.[24]

On 19 April 2024, a hustings was held between the candidates at Blackpool Cricket Club.[25][26]

Candidates

Labour selected Chris Webb to stand for the constituency in August 2023. Webb is a former assistant to Gordon Marsden, who represented Blackpool South as MP from 1997 until 2019.[27][28]

The Conservative candidate was David Jones.[29] His background is in the construction industry and charitable fundraising.[30]

Ben Thomas stood for the Green Party.[29] He is secretary of the Blackpool and Fylde Green Party.[31] The Greens have called for the new football regulator to be based in Blackpool.[32]

The Liberal Democrats selected Andrew Cregan as their candidate.[33] Cregan was previously a Labour councillor in Tower Hamlets, but defected to the Liberal Democrats in 2017 over Brexit.[34]

Reform UK selected Mark Butcher to stand as their candidate.[31] He is a former street preacher and local charity worker.[35] During the campaign the Charity Commission confirmed it had not opened a "statutory case" into his soup kitchen amid allegations of misuse of funds but has raised a "compliance case" into issues regarding political bias with the Trustees of the charity.[36]

The Alliance for Democracy and Freedom selected Kim Knight.[37] Damon Sharp stood for the label New Open Non-Political Organised Leadership.[38] Stephen Black was an Independent candidate.[39] Perennial candidate Howling Laud Hope stood for the Official Monster Raving Loony Party.[40]

Result

2024 Blackpool South by-election [41] [42]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Chris Webb 10,825 58.9 +20.6
Conservative David Jones 3,218 17.5 –32.1
Reform UK Mark Butcher 3,101 16.9 +10.8
Liberal Democrats Andrew Cregan 387 2.1 –1.0
Green Ben Thomas 368 2.0 +0.3
Independent Stephen Black 163 0.9 N/A
Alliance for Democracy and Freedom Kim Knight 147 0.8 N/A
Monster Raving Loony Howling Laud Hope 121 0.7 N/A
New Open Non-Political Organised Leadership Damon Sharp 45 0.2 N/A
Majority 7,607 41.4 N/A
Rejected ballots 73 0.4
Registered electors 56,696
Turnout 18,375 32.5 −24.3
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +26.3

The result was considered a strong performance by Labour and a weak one for the Conservatives, with the swing being the third-largest Conservative-to-Labour swing since 1945.[43] Psephologist John Curtice likened this and other recent results to elections in the years before Labour's landslide win in 1997.[44]

Reform UK came a close third behind the Conservative Party, giving it the largest share of the vote in a by-election since its change of name from the Brexit Party.[45]

Previous result

General election 2019: Blackpool South[46]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Scott Benton 16,247 49.6 +6.5
Labour Gordon Marsden 12,557 38.3 –12.0
Brexit Party David Brown 2,009 6.1 N/A
Liberal Democrats Bill Greene 1,008 3.1 +1.3
Green Becky Daniels 563 1.7 +0.7
Independent Gary Coleman 368 1.1 N/A
Majority 3,690 11.3 N/A
Turnout 32,752 56.8 –3.0
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +9.3

Notes

  1. ^ Although elected as a Conservative in 2019, Benton was sitting as an Independent MP at the time of his resignation.

References

  1. ^ "Former Tory MP resigns leaving PM to face new by-election". BBC News. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Parliamentary by-election Blackpool South". Blackpool Council. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  3. ^ Mathers, Matt; Zakir-Hussain, Maryam (3 May 2024). "Local elections results 2024 - live: Labour take Blackpool South with huge swing as Tories edge Reform UK". The Independent. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  4. ^ Gutteridge, Nick (25 March 2024). "Sunak faces another critical Red Wall by-election as Scott Benton resigns". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  5. ^ "New YouGov MRP model shows Conservatives losing up to 32 seats in the Red Wall". YouGov. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  6. ^ "Red wall wave 6". JL Partners. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  7. ^ Clarke-Ezzidio, Harry (20 February 2024). "Did Blackpool South's gamble on the Tories' Scott Benton pay off?". New Statesman. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  8. ^ "EU referendum: All 14 Lancashire districts back Brexit". BBC News. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  9. ^ Kenber, Billy; Nachiappan, Arthi (6 April 2023). "Exposed: How Tory MP offered to lobby for gambling investors". The Times. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Scott Benton - Second Report of Session 2023–24". 14 December 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Scott Benton suspended as Tory MP after lobbying sting". 5 April 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  12. ^ a b c "Scott Benton: Lobbying scandal MP recall petition triggered". BBC News. 27 February 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  13. ^ Rogers, Alexandra; Scott, Jennifer (27 February 2024). "Rishi Sunak braced for another by-election after ex-Tory MP Scott Benton suspended from Commons". Sky News. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Recall petition - Blackpool South". Blackpool Council. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Petition campaigners". Blackpool Council. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  16. ^ "Former Tory MP resigns leaving PM to face new by-election". BBC News. 25 March 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  17. ^ "Blackpool South by-election to take place in May". BBC News. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  18. ^ Ford, James (1 April 2024). "James Ford: Blackpool South should be the poster child for levelling up. But will the forthcoming by-election reflect that?". Conservative Home. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  19. ^ Ofori, Morgan (26 March 2024). "'Dirty rotten scoundrel': Blackpool voters dismayed by Tory MP Scott Benton". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  20. ^ "Blackpool South voters turn on 'Richy' Rishi Sunak ahead of crunch by-election". The Independent. 20 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  21. ^ "Reform UK launches Blackpool by-election campaign". Express & Star. 28 March 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  22. ^ Walker, Ben (5 April 2024). "Can the Conservatives cling on in Blackpool South?". The New Statesman. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  23. ^ "Local issues the focus at packed-out Blackpool South by-election hustings". thelead.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  24. ^ Belger, Tom (26 March 2024). "Blackpool South by-election confirmed: Meet Labour candidate Chris Webb". LabourList. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  25. ^ Lopez, Jamie (19 April 2024). "Chaos at Blackpool South's by-election hustings as police called". Lancs Live. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  26. ^ Durkin, Tony (19 April 2024). "52 pictures of candidates facing voters at Blackpool South by-election hustings at Blackpool Cricket Club". Blackpool Gazette.
  27. ^ Belger, Tom (25 March 2024). "Blackpool South by-election confirmed: Meet Labour candidate Chris Webb". LabourList. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  28. ^ Parkinson, Shelagh (16 August 2023). "Local candidate Chris is bidding to seize Blackpool South from Tories at next election". Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  29. ^ a b "Blackpool South by-election | Full list of candidates". LBC. 28 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  30. ^ "Blackpool South by-election dates and candidates set". thelead.uk. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  31. ^ a b Parkinson, Shelagh (28 March 2024). "Here are the names already in the hat to fight the Blackpool South by-election". The Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  32. ^ Gleaves, Sean (25 April 2024). "Green Party calls for football regulator to set up in Blackpool to bring '£130m boost to town'". Blackpool Gazette.
  33. ^ Pack, Mark (28 February 2024). "Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidates". Mark Pack. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  34. ^ Murphy, Joe (2 February 2017). "Tower Hamlets Labour councillor defects to Lib Dems over Brexit". Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  35. ^ "Reform UK launches Blackpool by-election campaign". South Wales Argus. 28 March 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  36. ^ Quinn, Ben (25 April 2024). "Reform UK's Blackpool byelection candidate denies wrongdoing amid charity probe". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  37. ^ "Kim Knight unveiled as ADF candidate". Coastal Radio DAB. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  38. ^ "Damon Sharp -". nonpol.com. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  39. ^ "Nine Candidates Standing In The Blackpool South Byelection To Replace Scott Benton". Lytham St Annes News. 9 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  40. ^ Sims, Vanessa (17 April 2024). "I'm standing for the Monster Raving Loony Party in Blackpool South By-election and I'm confident I'll win". Blackpool Gazette.
  41. ^ "STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED AND NOTICE OF POLL" (PDF). (Acting) Returning Officer. 9 April 2024. Election of a Member of Parliament ... Blackpool South Constituency
  42. ^ "Parliamentary by-election Blackpool South". Blackpool Council. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  43. ^ "Blackpool South sees third biggest Tory to Labour by-election swing since war". The Independent. 3 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  44. ^ Stacey, Kiran; Vinter, Robyn (3 May 2024). "Starmer hails Blackpool South win as result points to big Labour victory at general election". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  45. ^ Sigsworth, Tim (3 May 2024). "Tories lose Blackpool South by-election with just 100 votes more than Reform". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  46. ^ "Blackpool South parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News.

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