Latest news with #MikeAmesbury
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ex-Runcorn MP Mike Amesbury urges Labour backbenchers to oppose welfare cuts
The former Runcorn MP Mike Amesbury has called on Labour backbenchers to oppose winter fuel and welfare cuts, after the byelection in his former seat was lost to Reform UK. Amesbury, who stood down after he was convicted of assaulting a constituent, said he took responsibility for his mistakes but said results up and down the country showed the government was making 'some big political mistakes'. The former Runcorn and Helsby MP said he had 'paid a price' for punching the man after late-night drinking and lost his home and income and been hospitalised to deal with his mental health. Amesbury, a former shadow homelessness minister, said he was not surprised Reform UK won the byelection last week. It had been a large Labour majority but Nigel Farage's party took the seat by just six votes. 'Reform have been the beneficiaries really of some big political mistakes from the Labour government, and I sincerely hope that Keir [Starmer], the Labour prime minister, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, not only listen, but learn,' he said. 'Constituents in Durham or elsewhere up and down the country didn't vote that way because of my mistake. I live that moment every day of my life … if I could turn back the clock and change things, I'd have done the right thing and walked away. 'I've paid a price, and I'll learn from those mistakes, and politically, I want this government to succeed. But if they carry on making political mistakes, winter fuel's an obvious one but coming down the line is the personal independence payments.' He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday that more Labour backbenchers should speak out. He said: 'You're not being disloyal, but say, look, come on now, to the leadership. Just think again on this. If we're serious about having two terms in the Labour government transforming this country for the better we've got to listen to the electorate, do the right thing.' Amesbury said he had been struggling with depression at the time of the incident and that he had been drinking heavily that night. He said being taken to prison was 'surreal' and he had previously told his teenage son that he did not believe that would happen. 'I was taken down to the cells below the magistrates court, and I was in a cell just over six hours, and then immediately took my belt off me, all your personal belongings, so I couldn't phone my wife or close friends,' he said. 'But I was all over the TV, so my wife and friends and family knew that I was going to prison … It felt like a living nightmare, quite surreal. I almost felt like it was in some kind of a out-of-body experience.' Amesbury was given a 10-week sentence, suspended for two years. He said he was struggling to find work and that politics had been his only passion and ambition. 'The family home is on the market. I can't afford that, and my income as a member is no longer there. That stops immediately the day you resign. In my circumstances, there's no severance pay. I don't know what the future holds. It's been my life,' he said. 'I recently had a spell in hospital and the psychologist said, what about interests and hobbies? I said politics. That's what I did. That's my life. I'm passionate about it.' Amesbury said he had been hospitalised for a period after the incident. 'I needed support to get my health, as in my mental health, in a place where it needs to be, so I can start to rebuild my life,' he said. 'I've tried to do everything quickly. Once I got out of prison, I needed some money. So far, quite a number of people said, Mike, you're too hot to handle at the moment, and I get that.' The health secretary, Wes Streeting, said on Tuesday the government had listened to voters after Labour's sweeping losses in the local elections. Speaking to LBC, he said: 'We're under no illusion – and I think the voters have sent us a fundamental message 'we voted for change with Labour last year – if you don't deliver change, if we're not feeling it, we'll vote for change elsewhere'. 'So we've got that message loud and clear. We take the results on the chin. We're back in parliament today, picking ourselves up, dusting ourselves down, and with things like the GP announcement today showing the country we've got the message, when the prime minister said 'go further and faster', we're on the case.'
Spectator
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
Mike Amesbury urges Labour MP rebellion
You'd have thought ex-Labour MP Mike Amesbury would have tired of making headlines by now, but the former politician can't seem to keep his head below the parapet. Now the former Runcorn and Helsby parliamentarian – who prompted last week's by-election after he, er, punched a constituent – has called on Labour backbenchers to rebel against the leadership's 'big political mistakes'. And Amesbury knows all about mistakes, eh? Speaking to the Beeb's Today programme this morning, the ex-Labour man spoke to presenters about the future of Labour. Taking no responsibility for the part he played in handing Runcorn over to Reform, Amesbury lamented that while he was 'really disappointed' at Labour's loss in his former seat last week, he wasn't shocked given the 'big political mistakes from the Labour government' in recent months. Ouch. Going on, Amesbury took aim at Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, insisting: 'The constituents of Durham, or up and down the country, didn't vote because of my mistake.'
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Disgraced former MP Mike Amesbury ‘disappointed but not surprised' by Reform win
Disgraced former Labour MP Mike Amesbury who quit after punching a constituent said he was 'disappointed' but 'not surprised' by Reform's by-election victory in his seat, adding that Labour's backbenchers should urge leaders to 'think again' on key issues. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Amesbury, who was first jailed and later given a suspended prison sentence after admitting the assault in a street in Frodsham, Cheshire, said he had never punched anyone before the incident in October. The by-election held in his former seat in Runcorn and Helsby was won by Reform by just six votes last week. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Amesbury said he was 'really disappointed' by the result but he was 'not surprised'. (PA Graphics) 'I want this government to succeed but if they carry on making political mistakes, winter fuel's an obvious one, but coming down the line is the personal independence payments,' he told the BBC. 'I would say, listen people on those backbenches, that this is now the time to say, you know, you're not being disloyal. 'But say, 'look, come on now', to the leadership. 'Just think again on this. If we're serious about having two terms of a Labour government and transforming this country for the better, we've got to listen to the electorate and do the right thing.'' ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement He said: 'Reform have been the beneficiaries, really, of some big political mistakes from the Labour government, and I sincerely hope that Keir (Starmer), the Labour Prime Minister and the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, not only listen, but learn and respond.' Amesbury was jailed for 10 weeks in February but had his prison sentence suspended days later following a court appeal. He had spent three nights in HMP Altcourse. Asked if the incident was about power, he said 'no', adding: 'In the sense of, in the heat of the moment it wasn't about power. 'Definitely not, at 10 past two in the morning that incident happened. Well, I can't remember the last time I was out at 10 past two in the morning, I'm 55 (years old). ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement 'It was just a series of mistakes and events that evening that's changed my life.' He said he was 'shocked' to be jailed. The former MP said: 'It felt like a living nightmare. It was surreal. Almost felt like I was in some kind of outer body experience.'
The Guardian
06-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ex-Runcorn MP Mike Amesbury urges Labour backbenchers to oppose welfare cuts
The former Runcorn MP Mike Amesbury has called on Labour backbenchers to oppose winter fuel and welfare cuts, after the byelection in his former seat was lost to Reform UK. Amesbury, who stood down after he was convicted of assaulting a constituent, said he took responsibility for his own mistakes but said results up and down the country showed the government was making 'some big political mistakes'. The former Runcorn and Helsby MP said he had 'paid a price' for punching the man after late-night drinking and lost his home and income and been hospitalised to deal with his mental health. Amesbury, a former shadow homelessness minister, said he was not surprised Reform UK won the byelection last week. It had been a large Labour majority but Nigel Farage's party took the seat by just six votes. 'Reform have been the beneficiaries really of some big political mistakes from the Labour government, and I sincerely hope that Keir [Starmer], the Labour prime minister, the chancellor, Rachel Reeeves, not only listen, but learn,' he said. 'Constituents in Durham or elsewhere up and down the country didn't vote that way because of my mistake. I live that moment every day of my life … if I could turn back the clock and change things, I'd have done the right thing and walked away. 'I've paid a price, and I'll learn from those mistakes, and politically, I want this government to succeed. But if they carry on making political mistakes, winter fuel's an obvious one but coming down the line is the personal independence payments.' He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday that more Labour backbenchers should speak out. He said: 'You're not being disloyal, but say, look, come on now, to the leadership. Just think again on this. If we're serious about having two terms in the Labour government transforming this country for the better we've got to listen to the electorate, do the right thing.' Amesbury said he had been struggling with depression at the time of the incident and that he had been drinking heavily that night. He said being taken to prison was 'surreal' and he had previously told his teenage son that he did not believe that would happen. 'I was taken down to the cells below the magistrates court, and I was in a cell just over six hours, and then immediately took my belt off me, all your personal belongings, so I couldn't phone my wife or close friends,' he said. 'But I was all over the TV, so my wife and friends and family knew that I was going to prison … It felt like a living nightmare, quite surreal. I almost felt like it was in some kind of a out-of-body experience.' Amesbury was given a 10 week sentence, suspended for two years. He said he was struggling to find work and that politics had been his only passion and ambition. 'The family home is on the market. I can't afford that, and my income as a member is no longer there. That stops immediately the day you resign. In my circumstances, there's no severance pay. I don't know what the future holds. It's been my life,' he said. 'I recently had a spell in hospital and the psychologist said, what about interests and hobbies? I said politics. That's what I did. That's my life. I'm passionate about it.' Amesbury said he had been hospitalised for a period after the incident. 'I needed support to get my health, as in my mental health, in a place where it needs to be, so I can start to rebuild my life,' he said. 'I've tried to do everything quickly. Once I got out of prison, I needed some money. So far, quite a number of people said, Mike, you're too hot to handle at the moment, and I get that.' The health secretary, Wes Streeting, said on Tuesday the government had listened to voters after Labour's sweeping losses in the local elections. Speaking to LBC, he said: 'We're under no illusion – and I think the voters have sent us a fundamental message 'we voted for change with Labour last year – if you don't deliver change, if we're not feeling it, we'll vote for change elsewhere'. 'So we've got that message loud and clear. We take the results on the chin. We're back in parliament today, picking ourselves up, dusting ourselves down, and with things like the GP announcement today showing the country we've got the message, when the prime minister said 'go further and faster', we're on the case.'
BBC News
06-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Mike Amesbury: Ex-Runcorn MP blames Labour mistakes for election losses
Ex-Runcorn MP blames Labour mistakes for election losses Ex-Labour MP Mike Amesbury has blamed "big political mistakes" over benefit cuts by the government on a disastrous set of election results. Labour lost 187 council seats as well as a by-election in his former seat of Runcorn and Helsby, where Reform overturned a 14,700 majority to win by just six votes. The by-election was triggered when Amesbury resigned after receiving a 10-week prison sentence for assaulting a constituent, which was reduced to a suspended sentence after an appeal. While taking responsibility for causing the by-election, Amesbury said Reform were "the beneficiaries" of government mistakes on cutting winter fuel payments and disability benefits.
