By Joseph Willits Follow Joseph on Twitter Proposals to give Parliament the power to take action on ministers who leak announcements to the media, before informing the Commons, have failed. The motion tabled by Phillip Hollobone MP (Kettering), aimed to be as "non-partisan as possible", was defeated by 228 votes to 119. Hollobone accused all three major parties of […]
By Jonathan Isaby This afternoon, after the usual hour of departmental questions in the Commons, there will be an Urgent Question at 3.30pm on armed forces redundancies, followed by no fewer than four oral statements by ministers: William Hague on the situation in Libya and the Ivory Coast; Andrew Lansley on NHS Reforms; Owen Paterson […]
Today's Daily Mail suggests that if David Cameron is elected Prime Minister next year, he would seek to move Prime Minister's Questions to Thursdays instead of Wednesdays, where it has been a fixture since 1997. Before then, of course, there had for decades been two 15-minute sessions on Tuesday and Thursdays, but Tony Blair rolled […]
When I endorsed John Bercow for the Commons Speakership, one of the reasons for my support was that I believed that as a committed parliamentarian he would work to enhance the power of backbench MPs. So it was interesting to hear how he has developed that principle as he delivered a lecture to the Hansard […]
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 […]
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 […]
Yesterday Michael Howard made a point of order in the Commons: "On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. You responded yesterday to the letter written to you last week, signed by my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr. Clarke), the right hon. and learned Member for North-East Fife (Sir Menzies Campbell), […]
Update: Some more examples of Mr Pickles’s written questions have been added, to give a fuller flavour. Eric Pickles, Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary and MP for Brentwood & Ongar, has come top of a league table. He was followed closely by Mark Hoban, MP for Fareham and a Shadow Treasury Minister. In 2007-08 […]
In conjunction with Orange, an organisation called Future Technology has brought out a report entitled Future of Politics. Having spoken to MPs, think tanks, academics and bloggers, the report makes a number of conclusions: UK politicians will need to "keep up with a new generation of ‘digital natives’ who expect MPs to get up to […]
Hansard has the full report of the Speaker’s statement on Shadow Immigration Minister Damian Green and subsequent contributions from MPs here. There will be a debate on the issue on Monday. Some highlights from yesterday are reproduced below. The Speaker is to be commended for one thing: offering no public comment before addressing Parliament: "In […]
On ConservativeHome’s Parliament page we aim to provide comprehensive reportage and analysis of Conservative Party activity in Westminster, the European Parliament, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly. (On the local government page, Councillor Harry Phibbs does similar, sterling work in relation to local councils.) In particular, we’re interested in things that other media may […]
On 12 November the House of Commons agreed to establish a new committee, which will be chaired by the Speaker. According to the Parliament website, the Speaker’s Conference – which will be comprised of him and seventeen other members – has been asked to: "Consider, and make recommendations for rectifying, the disparity between the representation […]
It’s a light programme in the House of Commons today. This is the order of business: "The House will sit at 2.30pm Oral Questions – Children, Schools and Families; including Topical Questions Motion – Ways and Means resolution on the Education and Skills Bill Legislation – Education and Skills Bill – Lords amendments Adjournment – […]
In a fortnight’s time Douglas Carswell, MP for Harwich & Clacton, is introducing a Ten Minute Rule Bill to make the criminal justice system more accountable, and he has announced that he plans to bring in several more. So what is a Ten Minute Rule Bill? Well, they tend NOT to be an earnest effort […]