Saturday 14 May 2022 09:16 AM Tractor porn Tory may stand as an independent in by-election, saying he is ... trends now
'Porn MP' Neil Parish said he may fight the Tories to keep his seat in Parliament.
The disgraced member for Tiverton and Honiton is 'taking soundings' about running as an independent against the Conservatives in the upcoming by-election, he said.
Parish triggered the vote when he resigned his seat after admitting he watched porn in the House of Commons.
The Devon politician said he was Googling tractors and happened upon the X-rated content.
Devon politician Neil Parish said he was Googling tractors in the chamber and came upon porn
His 'biggest mistake', he said, was returning to the video a second time on purpose.
Two female Tory MPs said they'd seen a colleague watching porn in the Commons chamber, prompting a frantic two-day search for the man in question.
Parish confessed viewing the X-rated content in a 'moment of madness'.
Parish has been an MP since 2010 - and seen his majority more than double in that time
He was searching for 'Dominator' combine harvesters when he accidentally opened a link to an adult website, friends claim.
The news came amid a flurry of sexual misconduct allegations in Parliament.
A farmer by trade, Parish said he has plenty of support among the constituency's rural community - and won't struggle to raise funds, either.
He told the Telegraph politics podcast: 'It is an option for me and one I could consider.
'The only thing that may well stop me is the fact that my local party, my local activists, my local councillors, all which are friends, I don't know if I want to do that to them.
'At the moment I'm taking soundings. I can raise the money.'
'I don't think I would have any problem in doing all that. I've got some quite powerful backers in the farming community.
'I don't think I'm going there - but it is an option.'
Mr Parish said: 'At the moment I'm taking soundings. I can raise the money'
Mr Parish took credit for raising the Tories' majority in Tiverton and Honiton from 9,320 in 2010 to 24,239 in the 2019 general election.
The seat has been held by the Conservatives since its creation in 1997.
Mr Parish added he's looking forward to some much-needed time off.
'I'll breed some more cattle, probably Herefords or Devons', he said. 'My wife and I are talking about we're great dog lovers, so we might breed a few puppies.'
'One ridiculous point from me to get myself into this situation is if you ask people, you'll find no friendlier and nicer MP,' the ex-chair of the Commons environment committee said.
'I never accosted women, I never suggested anything - I might have jokes with them, but that's all.'
Senior Tory and Commons procedure committee Karen Bradley urged Parish to stay away from Parliament.
Labour member Harriet Harman, the longest serving woman in the Commons, called for his immediate resignation.
Ms Harman said: 'Clearly he is not fit to be in Parliament. He should accept that and not drag the processes out.'
Mr Parish (pictured in 2016) was chair of the influential Commons environment committee
There were also suggestions a Tory
