Scott Benton (politician)

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Scott Benton

MP
Official portrait of Scott Benton MP crop 2.jpg
Benton in 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 (age 34)
Newport, Wales
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Alma materUniversity of Nottingham

Scott Lloyd Benton (born 1 July 1987)[1] is a British Conservative Party politician who was elected at the 2019 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Blackpool South.[2] He was previously a councillor on Calderdale Council.[3]

Early life and education[]

Benton was born in Newport to parents Alan and Krystina Benton,[2] He grew up in Rastrick, West Yorkshire and attended Rastrick High School.[4]

He studied Theology as an undergraduate at the University of Nottingham and was awarded a First Class Honours degree.[2] He remained at the university to study for a postgraduate degree and gained a Masters in Theology.[2]

After graduating, Benton worked as a primary school teacher.[4][5]

Political career[]

In 2011, Benton was elected to Calderdale Council for the Brighouse ward, centred on the area of that name.[6] As a councillor he spent periods of time as Deputy Leader of the Council and then Leader of the Conservative Group. He was an active councillor in his ward, assisting over 400 individuals with local issues in 2017.[7]

Alongside being a councillor, Benton worked as a Parliamentary Assistant for Craig Whittaker, the Conservative MP for Calder Valley.[8]

Benton previously ran for Strangford at the 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election[9] and Huddersfield, a safe seat for the Labour Party, 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. His campaign focused on delivering Brexit, reopening Blackpool Airport for commercial flights and opposing the plans for development on Stanley Park Golf Course.[citation needed]

During the 2019 election campaign, David Brown, who stood for the Brexit Party against Benton, expressed concerns over his links to the anti-abortion faith group the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), which has been accused of being homophobic.[11] The SPUC group has opposed same-sex marriage. Benton defended the group's anti-abortion stance and stated he was not homophobic or opposed to same-sex marriage. He said he was no longer connected to SPUC.[12]

Following an interim report on the connections between colonialism and properties now in the care of the National Trust, including links with historic slavery, Benton was among the signatories of a letter to The Telegraph in November 2020 from the "Common Sense Group" of Conservative Parliamentarians. The letter accused the National Trust of being "coloured by cultural Marxist dogma, colloquially known as the 'woke agenda'".[13]

In July 2021, it was reported by The Guardian that 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 received tickets to Royal Ascot, two Euro 2020 football games and to the Wimbledon tennis tournament.[14]

Breach of parliamentary rules[]

In January 2021, Benton was found to have broken parliamentary rules.[15] The complainant alleged Benton had failed to register six entries in the Register of Members' Financial Interests within the House's 28-day deadline, for payments received for his work as a Member's researcher.

When asked about the allegations in November 2020, Benton said that "an admin error" meant his income from Calderdale Council was not properly declared. Benton said there had been "vexatious and deeply unpleasant" complaints about his conduct. He said: "I have no doubt that the complaints... made about me to Calderdale Council and the Parliamentary authorities will be found to be without substance."[16]

The Commissioner said that in failing to register his various interests within the specified time frame, she found he had breached the rules. After the complaint was upheld, Benton said: "I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge my mistake and apologise once again for inadvertently breaching the rules."[15]

Personal life[]

Outside of politics, Benton's main recreation is sport: he is a Tottenham Hotspur FC season ticket holder. He is also a member of SPUC.

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. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "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. ^ Greenwood, John; Earnshaw, Tom (25 March 2021). "Blackpool MP Scott Benton quits as Yorkshire councillor". LancsLive. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Tories opt for 'new approach' in Benton". Brighouse Echo. 13 March 2011.
  5. ^ Bond, Daniel (16 December 2019). "Meet the new MPs". Politics Home.
  6. ^ "Brighouse: Election of District Councillors 2011 - 05/05/2011: Calderdale Council". Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council.
  7. ^ "Calderdale Council". www.calderdale.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  8. ^ "Calderdale councillor selected as Conservative candidate for Blackpool South". www.halifaxcourier.co.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  9. ^ Monaghan, John (3 February 2017). "Assembly candidates, with just one 'parachuted' in from Britain". The Irish News. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  10. ^ Lavigueur, Nick (6 June 2017). "General Election 2017: Huddersfield candidates pitch for your vote". Huddersfield Examiner. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  11. ^ "Brexit Party candidate confronts Tory rival over links to 'homophobic' group". Pink News. 20 November 2019.
  12. ^ "Blackpool South election candidates clash over 'homophobia'". Blackpool Gazette. 19 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Britain's heroes". Letter to the Daily Telegraph. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2021.CS1 maint: others (link)
  14. ^ Mason, Rowena; Walker, Peter (15 July 2021). "Nine MPs accepted free Euro 2020 tickets from gambling companies". The Guardian.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b Greenwood, John (12 January 2021). "Calderdale councillor and Blackpool South MP breached Parliamentary rules". Halifax Courier. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  16. ^ 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.

External links[]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Gordon Marsden 		Member of Parliament for Blackpool South
2019–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from ""