Two-Tier Britain: Mike Amesbury MPs Get Slaps on the Wrist, The Public Gets the Full Force of the Law

Two-Tier Justice: Equal Under the Law? Not if You’re in Westminster

In what can only be described as a stark illustration of Britain’s increasingly two-tier justice system, suspended Parliamentary Labour MP Mike Amesbury walks free after a successful appeal against his prison sentence for violently assaulting a constituent. Meanwhile, ordinary people continue serving multi-year sentences for social media posts.

Caught on Camera

The CCTV footage is unambiguous and disturbing. Amesbury knocked his constituent to the ground, pursued him into the road, and delivered at least five more punches while taunting: “You won’t threaten your MP again, will you, f***ing soft lad.” The reference to himself as “your MP” is particularly revealing—suggesting that questioning an elected representative somehow constitutes a threat warranting physical retaliation.

When interviewed by police, Amesbury constructed what the original judge characterized as “a pack of lies. Nothing more, nothing less.” He claimed self-defence—a narrative thoroughly dismantled by video evidence. Yet despite this documented violence and subsequent dishonesty, his 10-week sentence has been suspended.

Different Justice for Different Classes

The contrast could not be more jarring. In Starmer’s Britain, people face years behind bars for heated words posted online that allegedly “incite violence,” while an MP who actually committed violence—captured on camera, against his own constituent—faces nothing more than anger management classes and community service.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram’s assertion that Amesbury was “unlikely to re-offend” rings hollow against his own acknowledgment that the MP was “only stopped from going further by members of the public.” Similarly, while Judge Everett questioned why a more serious charge of affray wasn’t brought and called the behaviour “simply disgraceful,” he nevertheless suspended the sentence.

The Rule of Lawyers, Not Law

This case exposes the rot at the heart of Starmer’s judicial system—where a violent MP walks free while ordinary people are locked away for keystrokes. Westminster has transformed into a legal aristocracy where barristers and solicitors protect their own while preaching “law and order” to the masses. When the lawmakers become the lawbreakers, watch how quickly the system contorts to accommodate them. What we’re witnessing isn’t blind justice—it’s justice with one eye fixed firmly on your social standing.

Within the pantomime that is parliament, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called on Amesbury to resign or face recall so his constituents can have a new MP but said the government had no remit relating to MPs pay. The Independent Parliament Standards Authority (IPSA), which regulates MPs’ pay, said the rules mean that until a member is suspended as a result of a House of Commons disciplinary procedure, they must be paid their salary. Amesbury had the whip suspended by the Labour Party after the video of the brawl emerged, and has been sitting as an independent MP since October.

Yvette Cooper said: “I’m making my view clear, which is that I want to see the people of Runcorn get new representation as swiftly as possible.” The minister was being interviewed on the day the government puts its new Crime and Policing Bill to the Commons. Cooper said Amesbury’s behaviour was “completely unacceptable”, that the Labour Party had taken immediate action and that he was no longer a sitting MP.

Asked on BBC Breakfast if Labour had been reluctant to call for his resignation because it feared facing Reform, Cooper said: “No, we look forward to having that by-election. There is a recall process and it is right that those processes should be in place.” However, if Labour were serious, you have to ask why Amesbury is still a member of the Party and not just suspended. Conservative co-chairman Nigel Huddleston called on Amesbury to “do the right thing and resign”, adding that constituents “deserve an MP who is able to stand up for them in Parliament”

The fact is – Mike Amesbury should have been made an example of and not walked away from this serious assault without serving the time given.

Potential Consequences

Though Amesbury “comfortably won” his seat with 53% of the vote, he now faces a potential recall petition. But the damage to public faith in equal justice has already been done. The message resonates clearly through chambers of power and council estates alike: in today’s Britain, your position in society determines your treatment under the law.

What should have been proof that justice applies equally to all has instead become yet another demonstration that some are more equal than others—particularly if they sit on the right side of Parliament.

Paul Knaggs