"It is absolutely fantastic to follow the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones). I was a researcher here in the early 1990s and a few Members present were here at that time. They will remember the debates about homosexuality. There were some discriminations, as there still are, in relation to homosexuality, and people were […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne, announced his Electricity Market Reform White Paper in the Commons yesterday. The White Paper plans for £110bn of investment in electricity generation over the coming years. In the questions that followed Mr Huhne's statement, two Conservative Members (coincidentally, both […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter. Last night at least 32 Tory MPs (listed below) voted with Labour against an 88% hike in Britain's contribution to the IMF. The hike is to partly fund the IMF's ability to fund bailouts. I write "at least" because I've only quickly scanned the voting list. Please email tim@conservativehome.com […]
By Jonathan Isaby This afternoon sees two opposition day debates initiated by the Labour Party, on fuel prices and the NHS. The Lib Dems' objections to the current NHS Bill are well documented, but four Tory MPs have popped their heads above the parapet to indicate they have concerns too. An amendment to this afternoon's […]
By Jonathan Isaby Yesterday MPs passed the following motion without the need for a division: "That this House regrets the unnecessarily high costs and inadequacies of the systems introduced by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA); calls on the IPSA to introduce a simpler scheme of office expenses and Members’ allowances that cuts significantly the […]
By Jonathan Isaby This afternoon in the Commons, Cabinet Office minister Mark Harper was summoned to the Dispatch Box to answer an Urgent Question on the decision to grant the right to vote to prisoners. Quite why Nick Clegg could not have done so, given that his is the only of the main parties to […]
Charles Walker MP has been MP for Broxbourne since 2005. The recent expenses scandal was the bursting of a septic boil that had been festering for more than a century. For it is over this period of time that Parliament has meekly ceded its legislative powers to the Executive, rendering it an increasingly toothless debating […]
Charles Walker has been Conservative MP for Broxbourne since 2005. Two years ago, as a Home Counties Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Broxbourne, I gave up the Additional Cost Allowance (ACA) in favour of commuting into London on a daily basis. This was a decision that best met my personal circumstances. Turning my […]
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 […]
Charles Walker is MP for Broxbourne and a vice-chairman of the 1922 Committee. The mood of the House of Commons has been lifted by a new and refreshing intake of Parliamentarians. Regardless of their age, they are bright, articulate and in the main less partisan than the issue that went before them. My own benches […]