British MP suspended for bullying and sexual misconduct

LONDON (AFP): A lawmaker from Britain’s ruling Conservative Party was suspended from parliament on Wednesday for six weeks for bullying and sexual misconduct against a staff member.

The sanctioning of Peter Bone is likely to trigger another by-election, which could spell more doom for the Tories who are lagging behind Labour in opinion polls ahead of a general election expected next year.

Bone was found to have “committed many varied acts of bullying and one act of sexual misconduct” against the staff member in 2012 and 2013.

He allegedly indecently exposed himself to the complainant in the bathroom of a hotel room during a work trip to Madrid.

Bone denies the allegations but was kicked out of the Tory party last week and now sits as an independent MP in his constituency of Wellingborough in Central England.

He retained the seat at the last general election in 2019 with a majority of 18,540.

The opposition Labour Party currently hold double-digit leads over the Conservatives in surveys ahead of a general election that must be held by January 2025 at the latest.

Labour snatched two previously safe seats from the Conservatives in by-elections last week, fueling hopes of a return to power after nearly 14 years in opposition.

In Mid Bedfordshire, a Conservative-held seat for almost a century, Labour overturned a majority of nearly 25,000 — the biggest by-election swing since 1945.

The Tories also lost the seat of Tamworth, the vote of which was triggered when sitting MP Chris Pincher was forced to quit after being found to have groped two men in an “egregious case of sexual misconduct”.