UK MP Mike Amesbury has pleaded guilty at Chester Magistrates’ Court to assault, raising the possibility of a damaging first by-election for Labour since the party entered government last year.
Amesbury, who represents Runcorn and Helsby, admitted assault by beating after CCTV footage showed a late-night altercation in October last year.
The video footage showed Amesbury punching Paul Fellows to the ground in Frodsham, Cheshire, at 2.45am on October 26. In the footage, Amesbury can be heard shouting: “You won’t threaten . . . [an] MP ever again, will you?”
After the video footage was published, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer approved the suspension of the party whip from Amesbury, meaning he now sits as an independent MP in the House of Commons. Amesbury was charged with assault in November.
Amesbury, who first became a Labour MP in 2017, was re-elected in the 2024 general election with a majority of 14,696. If he receives a custodial or suspended sentence, it could lead to a recall petition. If 10 per cent of eligible voters signed the petition, a by-election would be triggered.
A by-election would mark Starmer’s first major electoral test since he won power. Reform UK will have hopes of seizing Amesbury’s seat, having come second last year with 7,662 votes.
Judge Tanweer Ikram said sentencing guidelines suggested “a sentence starting point of a high-level community order or a range up to a prison sentence”, according to the PA news agency.
Richard Derby, defending Amesbury, called the assault a “momentary incident”, adding: “Rightly or wrongly, Mr Amesbury interpreted what was being said as no longer a conversation but something to which he thought there was another motive to.”
Amesbury was granted bail to return for sentencing on February 24.
After the hearing, the MP told reporters he was “sincerely sorry to Mr Fellows and his family” and said the incident was “highly regrettable”.
Following Amesbury’s guilty plea, Labour said: “It is right that Mike Amesbury has taken responsibility for his unacceptable actions.”
“He was rightly suspended by the Labour party following the announcement of the police investigation. We cannot confirm further whilst legal proceedings are ongoing,” it added.