The disgraced MP...
For audio click here . A few days ago I heard Mike Amesbury being interviewed on the radio [1] . In case you don’t recognise the name, he was the MP for Runcorn and Helsby who in October last year got drunk and punched a member of his constituency to the ground, repeatedly beating him and saying “You won’t threaten the MP ever again will you?” Well the incident was investigated. Amesbury lost his place in the Labour party, he appeared in court, was charged and spent some time in prison. He was ordered to carry out 200 hours of community work, and recently stood down as an MP triggering a by-election. What do you make of him? I actually feel sorry for Mike Amesbury. Let’s be clear, what he did was utterly out of order and it’s right that he has stepped down. He owned his mistake, pled guilty and describes the events of 26 th of October as a series of mistakes. The whole process has led to significant mental health challenges for him, and currently he is struggling to find a job. M...