Scott Benton
MP
Official portrait, 2019
Member of Parliament
for Blackpool South
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byGordon Marsden
Majority3,690 (11.3%)
Personal details
Born (1987-07-01) 1 July 1987
Newport, Wales
Political partyConservativea
Spouse
Harry Symonds
​
(m. 2021)​
Alma materUniversity of Nottingham
Websitescottbenton.org.uk
a.^ Whip suspended since 5 April 2023

Scott Lloyd Benton (born 1 July 1987) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Blackpool South since the 2019 United Kingdom general election. A member of the Conservative Party, he was previously a councillor on Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council and a primary school teacher. In April 2023 he had the whip removed after he had offered to lobby ministers in return for payments to undercover reporters. A parliamentary investigation concluded that he had breached lobbying rules and appeared corrupt and recommended a 35-day suspension from the House of Commons.

Early life and education

Benton was born on 1 July 1987 in Newport, Wales, to Alan and Krystina Benton.[1][2] He grew up in Rastrick, West Yorkshire, and attended Rastrick High School.[3] Benton then studied theology as an undergraduate at the University of Nottingham and was awarded a first class Bachelor of Arts degree and later completed a Master of Arts degree in the subject.[2] In the latter, he specialised in the Old Testament.[4] After graduating, Benton worked as a primary school teacher.[5]

Political career

In 2011, Benton was elected to Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council for the Brighouse ward.[6] At times he was deputy leader of the Council and then leader of the Conservative group.[7] From 2013 to 2019 Benton worked as a Parliamentary assistant for Craig Whittaker, the Conservative MP for Calder Valley.[7][2]

In 2015, Benton unsuccessfully proposed a motion that all schools in his council district should sing the national anthem daily and be encouraged to fly the Union flag.[8][9]

Benton previously ran for Strangford at the 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election[8] and Huddersfield at the 2017 general election.[10]

Benton contested and won Blackpool South at the 2019 general election. His win marked the first time since 1997 that the constituency has been represented by a Conservative. He achieved a swing of 9.4%, and was elected with a majority of 3,690 votes.[11] His campaign focused on delivering Brexit and reopening Blackpool Airport for commercial flights.[12]

During the 2019 election campaign, David Brown, who stood for the Brexit Party against Benton, expressed concerns over his links to the anti-abortion organisation Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), which has campaigned against same-sex marriage and been accused of homophobia.[13] In response, Benton stated that he was no longer linked to SPUC. He said that he supported their anti-abortion stance but was not homophobic and was a supporter of same-sex marriage.[14]

In December 2021, Benton expressed support for the death penalty in certain scenarios.[15]

On 13 June 2022, Benton was appointed as a Parliamentary Private Secretary in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office ministerial team.[16]

Benton is anti-abortion.[13] In June 2022, following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision of the US Supreme Court – which reversed the 1973 Roe v. Wade legislation which had previously granted the right to abortion in the United States — Benton retweeted a tweet by the US Republican Party celebrating the decision. Benton subsequently deleted the retweet.[17][18]

Breaches of parliamentary rules

In January 2021, Benton was found to have broken Parliamentary rules for failing to declare payments he had received for his previous work as a parliamentary researcher for Calder Valley MP Craig Whittaker and as a councillor for Brighouse ward on Calderdale Council within 28 days.[19] When asked about the allegations in November 2020, he cited "an admin error" for failing to declare his income as a councillor.[20] In response to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards' findings, Benton apologised for "inadvertently breaching the rules".[19]

In July 2021, Benton was one of nine MPs from different political parties who had accepted tickets to high-profile sporting events as hospitality from betting and gambling companies. He had received tickets to Royal Ascot, two Euro 2020 football games and Wimbledon.[21]

In April 2023, The Times newspaper filmed Benton appearing to offer to leak confidential information and lobby ministers in return for payments from a group of fake gambling industry investors.[22] In response, he referred himself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards who opened an investigation in the same month. Benton also had his whip suspended pending the results of the investigation. At the time he was also the chairman of the All-party parliamentary group on betting and gaming.[23][24] The Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists, a body set up in 2014 to monitor political lobbying, ruled that Benton had not conducted "unregistered consultant lobbying activity" on behalf of the gambling industry based on "assurances" that they had received.[25] In December 2023, a report by the Commons Standards Committee concluded that his interactions with The Times were a "very serious breach" of lobbying rules and that he had given the message that "he was corrupt and 'for sale' and that so were many other Members of the House". The committee recommended that he be suspended from Parliament for 35 days.[26][27]

Personal life

Benton married Harry Symonds in November 2021 in the Palace of Westminster.[28] He is gay and came out to his parents shortly before his wedding.[29] Benton is a Christian and has cited the Old Testament as his favourite book in a 2022 interview.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  2. 1 2 3 "Benton, Scott Lloyd, (born 1 July 1987), MP (C) Blackpool South, since 2019". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2020. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u293926. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  3. ↑ "Tories opt for 'new approach' in Benton". Brighouse Echo. 13 March 2011. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  4. 1 2 The Real Me: Scott Benton, Conservative MP for Blackpool South, speaks to Gloria De Piero. GBNews (YouTube). 10 March 2022. Event occurs at 00:55. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  5. ↑ Bond, Daniel (16 December 2019). "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". politicshome.com. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  6. ↑ "Brighouse: Election of District Councillors 2011 – 05/05/2011". Calderdale Council. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Calderdale councillor selected as Conservative candidate for Blackpool South". Halifax Courier. 24 September 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  8. 1 2 Monaghan, John (3 February 2017). "Tories select thirteen Assembly candidates, with just one 'parachuted' in from Britain". The Irish News. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  9. ↑ "Council reject proposals to sing national anthem every day". ITV News. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  10. ↑ Lavigueur, Nick (6 June 2017). "General Election 2017: Huddersfield candidates pitch for your vote". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  11. ↑ "Blackpool South MP Scott Benton suspended after appearing to offer to lobby for gambling investors". ITV News. 5 April 2023.
  12. ↑ Moffitt, Dominic (14 November 2019). "Blackpool South General Election 2019 list of candidates: Who should I vote for?". LancsLive.
  13. 1 2 Powys Maurice, Emma (20 November 2019). "A gay Brexit Party candidate is taking his Tory rival to task over links with a 'homophobic' group". PinkNews. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  14. ↑ Hunt, Richard (19 November 2019). "Blackpool South election candidates clash over 'homophobia'". Blackpool Gazette.
  15. ↑ "Arthur Labinjo-Hughes case shows we need the death penalty, says Blackpool South MP Scott Benton". Blackpool Gazette. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  16. ↑ "List of PPS – June 2022" (PDF). gov.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  17. ↑ Robinson, Breanna (24 June 2022). "Tory MP retweets then deletes tweet celebrating Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade". indy100. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  18. ↑ Steerpike (25 June 2022). "Memo to MPs: Britain is not America". The Spectator. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  19. 1 2 Greenwood, John (12 January 2021). "Calderdale councillor and Blackpool South MP breached Parliamentary rules". Halifax Courier. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  20. ↑ Graves, James (2 November 2020). "Blackpool MP and Calderdale councillor Scott Benton facing separate investigations relating to his conduct and finances". Halifax Courier. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  21. ↑ Mason, Rowena; Walker, Peter (15 July 2021). "Nine MPs accepted free Euro 2020 tickets from gambling companies". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  22. ↑ Kenber, Billy; Nachiappan, Arthi; Butt, Yasmin; Sobocinska, Kasia; De Caria, Federica (5 April 2023). "Exposed: How Tory MP offered to lobby for gambling investors". Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  23. ↑ Kenber, Billy; Nachiappan, Arthi (24 April 2023). "Scott Benton: Standards watchdog opens investigation into scandal MP". The Times. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023.(subscription required)
  24. ↑ "The Times view on Scott Benton: On the Take". The Times. 5 April 2023. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023.(subscription required)
  25. ↑ Witherow, Tom; Kenber, Billy (13 May 2023). "Whitewash claim after Scott Benton is cleared over 'offer to lobby'". The Times. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023.(subscription required)
  26. ↑ "Suspended Tory MP Scott Benton faces 35-day Commons ban". BBC News. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  27. ↑ "Scott Benton". House of Commons Committee on Standards. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  28. ↑ "Blackpool South MP Scott Benton hits back at hypocrisy allegations after marrying partner amid campaign to scrap Human Rights Act". Blackpool Gazette. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  29. ↑ The Real Me: Scott Benton, Conservative MP for Blackpool South, speaks to Gloria De Piero. GBNews (YouTube). 10 March 2022. Event occurs at 03:00. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
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