Another Day, Another Scandal: Tory MP Charged With Sexual Assaults at Elite Private Club

The Palace of Varieties’ The Darkest Show

Westminster, the “Palace of Varieties” as the legendary Dennis Skinner aptly called it, continues its long tradition of moral squalor and sexual misconduct. While schoolchildren are taught that Parliament is the cradle of democracy, in reality, it’s more often the brothel of power, where deviancy is dressed in pinstripes and protected by privilege. For such a small collection of people, our political class certainly produces an extraordinary number of sex pests, gropers, and alleged assailants.

In the latest episode of “MPs Behaving Badly,” Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP Patrick Spencer has been charged with two counts of sexual assault allegedly committed at London’s exclusive Groucho Club. The Metropolitan Police confirm the charges relate to attacks on two separate women in August 2023, conveniently before he was elected to represent the good people of Suffolk.

The 37-year-old Spencer will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 16th, joining the ever-growing queue of politicians explaining away their alleged misdeeds to a weary judiciary.

Privilege Behind Closed Doors

The alleged assaults took place at the Groucho Club in Soho’s Dean Street, that bastion of exclusivity where the so-called elite media set and celebrities mingle behind members-only doors. How fitting that a venue designed to keep the common folk out should be the scene of yet another alleged abuse of power.

Spencer’s lawyers claim he “categorically denies the charges” and “will defend the allegations robustly in court.” The Crown Prosecution Service, however, appears to have seen enough evidence to proceed, with Frank Ferguson, head of the special crime and counter terrorism division, confirming they’ve authorised charges following “a review of the evidence provided by the Metropolitan Police Service.”

From Privilege to the Dock 

Those unfamiliar with Spencer’s background might be interested to learn that before entering Parliament, he worked for the private equity firm IPGL, a company chaired by his father, former Conservative Party treasurer Lord Michael Spencer. Yes, another case of meritocracy in action.

He later took a job at the Centre for Social Justice think tank (the irony is not lost on us) before becoming a senior adviser at the Department for Education. One wonders what kind of social justice or education he was promoting.

The Conservatives have reluctantly suspended Spencer, with a spokesman stating the Party “believes in integrity and high standards”, presumably with a straight face. Spencer is now listed as an independent on the UK Parliament website, that political purgatory where disgraced MPs await their fate.

The Hypocrisy Chronicles

In what can only be described as peak Westminster, Spencer made his maiden speech in Parliament during a debate on the MPs’ code of conduct relating to second jobs. During this address, he solemnly declared that the “most important thing to the people across my constituency” was “restoring a sense of moral probity and public spiritedness to our political system.”

You can only imagine the good constituents of Central Suffolk and North Ipswich might have preferred their MP to start by not allegedly sexually assaulting women at private members’ clubs, but perhaps that’s asking too much of our elected representatives these days.

Spencer was elected with a majority of 4,290 in July 2024. Those voters must now wonder if they’ve been represented by someone facing serious criminal charges for nearly a year. The allegations date from August 2023, yet charges are only now being brought in May 2025, a timeline that raises questions about how long the police investigation has been ongoing and whether the Conservative Party was aware of potential issues when they selected him as a candidate, a gamble of good will and being the presumed innocence.

A System Designed to Protect Itself

MPs now face being barred from attending Parliament if arrested for serious sexual or violent offences, following changes made last year. A risk assessment panel appointed by Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle considers such cases and can decide on measures, including exclusion from the parliamentary estate.

But these conclusions are kept confidential, because heaven forbid the public should know too much about the character of those who govern them. The political class protects its own, even when pretending to hold them accountable.

Spencer’s case is merely the latest in a seemingly endless parade of Westminster scandals that suggests our political system doesn’t just attract a few bad apples; the entire orchard might be rotten.

Let’s not pretend this is a uniquely Tory disease either. Labour has its own growing gallery of sex pests and alleged predators. From Ivor Caplin to Dan Norris, from suspended councillors to disgraced former ministers, the red rosette has covered just as many wandering hands as the blue. Westminster’s sleaze transcends Party lines, it’s institutional, endemic, and apparently eternal. The Palace of Varieties has been putting on the same sordid show since long before any of us were born.

While ordinary people face the full force of the law for their transgressions, those within these hallowed halls too often enjoy the protection of party machinery, institutional secrecy, and the buffer of privilege. Only the most egregious cases, the ones that can’t be buried by whips or explained away by PR teams, ever reach the public eye…

Central Suffolk and North Ipswich deserves better. Britain deserves better. But until we fundamentally reform a political culture that attracts, nurtures, and protects the worst kinds of entitlement, the Palace of Varieties will continue its tawdry performance, regardless of which Party holds the majority. The faces change, but the sleaze remains the same.

Paul Knaggs

Editor’s Note: If Spencer is convicted, this could trigger yet another by-election in a political landscape already reeling from local electoral bloodbaths. The way things are going, this could hand Reform UK another scalp. Nigel Farage’s insurgent Party seems to be gobbling up both Tory and Labour seats with equal appetite. Spencer’s majority of 4,290 is far from secure, especially with the Conservative brand increasingly toxic and Reform surging in the polls. The established parties might soon discover that voters have found a new way to express their disgust with Westminster’s endless parade of sleaze.