Hello and welcome to The Blackpool Lead.
It feels like a decade ago but it was, in fact, just north of two years ago that Scott Benton resigned as the Conservative MP for Blackpool South, rather than waiting for the outcome of a recall petition.
That followed an investigation by The Times newspaper where he was recorded offering to lobby ministers and table parliamentary questions on behalf of gambling investors. A complaint to IPSO about the behaviour of the reporters was (correctly, in our incredibly biased view) turned down because there was a clear public interest.
Since then, numerous people have contacted The Blackpool Lead trying to tell us what he’s been up to in the intervening period.
Now, with his husband Harry Symonds entering Big Brother, which still exists, we’ve looked at what Benton has been up to.
Worth noting - numerous publications have referred to their marriage status as “unconfirmed” in the last few days. We’ve nothing to tell you about that.
Blackpool briefing
🎸 Blackpool Council insists it has not ruled out the prospect of a top arena for the town, despite the proposals not being explicitly included in an update on its ambitious Blackpool Central proposals.
The council was responding after being quizzed on the arena and if the proposals for the 20,000-seat amenity fitted in with its own Blackpool Central regenerations plans.
The Blackpool Central project is a major £300 million leisure-led regeneration scheme on the former Central Railway Station site just off the Golden Mile. It is one of the largest single investments in Blackpool in over a century.
When the project’s original developer Nikal collapsed into administration in 2024, Blackpool Council moved quickly to appoint leading marketing consultants Newmark HDH and theleisureway in October 2025, who have been working with the council to promote the development potential both nationally and internationally.
Now a procurement exercise to find a new developer and investor is being recommended to Blackpool Council’s Executive at its next meeting on Monday and a brochure has been prepared which includes proposals for the site.
The arena is not included, despite the announcement this year of a £20 million Government concept to explore the delivery of a new arena for the town in the same Blackpool Central area, as well as Blackpool South MP Chris Webb’s backing for it.
However, the council has made it clear it has not excluded the area scheme from its vision for the site.
🩳 Police are objecting to a premises licence application by a lifestyle and swingers club in Blackpool.
Club Play, based at Back Ribble Road in central Blackpool, is a private members’ club where like-minded couples and singles meet up in designated lounge and bar areas and make use of specialised play spaces including 19 themed rooms.
The discreet venue features couples’ areas, a dungeon, and dedicated zones for various alternative lifestyle preferences, including an on-site heated pool, hot tub, sauna facilities and cinema.
The venue has applied to Blackpool Council’s licensing department for its first long term premises licence, seeking permission to carry out licensable activities such as live music, recorded music and the sale of alcohol.
The application requests permission for the performance of live music and playing of recorded music from Sundays to Thursdays from 11pm to midnight and Fridays and Saturdays 11pm to 3am, and also the supply of alcohol (on and off the premises) Sundays to Thursdays from noon to midnight and Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 3am.
The application is made on behalf of Paul Bevon, the director of club owner Innuendo Limited who is also the proposed Designated Premises Supervisor.
However, Lancashire Police say they are objecting to the proposals because the club does not agree to conditions to employ door security at the site.
The club argues that because it is a private members’ amenity, it does not need to use such measures, which would affectively cost the club £10,400 a year for one door person alone, working at weekends.
But the police have raised concerns and due to the police challenge, the matter will be determined by Blackpool’s licensing panel on Thursday.
🗳️ A leading Blackpool councillor is calling for Blackpool, Fylde, Wyre and Lancashire County councils to create a new partnership despite a proposed merger hitting a major setback.
The controversial Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) proposals were put on hold after the government launched a review in light of new legal advice.
After the process hit a road block the leaders of Wyre and Fylde council reiterated their opposition to LGR.
Wyre Leader Michael Vincent stated that the reorganisation process should be abandoned completely, while Fylde Council Leader Karen Buckley condemned the “prolonged uncertainty” created by the sudden pause in the government’s plans she had opposed from the start.
Despite this, Blackpool Conservative Group Leader Cllr Paul Galley believes some of the ideas of LGR, particularly the prospect of the councils working more closely together, had some positive aspects which could still be taken onboard.
Cllr Galley wants to see a new ‘Fylde Coast Partnership’ which he says would cut duplication, share expertise and make it easier for residents to access council services across local authority boundaries.
What Scott Benton did next
By Michael Holmes
Anti-abortion and pro-death penalty former MP Scott Benton embarked on an NHS management training scheme before reportedly working for Restore Britain, it can be revealed.
The disgraced ex-politician, brought down by a national newspaper sting, sat in on Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust meetings as a “graduate trainee” at least twice last year.
It is not known whether bosses there knew of the 39-year-old’s controversies. He is listed as an observer under the name Scott Benton Symonds, having taken his husband Harry’s surname.
The trust said Benton attended as part of the national NHS graduate management training scheme, which offers people the “opportunity to develop into a future leader in one of our specialisms including general management, human resources, finance, digital health informatics and engineering and estates management”.
It is organised by the NHS Business Services Authority, which said it was unable to comment. The authority would not say whether Benton remains on the programme or what he was specifically training in.
Benton was a Blackpool MP from the 2019 general election until 2024, when he was suspended from Parliament for breaching lobbying rules and subsequently resigned.
The Commons Standards Committee said Benton had sent the message that he was “corrupt and ‘for sale’” after footage was published by The Times apparently showing him offering to table parliamentary questions, leak a confidential policy paper on gambling reforms and provide ministerial access for money.
Benton believed he was talking to betting industry investors but was actually being targeted by undercover journalists, which, The Blackpool Lead understands, followed a tip-off from a local political rival.