A member of parliament who lied about a speeding offence has become the first casualty of the Recall of MPs Act of 2015, triggering a by-election after a large number of constituency voters signed a recall petition.
Fiona Onasanya (Labour), disgraced by her lying and jailed in January for perverting the course of justice, has now been removed from the House of Commons. She represented Peterborough, but was expelled by Labour due to her conduct.
Onasanya became the first MP to be recalled under the law enacted during the prime ministership of David Cameron in the wake of the 2010 scandal of MPs misusing allowances and expenses that sparked much public anger.
House of Commons speaker John Bercow confirmed that the recall petition was successful, telling MPs: “Fiona Onasanya is no longer the member for Peterborough and the seat is accordingly vacant. She can therefore no longer participate in any parliamentary proceedings as a member of parliament.”
Under recalls laws, at least 10 per cent of eligible voters in a constituency need to sign the petition during a period of eight weeks. The Peterborough City Council said 19,261 voters had signed the Onasanya petition, representing 27.6% of those eligible to vote.
{{/usCountry}}Under recalls laws, at least 10 per cent of eligible voters in a constituency need to sign the petition during a period of eight weeks. The Peterborough City Council said 19,261 voters had signed the Onasanya petition, representing 27.6% of those eligible to vote.
{{/usCountry}}Onsanya, who won in 2017 with a small margin of 607 votes, will be able to stand as a candidate in the by-election. Labour chairman Ian Lavery said: “Labour campaigned hard for a victory in this recall petition. Labour will vigorously fight the by-election in Peterborough.”
The first recall petition under the act was triggered in July 2018 against Northern Ireland MP Ian Paisley, when he failed to declare two holidays paid for by the Sri Lankan government. But the petition failed when it fell short by 444 signatures.
The act provides for a recall petition to be triggered if an MP is sentenced to a prison term or is suspended from the house for at least 21 sitting days. If either occurred, the speaker would give notice to a petition officer, who in turn would give notice to parliamentary electors in the constituency.