IGBOSON1:


Is that a private or public hospital, and is it operational?

Disgraced MP Fiona Onasanya loses seat after recall petition

Fiona Onasanya, the MP found guilty of lying to avoid a speeding ticket, has become the first parliamentarian to be removed from office after a recall petition, triggering a byelection in her Peterborough seat.

Nigel Farage’s Brexit party will field its first parliamentary candidate in the seat, which voted 60-40 to leave the EU. The bellwether constituency usually swings behind the party that wins a general election.

More than one in four registered voters – 27.64% – signed an official notice calling for the removal of Onasanya, according to a spokesperson for Peterborough city council. This was well above the 10% threshold.

The Speaker, John Bercow, announced in the House of Commons on Wednesday night that the petition had been successful. “Fiona Onasanya is no longer the member for Peterborough and the seat is accordingly vacant,” he told the Commons.


Onasanya, 35, will automatically stop receiving her parliamentary salary, expenses and pension payments, said a spokesman for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. She becomes a preserved member of the pension scheme but can no longer contribute to it.

Onasanya, a solicitor, committed Christian and supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, was plucked from political obscurity to stand in the Cambridgeshire city in 2017.

She is still to face a misconduct tribunal, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has confirmed, which could mean that she could no longer practise in law.

Local sources said the byelection is expected to be held on June 6, after the European elections on 23 May.

Labour, as Onasanya’s former party, said the party would trigger the process on Thursday by moving a motion in parliament. Onasanya could in theory stand in a byelection, but friends have said this is unlikely.

Farage confirmed on Twitter that his new party will fight the byelection but has refused to say whether he might stand. A Brexit candidate could well take votes off both main parties but would be particularly challenging for the Conservative candidate, Paul Bristow.

Ian Lavery MP, the Labour party chair, said: “Labour campaigned hard for a victory in this recall petition. The people of Peterborough clearly agree that Fiona Onasanya is not fit to be their MP and we’re delighted they will now have the chance to vote for a Labour MP in our excellent candidate, Lisa Forbes.”

The Liberal Democrat candidate, Beki Sellick, said: “Brexit is the issue on the doorstep, even when simply campaigning for the council elections.”

Labour won Peterborough by just 607 votes in the 2017 general election, in a surprise victory over the Conservative Stewart Jackson, who had held the seat since 2005.

The petition was automatically triggered after Onasanya failed to overturn a conviction for perverting the course of justice.

It is the first time an MP has been recalled under the statute. An attempt to recall the DUP MP Ian Paisley Jr in September failed when 9.4% of constituents supported it.

Chris Davies, the Conservative MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, will face a recall petition on 9 May after pleading guilty to submitting a false expenses claim.


Onasanya was suspended and urged to quit her seat by Labour after her conviction in December for perverting the course of justice.

Her barrister told the court that she had continued to stand as an independent MP because it was her only source of income.

She lied to officers about who was driving her car in an attempt to avoid penalty points, after the vehicle was recorded speeding at 41mph in a 30mph zone near Thorney, Cambridgeshire.

She received a three-month suspended sentence in January, after the judge accepted her claim that she was under immense pressure and could not cope as a new MP when the offence took place. She spent less than a month in prison before being allowed out while wearing a tag.


MPs are automatically disqualified from holding their seat if they are sentenced to more than a year in jail. Any prison sentence, even a suspended one, can trigger a recall petition. This can force a byelection if signed by one in ten voters in a constituency.

Yampotatocarrot:


Abagworo, if I may ask... Are these pictures being posted by Ihedioha true?

I know they might be campaign stunts, but are they true?

ideynl1:
The ihedioha2019 guy isn't an Imolite.

We know who he is. Avoid him

Galaxyowerri:

I am resident in Owerri and saying that Rochas hasn't achieved anything is not true. The quality of his projects are substandard no doubt but widening of the city roads, street lighting, bringing back sanity on the roads by replacing bikes and Keke napep with taxis and buses, removing the markets from city centre to the outskirts etc are some of the good things he will be remembered for. Besides, Rochas is not contesting again and neither is he supporting the APC flag bearer, so why are you drawing parallels with Rochas while trying to promote PDP?
Mind you, I support Ihedioha and will definitely vote for him on election day while also campaigning for him because I believe he is better than the other men he is contesting against. Uzodinma and Ararume have got nothing to offer Imo state while Uche Nwosu is still a rookie, a real otondo who should learn how to crawl before trying to walk. However, my point is that these pictures you are posting here or saying Rochas didn't do a single thing in Imo state is not necessary at all.
Ndeewo.

sanctity454:

When your candidate wins, will IMO state turn to utopia overnight, pls desist from running down your state for selfish reason, the intending investor, you tend to wore into IMO state might as well see this post of yours which will discourage him/her, you should learn to speak good of your state and your tribe.
Note to the best of my knowledge nobody here is a political appointee of the IMO state government, so i urge you to relocate your unnecessary rants to the appropriate quarters.
Thank you as you compile.