By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter The Forty. The 301. The 2020. These are some of the groups formed by Conservative MPs after the last general election. Most are largely made up of, or driven by, 2010-intake MPs. Over the next few weeks, I'll be profiling some of these groups. Today, we kick off with the […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Yesterday I noted that the Tory backbenches were bubbling away with innovative new thinking. Those backbenchers can be encouraged this morning to know that their ideas can become policy. Exhibit one is Mark Menzies. Mark has been campaigning for a relaxation of Sunday trading laws during the Olympics Games. He […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Earlier today, on Comment, Daniel Hannan MEP wrote: "Today, the People’s Pledge announces the most ambitious campaign ever to secure an In/Out referendum. It aims to show MPs in all parties that there is a premium in doing the right thing: that supporting a referendum carries an electoral reward. […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter. Ben Gummer MP introduced his idea of a tax statement for every Briton in the Commons yesterday. You can read his full remarks here but it was largely a recap of what ConservativeHome has already reported. But Ben did add one further and very interesting new thought: "I further […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter. It's a simple idea – inspired by something proposed in the USA – but it's one that has apparently caught the imagination of George Osborne. Ben Gummer, Conservative MP for Ipswich, is proposing that every taxpayer in the country should received a statement explaining (a) what taxes they pay […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Yesterday saw the Second Reading in the Commons of the Pensions Bill – the legislation currently in the news which accelerates the existing timetable for increasing the State Pension age to 66. This will mean the pension age will be increased from 60 to 65 for women by 2018, before being […]
By Jonathan Isaby In advance of yesterday's debate on votes for prisoners, the man moving the motion, David Davis, made his case on ConHome here. So below are some of the highlights from the contributions of other Conservatives during the debate. NB A full breakdown of how all MPs voted is here. South West Devon […]
Ben Gummer gained Ipswich at the general election for the Conservatives and is, of course, son of former Cabinet minister John (now Lord) Gummer. Indeed, during his maiden speech in yesterday’s debate on the Finance Bill he recalled that one biographer of John Neilson Gladstone – a Liberal Conservative predecessor as MP for Ipswich an […]