Parliament to prison: Charting MP's fall from grace

Mike Amesbury said his assault conviction was "highly regrettable"

Runcorn and Helsby MP Mike Amesbury has been jailed for 10 weeks after he admitted punching a man to the ground in his Cheshire constituency.

The 55-year-old pleaded guilty to assaulting 45-year-old Paul Fellows in the early hours of 26 October in Frodsham.

Amesbury had the Labour whip removed soon after the incident and has been sitting as an independent MP ever since.

But what is likely to happen now that he will be spending the next few weeks in HMP Altcourse rather than the House of Commons?

Who is Mike Amesbury?

Mike Amesbury was suspended by Labour in October 2024 after CCTV footage emerged of the incident in Frodsham.

In footage shared widely on social media, he could be heard shouting: "You won't threaten the MP ever again, will you?"

Amesbury admitted assault when he appeared in court on 16 January.

Born in the Wythenshawe area of Manchester on 6 May 1969, he said in an interview shortly after being elected to Parliament in June 2017 that he had joined Labour aged about 17 when his family were living in Castleford, West Yorkshire.

He said the miners' strikes were a key part of his motivation.

In his maiden speech to the House of Commons, he said his father was a carpet fitter and then a publican and his mother cleaned caravans and served school dinners.

Amesbury, who is married and has a son, said he became the first in his family to get a degree and worked as a careers adviser.

"As a lad born in Wythenshawe, Manchester, I never envisaged that I would have the honour of sitting on these green benches," he said.

Mike Amesbury admitted assault and was suspended by the Labour Party

On his website, he said his Labour politics were shaped by his working class background.

In 2014, he wrote in a local newspaper about his mental health struggles and being prescribed anti-depressants.

In 2023, a man was given a restraining order after being found guilty of stalking and harassing him.

Amesbury said it had resulted in him feeling "that little bit more anxious".

What happened in Frodsham?

The court heard Amesbury had been drinking before he arrived at a taxi rank in Frodsham's Main Street, where his victim - constituent Paul Fellows - approached him to remonstrate about a bridge closure in the town.

Footage showed Amesbury punching Mr Fellows in the head.

The footage showed Mr Fellows being knocked to the ground, with Amesbury punching him again at least five times.

Amesbury was then heard swearing at Mr Fellows and saying: "You won't threaten your MP again will you... soft lad?"

Members of the public restrained Amesbury and one was heard to say: "You'll never be MP after tonight, mate."

When arrested, Amesbury said he had acted in self-defence and suggested he felt "threatened" and "intimidated", the court heard.

What is on his political CV?

Amesbury was first elected to Manchester City Council in 2006, representing the Fallowfield area of the city.

From 2008 to 2012, he was the authority's executive member for culture and leisure.

During that time, he worked for some well-known Labour politicians.

He spent just over a year working as a senior parliamentary adviser to Ashton-under-Lyne MP Angela Rayner and then a period working for Andy Burnham, first while he was an MP and later during his campaign to become the first mayor of the Greater Manchester city region.

Mike Amesbury was first elected to Parliament in 2017

In 2017 he was first elected to Parliament, winning the seat of Weaver Vale from the Conservatives.

He held the seat until it was abolished before the 2024 general election.

During his time as Weaver Vale MP, he held a number of shadow ministerial positions, including shadow housing minister and shadow local government minister.

He also introduced a private members' bill to give schools guidance on uniform costs in 2020, which became law a year later and was enforced from September 2022.

At the 2024 general election, he was elected to the newly created seat of Runcorn and Helsby, securing a majority of just under 15,000.

What could the conviction mean for his career?

Because Amesbury was handed a custodial sentence, a recall petition is set to be triggered.

This can only happen after any appeals have been exhausted or the appeal period has elapsed.

If 10% of his constituents sign that petition, a by-election would take place.

However, an MP losing their seat as a result of a recall petition does not stop them from standing in any resulting by-election.

People are only disqualified from standing as an MP if they receive a prison sentence of more than one year.

Opposition parties have been quick to demand his immediate resignation.

If he had not received a prison sentence, there is no process in place to force MPs to resign following a criminal conviction.

There has been a recent example of this.

Former Labour MP Claudia Webbe was convicted of harassment and, as her sentence was reduced to community service on appeal in 2022, she remained as an independent MP until losing to the Conservatives in the 2024 general election.