Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 27, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 25, 2026
UK MP Mike Amesbury wins appeal against jail for assault, potentially triggering a Labour electoral test.
(Reuters) - A British lawmaker on Thursday won his appeal against a prison sentence for punching one of his constituents, though he still faces the prospect of being ousted from parliament and triggering an electoral test for the governing Labour Party.
Mike Amesbury, the member of parliament for Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England, was suspended from Labour after CCTV footage showed him punching a man in October and repeatedly hitting him after the man was knocked to the ground.
The 55-year-old was sentenced to immediate imprisonment on Monday for a single count of common assault, having pleaded guilty last month.
Amesbury appealed against his sentence at Chester Crown Court, where Judge Steven Everett ruled the 10-week sentence could be suspended, meaning Amesbury will be released.
The conviction, however, means he remains likely to trigger an electoral test for Labour as he can be removed from office if enough constituents support a petition calling for a new election for the parliamentary seat.
Amesbury won the seat comfortably for Labour in its landslide national election win in July. But since then the right-wing Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, has overtaken Labour in some national opinion polls.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin in London; editing by William James)
Mike Amesbury was convicted of common assault after CCTV footage showed him punching a man. He pleaded guilty to the charge last month.
Amesbury won his appeal at Chester Crown Court, where the judge ruled that his 10-week prison sentence could be suspended, allowing him to be released.
Despite winning the appeal, Amesbury faces the possibility of being ousted from parliament if enough constituents support a petition for a new election.
Amesbury won his seat comfortably during Labour's landslide victory in July, but the right-wing Reform UK party has since overtaken Labour in some national opinion polls.
Amesbury was suspended from Labour following the incident where he was caught on CCTV punching a man, which led to his conviction.
Explore more articles in the Headlines category
