Sir Keir Starmer faces a by-election nightmare after disgraced Labour MP Mike Amesbury was jailed for 10 weeks for brutally attacking a man in the street.
The Runcorn and Helsby MP is now under pressure to resign from the Commons, which would trigger a by-election that Nigel Farage‘s Reform UK hopes to win.
If Amesbury refuses to quit voluntarily, a by-election can be forced if 10% of voters in his constituency sign a petition demanding one.
The parliamentarian pleaded guilty at a hearing in January to assaulting 45-year-old Paul Fellows in Main Street, Frodsham, Cheshire, in the early hours of October 26.
A court was told Amesbury had been drinking before he arrived at a taxi rank, where Mr Fellows approached him to remonstrate about a bridge closure in the town.
Amesbury, wearing a dark suit and red tie, heard his sentence from the dock at Chester Magistrates’ Court on Monday, where Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram said his actions were caused by “anger and loss of emotional control”.
The magistrate said: “I have to say that I have seen a single punch to the head cause fatal injuries, but note the limited injuries in this case.”
He told Amesbury: “Your position ought to be as a role model to others.”
Mr Fellows said the MP took a step towards him and punched him in the face, prosecutor Alison Storey told the hearing.
In a video of the incident, Amesbury is heard to shout “what?” and is seen knocking Mr Fellow to the ground. The MP then followed his victim into the road, and punched him again at least five times.
The court was told Amesbury shouted at Mr Fellows, saying: “Don’t you ever threaten me again. You won’t threaten the MP ever again will you?”
A medical report into Mr Fellows’ injuries showed he suffered a head injury and had reported a headache. He was seen at an urgent care centre and also had an injury to the left elbow.
The magistrate said the immediate prison sentence was “necessary both as a punishment and a deterrent”. Amesbury was ordered to pay the victim’s costs and was then escorted from the dock by ushers.
Amesbury was elected as a Labour MP last year and was suspended from the party following his arrest in October.
His Cheshire seat is in the North-west, where Reform is targeting a number of Labour-held constituencies. They include Ashton-under-Lyne, where the MP is Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, and Stalybridge and Hyde, currently represented by Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
Reform UK has already sent a letter to every house in the constituency and Mr Farage has made a number of visits.
Mike Amesbury (Image: Getty)
Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf said: “Today Mike Amesbury has been sentenced to 10 weeks in prison.
“The great people of Runcorn deserve far better than waiting six weeks for a recall petition to take place.
“We call on Mike Amesbury to do the honourable thing and resign immediately so a by-election can be held.”
Had Amesbury been jailed for more than a year, he would have automatically lost his seat.
Speaking after an earlier court hearing, a Labour Party spokesman said: “It is right that Mike Amesbury has taken responsibility for his unacceptable actions.”
Amesbury joined Labour at the age of about 17 and said he was inspired to back the party because of the miners’ strikes.
He was a Manchester councillor who worked as a senior parliamentary adviser to Ms Rayner and Andy Burnham when the Greater Manchester Mayor was an MP.
