Who is Scott Benton? The pro-death penalty, anti-abortion MP facing suspension
Scott Benton, a former Conservative MP, is facing a lengthy parliament suspension after offering to lobby ministers for a gambling firm.
The Blackpool South MP’s appeal against the Standards Committee’s decision has been dismissed, increasing the likelihood of a by-election in his constituency.
The backbencher was stripped of the Conservative Party whip suspended last April following the scandal and has since sat as an independent.
Elected in the seaside resort in 2019, Mr Benton became the first Tory MP in the constituency since 1997 and ousted Labour veteran Gordon Marsden.
His campaign focused on delivering Brexit, with 67.5 per cent of Blackpool having voted to leave the EU in 2016.
The once booming coastal destination has one of the worst life expectancies in the country and is the UK’s drugs death capital.
Rise to Parliament
The 36-year-old was born in Newport, Wales and worked as a primary school teacher before moving into politics.
He served as a councillor for Calderale in Yorkshire for eight years and also worked as a Parliamentary assistant for Craig Whittaker, the Conservative MP for Calder Valley.
He married his partner Harry Symonds in the Houses of Parliament in 2021, later telling GBNews that he came out as gay to his parents just before the wedding.
The lobbying scandal is not the first time Mr Benton has been embroiled in controversy. During his parliamentary career he has been involved in several rows on social media.
Fat-shaming
Mr Benton was accused of fat-shaming in July 2021 after claiming a Labour councillor had eaten too many pasties.
David Collett, a Blackpool councillor at the time, criticised Mr Benton for accepting free tickets to Euro 2020 football matches from gambling organisations while calling for a “super casino” in the resort.
The MPs’ register of interests revealed Mr Benton accepted £7,494.60 in tickets for major sporting events in 2020, including a ticket and hospitality at the England v Denmark semi-final from the gambling organisation Entain Operations, and the same at the England v Czech Republic game from the online casino and bingo firm Gamesys Group.
The Blackpool South MP denied that his calls for a casino and his acceptance of the tickets were related, saying: “There is no connection. I’ve long been in favour of a regional casino in Blackpool.”
Mr Collett joked on Twitter: “Greggs once gave me a free pasty so I’ve sold the town hall to the Great British Bake-off.”
The Blackpool South MP responded to the tweet: “More than one free pasty I suspect, by the looks of it.”
More than one free pasty I suspect by the looks of it 👀🤦
— Scott Benton MP 🇬🇧🏴 🍊 (@ScottBentonMP) July 15, 2021
The comment received backlash on social media, with some pointing out Mr Benton’s position as co-chairman of parliament’s cross-party group on eating disorders.
The 26-year-old MP later told Lancs Live: “My response to [Mr Collett] is light-hearted and in the same vein as his original tweet.”
Anti-abortion
Following the US Supreme Court’s decision in June 2022 to overturn Roe v Wade, which granted women a constitutional right to abortion, Mr Benton appeared to retweet a post by the US Republican Party saying: “Life wins.”
Conservative MP Scott Benton celebrates the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade. In 22 states, that means near-immediate abortion bans.
There are men in our Parliament who’d take women’s rights back to the Victorian era if they could. pic.twitter.com/Z6BcdlNeec— Ash Sarkar (@AyoCaesar) June 24, 2022
The MP soon deleted the retweet, which seemed to show his support for the move.
Mr Benton has previously affirmed his pro-life stance and used to be a member of anti-abortion group Society for the Protection of Unborn Children.
Pro-death penalty
Mr Benton has more than once expressed his support for the death penalty, claiming it is supported by the majority of the public and his constituents.
After the December 2021 sentencing for the manslaughter of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, a six-year-old boy who was tortured and beaten to death by his father and stepmother, the Blackpool South MP called for the “ultimate punishment” for the couple.
Usual leftie hysteria following @LeeAndersonMP_ comments on the death penalty. It’s supported by a majority of the public, and my constituents, in certain cases. Another example of the media, liberal elites and Twitter being detached from the public.
https://t.co/ttvFT8OQdE— Scott Benton MP 🇬🇧🏴 🍊 (@ScottBentonMP) February 9, 2023
He tweeted: “No prison sentence is long enough for these evil monsters. Really is time that the ultimate punishment was brought back for cases such as these.”
Mr Benton also voiced his support for Conservative MP Lee Anderson when he backed the death penalty in February 2023.
The Blackpool South MP said on X: “Usual Leftie hysteria following Lee Anderson’s comments on the death penalty. It’s supported by a majority of the public, and my constituents, in certain cases.
“Another example of the media, liberal elites and Twitter being detached from the public.”
