Former Labour MP Mike Amesbury has revealed the profound loneliness and isolation he is experiencing following his divorce, compounding the personal and professional devastation caused by his assault conviction. Amesbury, who was jailed for punching a constituent, has described his marriage's end as a "breaking up of a whole geography," impacting his home life and routine.
In a newsletter on the subscription platform Substack, Amesbury detailed the emotional toll of his divorce and estrangement from his teenage son. "And then there is being separate from your son," he wrote. "That is the hardest part to write because there is no clever way to say it, I miss the ordinary bits, the effort to get him out of his bed, the half-conversation, the background noise, the casual presence of fatherhood, and when you live apart, love is still love, nothing changes that, but it becomes organised through times, lifts, plans, messages and arrangements. Love with logistics."
Amesbury, 57, lost his parliamentary salary and was forced to sell his family home after being expelled by the Labour party and resigning his seat. He previously received treatment for depression in the wake of the incident. He now lives alone in a three-bedroom house in Chester, which he purchased for £260,000 in January, after the family home in Frodsham was sold for £685,000 in October last year. His ex-wife has reportedly purchased a new home in Frodsham.
Political Career and Conviction
Amesbury's political career ended in February of last year when he was jailed for ten weeks for common assault. The conviction stemmed from a drunken altercation outside a taxi rank in Frodsham in October 2024, where he punched constituent Paul Fellows, then 45. CCTV footage showed Amesbury striking Mr. Fellows, who had approached him to discuss local issues, multiple times as he lay on the ground. Amesbury claimed he felt threatened before the attack, but the footage appeared to show him throwing the first punch without immediate physical provocation.
He was kicked out by Labour and resigned his party membership in January of last year, serving briefly as an independent MP before leaving Westminster. His conviction triggered a by-election in his Runcorn and Helsby seat, which was narrowly won by Reform UK. Following an appeal three days after his sentencing, his ten-week jail term was suspended for two years. He was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, 20 days of rehabilitation, and undergo a 12-month alcohol monitoring requirement and an anger management course.
Amesbury has since disclosed that his family dog, Corbs, named after former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, also recently passed away. He described the loss as another piece of his family leaving him. He now works as a volunteer board member at a community mental health service and has founded a public affairs consultancy.
In his Substack posts, Amesbury has also described the quiet nature of loneliness, which he says can manifest as a mobile phone that doesn't ring or messages that go unread, and old colleagues who no longer engage. He stated that he is not the victim in this situation, having pleaded guilty and owned his actions. He underwent a period in hospital for his mental health and is receiving support through counselling and medication, acknowledging that this is something he should have sought before the incident.