David Warburton resigned as Conservative MP, prompting another by-election for the party

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By Andre Roden-Paul and Chris Kelly BBC News, June 17, 2023

Updated 1 hour ago

Image source, UK Parliament

photo caption,

David Warburton has resigned after a newspaper published allegations of sexual misconduct

A Conservative MP who has been suspended has resigned after allegations of sexual misconduct.

David Warburton, who represents Somerton and Frome in Somerset, is the fourth Tory MP in eight days to announce his resignation.

Mr Warburton said the past 14 months since the allegations were published in a national newspaper had been “extremely difficult”.

He added that the allegations about him were “vexatious”.

The MP had been charged with drug use and making unwanted advances towards two women, after she and another woman spoke to The Sunday Times about his behaviour. This led to his suspension from the Conservative Party in April last year.

He announced his resignation in an interview with the Mail On Sunday in which the newspaper reported that he had admitted to using cocaine after drinking “incredibly strong” Japanese whiskey.

“I was made up, but I was incredibly naive and stupid,” he added in the interview. He went on to deny the allegations of harassment he is accused of.

His immediate departure meant that there would be an arranged by-election in his seat, which he had represented as an independent since losing the Tory whip. According to the parliament’s website, a new election is usually ordered three months after a resignation.

Mr Warburton took the constituency from the Liberal Democrats in 2015, and was re-elected in 2017 and 2019. He won a majority of 19,213 in that latest poll.

“My constituents in Somerton and Frome, who have elected me three times in a landslide, have been denied for a year the vote they need,” said Mr Warburton.

“I am deeply grateful for their many messages of support and regretfully have no choice but to stir up unrest in a by-election.”

He also said in his three-page resignation letter that he had been denied a fair hearing by the Independent Complaints and Grievances System (ICGS) and prevented from “speaking out” while the accusations are being investigated.

He joins Boris Johnson and Nigel Adams who resigned last week, triggering a by-election in their constituency.

Nadine Dorris also announced her resignation, but said her departure would not be immediate as she wanted to stay on while she sought to investigate how she could be denied a seat in the Lords on Boris Johnson’s resignation honours.

Shabana Mahmud, the Labor Party’s national campaign coordinator, accused Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of weakness after announcing Warburton’s resignation.

“Once again, we see a Conservative MP resign in disgrace, after Rishi Sunak was too weak to act himself. Enough is enough,” she said.

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “Again and again the Tories have mired themselves in corruption and scandal ignoring issues that people really care about. Then they decide it’s OK to leave locals in this seat with no proper representation whatsoever.”

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