The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
YouTube plea by MP as petition to oust her is launched
Onasanya maintains innocence as she faces anxious six-week wait to find out if voters have sacked her
Voters have told Fiona Onasanya she should ‘pay the consequence’ as they get the chance to sack her as MP for Peterborough.
A Recall Petition opened at 7am on Tuesday morning which constituents have six weeks to sign.
If 10 per cent (6,967 people) sign it within the six week period she will lose her seat, and a by-election will be called.
The petition, which will cost taxpayers nationally approximately £500,000, was automatically triggered after the MP failed to overturn a conviction for perverting the course of justice after lying about who was driving her car when it was caught speeding in Thorney in July 2017.
She was sentenced to three months in prison for the crime but only served four weeks before being released. She was expelled by the Labour Party the day after her conviction.
On Monday, in a dramatic twist, the solicitor pleaded with constituents not to kick her out of her office by re-iterating that she was innocent and that the media had failed to give her side of the story, although she failed to give any evidence in the video as to why she was not guilty.
It was the first time Ms Onasanya had spoken about her conviction despite repeated requests from the Peterborough Telegraph for an interview.
Voters have been attending 10 signing places across Peterborough since Tuesday morning, but the media are legally not allowed to report on how good the turnout appears to be, or publish any statement that could indicate if an individual has signed the petition or not.
Kasir Iqbal (48) from Park Road voted for Ms Onasanya when she was elected for Labour at the last General Election in 2017.
He was spoken to by Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Peterborough Lisa Forbes who was out campaigning on Tuesday both on the Recall Petition and the upcoming city council elections.
Mr Iqbal said: “I was not much aware of (the petition) but had a letter the other day.
“Lisa was encouraging me to sign it.
“(Ms Onasanya) has broken the law - you can make a mistake and say it’s a mistake. But perverting the course of justice - she should have been a bit more responsible and admitted it at the time.
“Unfortunately you have to pay the consequences for your actions, whether you’re a public figure or Joe Bloggs.”
Ms Forbes said there was a mixed response on the doorsteps when she asked if people were aware of the Recall Petition.
She added: “You’ve got some people who are completely aware of what’s happening, and some people who are not sure.”
One of the signing places is at the Town Hall in Bridge Street where the Green Party was speaking to residents to make them aware of the Recall Petition.
The party’s parliamentary candidate for Peterborough Joseph Wells said: “Everybody I have spoken to has pretty much said there needs to be a by-election and she should go. Only a few think she should stay in the job.”
Awareness of the Recall Petition was also mixed among those the Peterborough Telegraph spoke to. One woman, who did not wish to be named, said: “I’m absolutely furious that she’s still maintaining her innocence after two trials and an appeal. The money that it has cost to conduct the investigation, the trials, the appeal - she was in prison for a month and now tagged.
“She should be made to pay back every penny of taxpayer’s money she has wasted throughout this whole debacle.”
One couple from Peterborough said: “What she did was a disgrace.
“We hope she loses her pension as a result of this. She should be a pillar of the community.”
‘You’ve got some people who are aware of what’s happening... and some who are not sure’
Lisa Forbes