By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. The Daily Mail this morning reports on the 118 Conservative MPs who have written to constituents indicating their opposition to gay marriage proposals. The Mail says "Their opposition has been expressed in letters and emails sent to constituents who have contacted them with their own concerns", and points out that […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. Douglas Carswell MP has launched an attack on the Government's policies because, he says, they simply perpetutate the status quo. Writing for Prospect magazine, Mr Carswell first attacks the economic policy he often likes to label "continuity Brown": "Far from trying anything bold or different, we have ended up […]
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. 4pm update: People's Pledge sources tells me that Anne Marie Morris, the MP for Newton Abbot has come out in support of a referendum. Mike Freer, the MP for Finchley and Golders Green, has also backed a referendum. This is significant because Freer was not one of the 81 rebels, […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Douglas Carswell recently claimed on ConservativeHome that his "small state" brand of Tory politics was more potent than David Cameron's "wind turbine" variety. The Mail on Sunday has followed up on the slapdown that David Cameron gave to Mr Carswell at last Wednesday's PMQs by commissioning a special opinion poll […]
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 Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter I wonder if more loyal backbench Tory MPs are getting a little fed up with their more rebellious colleagues? A couple of weeks ago Conor Burns, PPS to the Northern Ireland Secretary, tweeted his irritation at Peter Bone: Now we learn from the Mail on Sunday that Douglas Carswell was […]
By Joseph Willits Follow Joseph on Twitter Both Douglas Carswell and Zac Goldsmith condemned Government proposals yesterday for the recall of MPs for wrongdoing when they appeared before the Commons's political and constitutional reform committee. The plans would mean that if over 10% of constituents signed a petition calling for a by-election, an MP could be recalled […]
Douglas Carswell is Conservative MP for Clacton. Follow him on Twitter or read his blog. It’s not all doom and gloom. Here in my part of Essex, our brand of Conservatism actually seems to be doing rather well. “Wind turbine Toryism” might be struggling a little elsewhere. But in my experience the appetite for small-state, […]