Cooper says jailed ex-Labour MP Amesbury should resign or face recall petition

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said she wants to see jailed MP Mike Amesbury resign or face a recall petition.

The disgraced MP has been jailed for 10 weeks for punching a man after a row in the street.

The sentence leaves him at risk of being ousted if his constituents back a petition calling for a by-election but opposition parties have demanded his immediate resignation.

The former Labour MP has been sitting as an Independent for Runcorn and Helsby since he was suspended by the party after his arrest last year.

“I want to see him either obviously resign or face recall, and so that we can have a new MP in place,” the Home Secretary told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Ms Cooper was asked for a response on Amesbury continuing to be an MP and receiving full pay as there is no automatic suspension for MPs serving a custodial sentence.

“I think you’re asking me about parliamentary rules and procedure, which are obviously separate from those that the Government runs … I’m making my view clear, which is that I want to see the people of Runcorn get new representation as swiftly as possible.”

Amesbury pleaded guilty at a hearing in January to assault and was sentenced on Monday at Chester Magistrates’ Court.

An application for bail, pending an appeal against his sentence, was refused by the judge.

Amesbury’s sentence leaves him liable to the recall process, which would trigger a by-election if 10% of registered voters in his constituency sign a petition calling for it. As long as he remains an MP he will continue to be paid his salary.

Any custodial sentence of less than a year, even it if is suspended, would trigger the recall process but it will only begin after all appeals have been exhausted.

Amesbury was suspended from the Labour Party after footage emerged which showed him punching a man on the street in Frodsham, Cheshire, and he subsequently resigned his membership.

In 2024 Amesbury won Runcorn and Helsby with a majority of 14,696 over Reform UK.

A Labour Party spokesperson said on Monday that the party took “swift action” following his “completely unacceptable actions”.

The spokesperson said his constituents “deserved better”.

Tory co-chairman Nigel Huddleston has called for Amesbury to “do the right thing and resign” while Reform UK party chairman Zia Yusuf urged Amesbury to quit immediately.