Former Labour MP Mike Amesbury Faces Resignation Calls After 10-Week Jail Sentence

Undated handout photo issued by the UK Parliament of Mike Amesbury MP on Oct. 27, 2024. Richard Townshend/PA

Former Labour MP Mike Amesbury is facing calls to resign after he was jailed for 10 weeks for punching a man to the ground.

Chester Magistrates’ Court heard on Monday that Amesbury had been drinking before the incident, which saw him assault Paul Fellows, 45, at a taxi rank in Frodsham, in the early hours of Oct. 26, 2024.

A video showed the Runcorn and Helsby MP repeatedly hitting the man lying on the ground, while bystanders tried to intervene. The MP shouted at the victim, saying, “Don’t ever threaten me again.”

Amesbury pointed at the victim and added: “Yes I am [the MP], yes I am, and you won’t threaten the MP ever again, will you?”

The court decision on Monday sparked calls for Amesbury’s resignation. Conservative MP Esther McVey said the MP “needs to do the decent thing and resign his seat with immediate effect.”

“You can’t have Members of Parliament languishing in prison,” she said in a post on social media platform X.

The Conservative MP for Huntingdon, Ben Obese-Jecty, suggested that Amesbury should resign “rather than wait for a recall petition to force his hand.”

Reform UK also urged Amesbury to resign immediately and called for a by-election in Runcorn and Helsby.

“The great people of Runcorn deserve far better than waiting six weeks for a recall petition to take place,” said Reform UK Chairman Zia Yusuf.

Amesbury won the Runcorn and Helsby constituency in the July general election with a majority of 14,696. Following the incident in October, he was suspended by the Labour Party and has been sitting as an Independent since his arrest.

British MPs can be recalled under three circumstances, including a conviction in the UK of any offence, suspension from the House, or making false or misleading parliamentary allowances claims.

Amesbury’s sentence means that a recall petition will be triggered in Runcorn and Helsby, unless Amesbury chooses to appeal.

Voters in the constituency have six weeks to sign the recall petition, requesting a by-election. At least 10 percent of voters are required to sign the petition to pave the way for a by-election.

If a by-election is called, Reform UK or Conservatives could take the Labour-held Runcorn and Helsby seat, given that in July Reform UK’s candidate Jason Moorcroft came second, followed by the Tory candidate Jade Marsden.

‘Persistent Assault’

A statement by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Monday there was no evidence that Fellows was being aggressive or threatening towards Amesbury. Alison Storey, senior specialist prosecutor for the CPS, described it as a “persistent assault.”

“The victim was alone and not part of a group and CCTV footage showed that he was not being threatening or aggressive towards Mike Amesbury. After the initial punch which knocked the victim to the ground, Mike Amesbury struck the victim at least a further five times while he was on the floor.

“The CPS will always seek to prosecute violent offences in accordance with our legal test regardless of who the perpetrator is,” she said.

Amesbury, who pleaded guilty to a single charge of common assault in January, has said that he felt threatened following an evening out with friends.

In addition to the 10-week sentence, Amesbury was ordered to pay £200 in compensation, with costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £154. Fellows sustained a lump to his head and graze to his elbow in the incident.