by Paul Goodman This morning's reports of Andrew Lansley's Commons statement yesterday haven't missed that he was unsupported in the Chamber by the presence of senior Cabinet colleagues. (The Prime Minister was en route to Pakistan.) What some may have missed is the strong support given to the Health Secretary by Conservative backbenchers. Some it, […]
by Paul Goodman I list below every question asked by a Conservative MP yesterday in response to the Prime Minister's Commons statement about Libya. For better or worse, I haven't cited his replies in every case, but his answers on regime change, the arms embargo and the International Criminal Court are of special interest, and […]
by Paul Goodman I've glanced back at the Prime Minister's Commons statement on Monday about Libya, and found the following: Richard Ottoway asked whether defence co-operation with Gaddafi was misjudged. Edward Leigh demanded no further cuts in the Royal Navy. James Arbuthnot asked about Hamas's refusal to hold elections in Gaza. John Baron inquired what […]
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 […]
By Jonathan Isaby In Westminster Hall yesterday Banbury MP Tony Baldry raised a variety of issues relating to historic houses, noting in particular how they can boost British tourism. He noted that "out of the historic houses open to the public, those that are privately owned, managed, and funded outnumber the total of those belonging […]
by Paul Goodman I'm fascinated by dogs that don't bark in the Chamber – in other words, subjects that aren't raised or points which aren't made: indications that there are matters MPs want to avoid, or truths that they don't want to face up to (a characteristic that they share with the rest of us). […]
By Jonathan Isaby Thursday lunchtime sees the weekly session of Business Questions and as ever, today saw Sir George Young being asked about a wide variety of topics. East Yorkshire MP and Procedure Committee chairman Greg Knight was keen to know what progress there was to report on the electronic petitioning of Parliament: "Is he […]
Tony Baldry MP is Conservative MP for Banbury and became chairman of the Conservative Human Rights Commission in July. He has formerly served as both a Foriegn Office minister and chairman of the International Development Select Committee. Here he describes his experience working with Dalit communities in Nepal where he volunteered with VSO during the […]
There were questions to Justice ministers yesterday. These are the highlights. Bromsgrove MP Julie Kirkbride raised the thorny issue of the state funding of political parties: "Does the Secretary of State agree that there is a huge conundrum when it comes to party political funding? The public want democracy, but it is expensive. They do […]
The Department for Innovation, Skills and Universities was up for questions yesterday. Shadow Secretary of State David Willetts asked about the role of about further education in the recession: "I want to ask the Secretary of State about something that I hope he will agree is very important in ensuring that people have training and […]
The Conservatives held a debate on unemployment in the House of Commons yesterday. Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Theresa May spoke from the front bench. "I am sure that no one in this Chamber needs reminding of the unemployment challenge that this country faces. Every day, Members of this House deal with letters and e-mails […]
Questions were put to the Cabinet Office / Duchy of Lancaster yesterday. Members were swift to express their deep sympathy to David Cameron and his family over the death of Ivan. I add my own. Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Nick Hurd posed a question about charities. (Naomi House, to which he refers, is a children’s […]
Here is the latest batch of interesting written answers from the House of Commons. Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions Andrew Selous had a written reminder that ministers are supposed to make big announcements to Parliament first when it is in session – a rule that they in fact breach on a spectacularly frequent basis: […]
Yesterday the House of Commons debated democracy and human rights. A number of Conservative MPs made interesting contributions. Tony Baldry, chairman of the International Development select committee, highlighted the desperate situation in Sudan: "Before we move on from Sudan, let me point out that Darfur shows the fragility of the international community’s ability to support […]
Tony Baldry MP is Conservative MP for Banbury and became chairman of the Conservative Human Rights Commission in July. He has formerly served as both a Foreign Office minister and chairman of the International Development Select Committee. Here he writes in his capacity as chairman of the recently-formed Conservative Friends of Iraq. There has been […]