Barnsley Central by-election, 2011
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Map showing the Barnsley Central Parliamentary constituency within the county of South Yorkshire.
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The Barnsley Central by-election was a by-election for the Parliament of the United Kingdom's House of Commons constituency of Barnsley Central which took place on 3 March 2011. The by-election resulted in the Labour Party holding the seat with an increased majority.
On 19 June 2009, Barnsley Central MP Eric Illsley of the Labour Party was one of dozens of MPs identified by the Daily Telegraph as having made "phantom" claims for council tax on their parliamentary expenses. Illsley claimed over £10,000 for council tax in four years although he was only charged £3,966 for his Band C property in Lambeth in this period. He regularly submitted claims for £200 a month, which meant that he did not have to submit receipts. He was re-elected in the 2010 general election, but shortly after, on 19 May 2010, he was charged with three counts of false accounting. He was subsequently suspended from the Labour Party and continued to sit as an Independent Labour MP.
On 11 January 2011, Illsley pleaded guilty to three charges. Sentencing was postponed for four weeks, during which Illsley remained an MP and therefore continued to receive a Parliamentary salary. A prison sentence of more than 12 months would have meant Illsley being automatically disqualified from Parliament under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act 1981, but a sentence of 12 months or less would not. The Speaker ruled that Illsley's case was sub judice and therefore no motion to expel him from the House of Commons could be debated until after sentencing. Labour leader Ed Miliband and others called on Illsley to resign, and Illsley announced on 12 January 2011 that he would do so. Illsley resigned on 8 February, two days before sentencing. The writ for the by-election was moved the following day, setting polling day as 3 March 2011. On 10 February, Illsley was sentenced to exactly 12 months.
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