By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. 5.30pm Update: The Scrap Metal Dealers Bill actually passed through the House. Philip Davies and Christopher Chope did not talk out the Bill – which they are certainly adept at doing – as expected, and it passed through to Third Reading. The Government supported the Bill – although it […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. On Friday, 50 MPs, including 34 Conservatives, wrote a letter to the Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, expressing their "serious concerns" with the Department of Health’s proposal to introduce plain packaging for tobacco products. The letter stated that: "There is no reliable evidence that plain packaging will have any public health […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. In March, I reported on the Coalition's attempt to emasculate the Backbench Business Committee (BBBC) by allowing minor parties – like the Greens – to attend its meetings. That attempt to change the BBBC's workings was especially insensitive, because a report by a different Committee into how well the […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter If Labour's failure to vote against the 50p rate cut they've criticised was yesterday evening's Commons farce, a small number of Conservative MPs helped to provide the serious fare. Graham Brady, Douglas Carswell, Christopher Chope, Philip Davies, Edward Leigh, David Nuttall and John Stanley – voted in favour of […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Yesterday, a Private Member's Bill by Rebecca Harris, the Member for Castle Point, which sought to move British clocks forward by an hour all year round, was brought before the House. The Government was supportive of the Bill, and there was a strong turnout with wide cross-party support for […]
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 Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter. Over on the NottsPolitics blog Professor Philip Cowley underlines the rebelliousness of backbench Liberal Democrat and Conservative MPs since the formation of the Coalition. This graph confirms that this is the most rebellious intake since the second world war: Cowley notes: "Backbench dissent amongst government MPs is running at […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter As Jonathan Isaby reported last week, Friday saw the Second Reading of Christopher Chope's Private Member's Bill, the Employment Opportunities Bill, which would allow "freely consenting adults" to opt out of the minimum wage. Mr Chope takes an interest in employment legislation, and has sought to change the minimum wage […]
By Jonathan Isaby Yesterday Christchurch MP Chris Chope saw his Further and Higher Education (Access) Bill get its Second Reading debate. The Bill would "make provision to require all institutions of further and higher education in receipt of public funds to allocate places on merit" and Chope expanded on his cause thus: "There is a […]
by Paul Goodman The second reading of Harriett Baldwin's Legislation (Territorial Extent) Bill took place in the Commons yesterday. Beneath its unstirring title lurks an emotive subject – namely, how to right the wrongs inflicted on England by Labour's devolution settlement. Baldwin's solution is what she called "a lower-strength version of English votes for English […]