Will Rishi Sunak face ANOTHER by-election headache in the New Year? Ex-Tory MP Peter Bone will learn TONIGHT whether he has been kicked out of the Commons by constituents after sexual harassment case

Rishi Sunak will find out tonight if the Tories will face a New Year by-election struggle in the seat of an ex-Tory found to have sexually harassed and bullied an aide.

Voters in Wellingborough are expected to trigger a vote to be held early next year after incumbent MP Peter Bone was ordered to serve a six-week Commons ban in October.

The 70-year-old was found to have abused an aide more than a decade ago, including exposing himself on a business trip after booking them a shared room. 

And pollsters have given Labour a lead of between nine and 12 points in the Northamptonshire seat, enough to add it to their recent haul of previously safe Tory seats. 

Mr Bone’s majority in 2019 was 18,540 – lower than the majorities overturned by Labour in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth earlier this year.

If the petition – which ends at 5pm – does trigger a by-election it is likely to be held in February or March. It is likely to provide a sign of whether Tory hopes are rising or sinking ahead of an election due in 2024.

A new poll last night by Redfield & Wilton Strategies gave Labour a lead of 18 points, the same as a week ago and one point wider than it was at the end of 2022. 

Voters in Wellingborough are expected to trigger a vote to be held early next year after incumbent MP Peter Bone was ordered to serve a six-week Commons ban.

If the petition does trigger a by-election it is likely to be held in February or March. It is likely to provide a sign of whether Tory hopes are rising or sinking ahead of an election due in 2024.

A new poll last night by Redfield & Wilton Strategies gave Labour a lead of 18 points, the same as a week ago and one point wider than it was at the end of 2022.

Homne Secretary James Cleverly arriving for this morning’s Cabinet meeting

Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch and Defence Secretary Grant Shapps arriving for this morning’s Cabinet meeting

If the petition is signed by 10 per cent of the 79,046 eligible voters in his constituency – 7,904 people – Mr Bone will lose the seat and a by-election will be called.

He has held the seat for the Conservatives since 2005 and retained it at the last general election with a majority of 18,540.

After the closure of nine signing places across the constituency, vote counting will begin, overseen by North Northamptonshire Council petition officer Adele Wylie.

If the petition is successful, the petition officer will notify the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, first and the seat becomes vacant.

Mr Bone was found to have ‘committed many varied acts of bullying and one act of sexual misconduct’ against a staff member in 2012 and 2013.

Parliament’s behaviour watchdog, the Independent Expert Panel, upheld an earlier investigation that found he broke the MPs’ code of conduct on four counts of bullying and one of sexual misconduct.

The panel found that he had indecently exposed himself to the complainant in the bathroom of a hotel room during a work trip to Madrid.

Mr Bone has denied the allegations.

The former minister was kicked out of the Tory parliamentary party a day after the report was published on October 16.

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