A Lancashire constituency could be the latest by-election disaster in waiting for Rishi Sunak after an MP lost his appeal over breaching lobbying rules.

Ex-Conservative Blackpool South MP Scott Benton is set to be suspended from the Commons for 35 days after his appeal against the Standards Committee’s decision was dismissed by an independent panel.

Mr Benton, who was elected as a Conservative but currently sits as an independent after having the Tory whip suspended, was found to have breached Commons rules after he was caught by The Times offering to lobby ministers and table parliamentary questions on behalf of gambling investors.

He appealed against both the finding and the suspension, but in a report published today, an independent panel upheld the Standards Committee’s original decision, saying there had been “no procedural flaw” in the process.

The panel also described Mr Benton’s arguments against the recommended suspension as “misconceived or erroneous”, finding the sanction was “neither unreasonable nor disproportionate”.

The finding means MPs will now vote on whether to implement the recommended suspension which, if supported, would trigger a recall petition and a potential by-election in Mr Benton’s seat.

If a by-election took place it could be another damning defeat for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who has overseen a run of heavy by-election losses since taking charge in 2022.

A former primary school teacher, Scott Benton won Blackpool South for the Conservatives in 2019 with a majority of just 3,690 as part of the Red Wall victories on the back of Brexit.

It raises the prospect of another difficult by-election for the Prime Minister after losses in Wellingborough and Kingswood last week.

Labour has called for Scott Benton to resign as an MP rather than wait for the outcome of a recall petition following his likely suspension from the Commons.

Jonathan Ashworth, shadow paymaster general, said: “Scott Benton should do the decent thing and resign, saving the people of Blackpool South a lengthy recall petition that would leave them without the representation they deserve.

“This is yet another by-election caused by Tory scandal. Britain deserves better than this carousel of Conservative chaos.

“Labour’s Chris Webb is Blackpool born and bred, and ready to deliver a fresh start for Blackpool South.”