The recall petition for Peter Bone, the Conservative MP for Wellingborough, opened today. This follows Bone's six-week suspension from the House of Commons after the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards upheld five allegations of bullying and one of sexual misconduct against him. The petition will remain open until Tuesday 19 December.
You can find full details of the petition process on the North Northamptonshire Council website. Voters will receive the equivalent of a polling card telling them where they can sign and reminding them of the need to bring photographic proof of identity when they do so. Registered postal voters will receive a petition form that they can sign and post back.
According to the House of Commons Library, it will take 7940 signatures to trigger a by-election in Wellingborough, and there are strict rules on what the media can and can't report about the petition while it is open.
But if you hear any of Bone's allies in the Conservative Party complaining about the recall process, just remember that when the law was brought in by Nick Clegg, the Tory right complained bitterly that it didn't make recalling MPs easy enough.
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