TORY MP Scott Benton announced today that he is quitting Parliament, triggering another challenging by-election for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The Blackpool South MP lost the Conservative whip after being embroiled in a lobbying scandal.

He is standing down before waiting for the outcome of a recall petition, which was due to close on April 22.

Mr Benton was suspended from the House of Commons last month for 35 days after he was found to have breached Commons rules. 

He was caught offering to lobby ministers and table parliamentary questions on behalf of gambling investors.

Mr Benton was stripped of the Tory whip after the allegations surfaced and has been sitting as an independent.

A recall petition opened against him earlier this month, which, if signed by 10 per cent of voters in Blackpool South, would have triggered a by-election.

But his immediate exit from the Commons means the contest could be brought forward to May 2, the date of the local elections.

In a statement on his Facebook page, Mr Benton said: “A Labour government would be catastrophic for our country.

“I’m mindful of giving a new candidate the time and space to campaign to prevent that from happening.”