MPs have just enjoyed their longest Christmas recess for a decade – 24 days away from Westminster in total – yet they have hardly returned with a bang. Far from it. Business finished early both on Monday and yesterday owing to a lack of MPs willing to contribute to the debates on the government business. […]
Robert Sturdy, a Conservative on the European Parliament’s environment committee, has deprecated a vote in the Parliament to ban a variety of pesticides. He comments: "This law will drive up the cost of the weekly food shop at the worst time for British families. We do need strong restrictions on pesticide use but it should […]
The television signal at my home in Oxford is a capricious thing, and so I was delighted the other night to discover that I can now pick up BBC Parliament. (I know it’s available online but sometimes I want to tear myself away from my laptop, and it is easier to watch it on the […]
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence Liam Fox had two messages during Questions yesterday: (1) Afghanistan won’t be solved until the al-Qaeda-Taliban network in Pakistan is thwarted and (2) Other NATO countries need to do more in Afghanistan. Dr. Liam Fox MP: "Does the Secretary of State not agree that the federally administered tribal areas […]
This one minute YouTube captures Dan Hannan MEP’s protest at the "insanity" of forcing UK employers to cut workers’ hours during these recessionary times. More on Dan’s blog.
John Bowis, who speaks on health and the environment for the Conservatives in the European Parliament, has put out a press release about incandescent light bulbs. A European Commission committee has proposed phasing out such bulbs by 2012, and now the Council of Ministers and European Parliament will consider the matter. The Migraine Action Association […]
Both Houses of Parliament will next sit on 12 January. With fighting in Gaza and elsewhere, an economic crisis showing no signs of abating and all manner of other important issues going on – as always – should peers and MPs have such a long break from their parliamentary duties? Or are they busy working […]
The House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee published a report yesterday. A thorough investigation into lobbying, it calls for a statutory register of lobbying activities: "Lobbying the government should, in a democracy, involve explicit agreement about the terms on which this lobbying is conducted. The result of doing nothing would be to increase public […]
During the debate on the Queen’s Speech in the Commons on December 3rd, the following exchange took place between Daniel Kawczynski, the Tory MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, and Gordon Brown: Daniel Kawczynski: I am grateful that the Prime Minister has given way. One group of people whom he has not mentioned today is the […]
James Gray, MP for North Wiltshire and Dylan Moran lookalike, has had a written answer about HIV/AIDS prevention in Africa and Asia: "To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his Department is giving to programmes to combat HIV/AIDS in (a) Africa and (b) Asia; and if he will make a statement. […]
Yesterday the House of Commons hosted Treasury Questions. Justine Greening, MP for Putney and a Shadow Treasury Minister, asked about loans to small businesses: "For the 1,500 people losing their jobs and the 60 small businesses going bust every single day, the Government are not tackling the recession. The Government’s small business loan guarantee scheme […]
Yesterday ConHome reported David Cameron’s response to the Prime Minister’s announcement of troop withdrawals from Iraq. The best contribution, however, came from Bernard Jenkin MP, who was Shadow Defence Secretary at the time of the Iraq war. He nailed the fact that Britain is withdrawing after having failed to ‘finish the job’ in the way […]
A few days ago we reported that the special Speaker’s Conference would, under the chairmanship of Speaker Michael Martin: "Consider, and make recommendations for rectifying, the disparity between the representation of women, ethnic minorities and disabled people in the House of Commons and their representation in the UK population at large". We now have details […]
Lord Roberts of Conwy, Shadow Minister for Wales in the House of Lords, posed an important question yesterday: "To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the latest figures for (a) total unemployment in the United Kingdom; and (b) claimants of unemployment benefit. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of […]