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Fiona Onasanya: Recall petition successful & Labour hold seat after By-Election

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DarloRich

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A by-election is expected in the constituency of Peterborough following the conviction of Labour MP Fiona Onasanya (see https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-46602635 )

The result at the 2017 general election was as below :

Fiona ONASANYA (Labour) 22,950 (48.1 +12.5)
Stewart JACKSON (Conservative) 22,343 (46.8 +7.1)
Beki SELLICK (Liberal Democrat) 1,597 (3.3 -0.4)
Fiona RADIC (Green) 848 (1.8 - )

The by-election is not guaranteed, as Fiona Onasanya can appeal, and she does not necessarily lose her seat automatically. However given the circumstances of the case and potential sentence, it is likely.

The conviction is insufficient on it's own to bring about a by election. Your opening statement is wrong. The sentence is what matters.

That is obviously without the moral question of a convicted criminal sitting in the house and whether she should resign
 
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GusB

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I've never been done for speeding, but my dad has had a couple of misdemeanours over the years, as have a few friends. The penalty used to be something like a £60 fixed penalty and 3 points, although I'm sure the fine has probably increased since my early driving days. Why on earth didn't she just hold her hands up to what was a relatively minor offence?
 

Elwyn

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The central issue now is the dishonesty. Speeding can be a minor matter, but lying under oath (perjury) is a major matter. It’s a major breach of trust. As an employer I occasionally dealt with staff who had done something wrong. That might have merited a slap on the wrist in some cases. However when challenged, some lied about it. Blamed someone else, denied it, I wasn't there, someone else told me to do it, etc etc. That escalates the issue dramatically. The issue then focuses on the dishonesty, not the original offence/misdemeanour. How can you trust a liar?


Lying in an employment misconduct situation tends to get it raised to gross misconduct, which in turn leads to dismissal. The thinking being that if you are a proven liar, how can the employer trust you again? So overdue library books is OK but lying about overdue library books may get you dismissed. (Slightly frivolous but you hopefully get the idea).


Perjury (ie lying under oath) usually gets a custodial sentence in my experience.
 

DynamicSpirit

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Why on earth didn't she just hold her hands up to what was a relatively minor offence?

Impossible to tell what was going through her mind, but at a guess... I would speculate that she was a relatively new MP, thinking about how being an MP is a very public role and even a minor offence would be picked up by the Press, causing her a lot of embarrassment (In contrast to most people not working in public roles, for whom a speeding ticket would largely go unnoticed). And she possibly assumed that there was virtually no chance of her being caught out if she did lie, and therefore reasoned that lying would not cause anyone any harm. Doesn't of course excuse her actions, which were completely wrong, but probably explains them.
 

Ken H

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The central issue now is the dishonesty. Speeding can be a minor matter, but lying under oath (perjury) is a major matter. It’s a major breach of trust. As an employer I occasionally dealt with staff who had done something wrong. That might have merited a slap on the wrist in some cases. However when challenged, some lied about it. Blamed someone else, denied it, I wasn't there, someone else told me to do it, etc etc. That escalates the issue dramatically. The issue then focuses on the dishonesty, not the original offence/misdemeanour. How can you trust a liar?


Lying in an employment misconduct situation tends to get it raised to gross misconduct, which in turn leads to dismissal. The thinking being that if you are a proven liar, how can the employer trust you again? So overdue library books is OK but lying about overdue library books may get you dismissed. (Slightly frivolous but you hopefully get the idea).


Perjury (ie lying under oath) usually gets a custodial sentence in my experience.
perjury and perverting the course of justice. whats the difference?
 

AlterEgo

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perjury and perverting the course of justice. whats the difference?

Perjury is the act of lying under oath. Perverting the course of justice is broader and covers all sorts of obstruction of justice activities, like hiding evidence.
 

furnessvale

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Impossible to tell what was going through her mind, but at a guess... I would speculate that she was a relatively new MP, thinking about how being an MP is a very public role and even a minor offence would be picked up by the Press, causing her a lot of embarrassment (In contrast to most people not working in public roles, for whom a speeding ticket would largely go unnoticed). And she possibly assumed that there was virtually no chance of her being caught out if she did lie, and therefore reasoned that lying would not cause anyone any harm. Doesn't of course excuse her actions, which were completely wrong, but probably explains them.
OR.. she just got above herself and thought the law did not apply to "important" people.
 

trash80

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Apparently she has compared herself to Jesus and Moses and the trials they went through. Always remember how Jesus was caught doing 40 in a 30 zone through downtown Bethlehem.
 

bramling

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Or she is just an idiot, seems to be the prime requirement for being a politician these days

Even if one ignores the crime she has committed, just looking at it from a purely logical point of view it demonstrates appalling judgement. As a solicitor herself she would be expected to have a better-than-average knowledge of the law, yet she managed to create a complete mess for herself to slip on. Precisely not the sort of person one wishes to see as a politician.
 

IanD

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Even if one ignores the crime she has committed, just looking at it from a purely logical point of view it demonstrates appalling judgement. As a solicitor herself she would be expected to have a better-than-average knowledge of the law, yet she managed to create a complete mess for herself to slip on. Precisely not the sort of person one wishes to see as a politician.

Not the sort of person one wishes to see as a lawyer either.
 

MarlowDonkey

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Why on earth didn't she just hold her hands up to what was a relatively minor offence?

In the case of Chris Huhne, he had the temptation that with a number of points already, an extra conviction could have left him banned from driving.
 

PR1Berske

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With reference to some of the questions earlier in this thread.


MPs are automatically disqualified from holding their seat if they are sentenced to more than a year in jail.

Any prison term, even a suspended one, can trigger a recall petition. This can force a byelection if signed by 10% of voters in a constituency.
 

PR1Berske

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An update from the Guardian:

Labour would actively seek to trigger a byelection in the Peterborough seat held by Fiona Onasanya if the party’s former MP received a sentence of less than 12 months having being found guilty of lying to police to avoid a speeding charge.

The party’s chairman, Ian Lavery, said Onansanya had been expelled from the party and that officials were waiting on the outcome of her sentencing, due later this month, before taking the next steps.

Onasanya would automatically lose her seat if she received a sentence of 12 months or more, even if some of it was suspended. But if she were to receive a shorter custodial sentence, a recall petition would automatically be triggered.

Lavery said Labour would “actively support” such a petition, which would need to be endorsed by 10% of the electorate in the Cambridgeshire marginal over a six-week period to trigger a Westminster byelection

Source: .
https://www.theguardian.com/politic...irms-expulsion-of-convicted-mp-fiona-onasanya



Think any potential by-election here is a matter of time. It is such a marginal seat, almost a true bellwether, it could test the mood of a Brexit nation in many ways!
 

sprunt

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I'm a member of the Labour party in London, and there was an email sent out yesterday asking any London members who could to go to Peterborough today to help out with campaigning for the potential by-election, so they clearly think it's on the way regardless of sentence. And obviously highly significant - I've never had an email like that one asking people to travel that far. The furthest they usually ask us to go is to help out in byelections (both council and parliamentary) in other London boroughs.
 

edwin_m

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The Guardian writes that Labour kicked Ms Onasanya out of the party, asked her to resign as an MP (which she didn't do and is not obliged to) and will campaign to get the 10% of signatures necessary to unseat her if the sentence creates that possibility.
 

Aictos

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The Guardian writes that Labour kicked Ms Onasanya out of the party, asked her to resign as an MP (which she didn't do and is not obliged to) and will campaign to get the 10% of signatures necessary to unseat her if the sentence creates that possibility.

Good, the Labour Party is well within it's rights to ask her to resign as she's brought the party into disrepute with her actions so having ask her to resign which she wrongly refused they have every right to expel her.

I know she doesn't HAVE to resign but due to the seriousness of her actions and I'm not going to get started on the offensive remarks of comparing herself to Jesus, she should have done the right thing and step down with a apology to both the City of Peterborough and also to her colleagues in the Labour Party for her actions.

Because of her actions, I'm quite happy for Labour to take what actions they deem they have to take even if it means either a Labour candidate or a Conservative candidate winning the seat.
 

Meole

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Labour in Peterborough has been calling for 15% increases in council tax, Onasanya was closely associated with Corbyn, Momentum have been active there, she will take some votes as an indie if she can legally stand e.g.after recall, all points to a Tory victory in a by election.
 

edwin_m

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Normally I guess the incumbent party would get a kicking if the reason for the by-election was wrongdoing by their former member. But any by-election will be months away and may even be overtaken by calling of a general election in the meantime. There are chains of events that could see either major party or both plunged into depths of unpopularity in that time.
 

IanD

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The arrogance of some people is unbelievable. She should ask herself "What would Jesus do?".
 

cjmillsnun

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OR.. she just got above herself and thought the law did not apply to "important" people.
She should've remembered what happened to Chris Huhne. He was a cabinet minister and ended up in jail for doing exactly the same thing.
 

IanD

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I don't think Jesus had access to cars.

Then she's even less Jesus-like than she thinks.

Although I think Moses had a car or a motorbike, there is an old joke along the line of "Moses had the first car, in the bible it says he came down the hill in his Triumph". He was given 10 points on his two-part driving tablet too.
 

PR1Berske

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This update comes from the Guardian. As it says, recall legalisation is paused during an appeal, and she is entitled to appeal.

An MP found guilty of repeatedly lying to avoid a speeding ticket has until Wednesday afternoon to appeal against her conviction – a decision that will be closely watched by both Labour and the Conservatives.

Fiona Onasanya, a former Labour whip who sits in the Commons as an independent, has been considering whether to try to overturn last month’s Old Bailey verdict for perverting the course of justice, sources said.

Associates say she was planning to attend parliament on Tuesday night to vote against Theresa May’s deal for leaving the European Union.

Onasanya has pledged to continue as an MP for as long as possible despite being urged by her former Labour colleagues and constituents to stand down. The date for her sentencing has yet to be decided, the Old Bailey said.

If she appeals, it would mean that any attempt to remove her from office would be suspended until after the legal process is completed.

Source:. https://www.theguardian.com/politic...nasanya-considering-appeal-against-conviction
 

furnessvale

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One (possibly the only one) result of a quick general election would be that this odious woman would be out of a job.
 

Tetchytyke

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Meanwhile, tbe Tories are having a whip round to buy a "holiday" for their election agent convicted of election fraud.

https://news.sky.com/story/amp/cons...oliday-fund-for-convicted-tory-agent-11609064

Conservative MPs have set up a "holiday fund" for a Tory agent recently convicted in relation to election expenses fraud, Sky News can reveal.

Marion Little, who was involved with the 2015 campaign for Conservative MP for South Thanet Craig Mackinlay, was handed a fine and a suspended sentence last week

Wot, not expelled from the party? Shurely shome mishtake.
 

Basher

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She is a typical example of a number of MPs . No true morality.
Has anyone heard a MP say, they doing the job as a career ? They all a pears to be doing the job to improve society.
 
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