House of Commons
Big Fairies and M&S suits: a Hansard reporter reveals all
It’s all very well everyone having fun at the expense of the hapless Hansard reporter who sent a note to a Scottish MP querying whether he’d called the SNP ‘big… Continue reading
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Govt to support Barwell’s mental health bill
‘This isn’t staged, I promise,’ Gavin Barwell joked as an MP bounded up to our table in the Portcullis House atrium to demand why the Croydon Central MP hadn’t been… Continue reading
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Where arms dealers meet do-gooders
Yesterday saw the annual Commons vs. Lords Tug of War, in aid of Macmillan and sponsored by BAE. Battle was joined at Westminster College Gardens, behind the cloisters of Westminster… Continue reading
2 CommentsThree Cheers for the House of Lords
As a general rule complaints that the opposition are too beastly for words should not be taken too seriously. They reflect a sense of entitlement on the part of the… Continue reading
5 CommentsFox defies the hounds
To the joy of the Tory benches, Liam Fox has just come out swinging in the House of Commons. In his initial statement, Fox apologised to the House for allowing… Continue reading
14 CommentsDowning Street’s boundary review problem
I understand that Number 10 will lean on Cabinet ministers not to object to what the boundary review does to their seats. This is an intriguing development because at least… Continue reading
24 CommentsManaging the boundary changes
MPs are queuing down the corridor on the first floor of Portcullis House as they try to get hold of a copy of the proposed boundary changes which have just… Continue reading
11 CommentsBrown’s version of events
Gordon Brown’s speech in the House of Commons just now was remarkable. It was completely deluded, one of the most one-sided versions of history you’re ever likely to hear. Abetted… Continue reading
109 CommentsCameron on the back foot
This has been another difficult morning for David Cameron. He’s now taking flak for having said he would take part in the BSkyB debate this afternoon and then deciding not… Continue reading
29 CommentsParliament prepares to take on Murdoch
Politicians are swarming all over the phone hacking scandal today, in even greater number than during the past week. If it isn’t the main topic at PMQs at noon, then… Continue reading
23 CommentsAttention turns to the police
Today, the spotlight in the phone hacking scandal is shifting onto the police — who have an awful lot of questions to answer. Indeed, I suspect at the end of… Continue reading
37 CommentsHunt flounders in very choppy water
Jeremy Hunt’s statement today confirmed that News Corps’ takeover bid for BSkyB was being referred to the Competition Commission. But the questions afterwards were dominated by Labour questions about Andy… Continue reading
43 CommentsOfcom to rule on Murdoch’s purchase of BSkyB
If News Corporation was not trying to buy the whole of BSkyB, there’s a good chance that phone hacking would not still be in the news today: that decision was… Continue reading
37 CommentsWhipping up a storm
The mini Tory rebellion last night, 15 Tory MPs voted to allow couples to transfer their personal tax allowance, has further strained relations between the whips office and some backbenchers.… Continue reading
11 CommentsWorld battles narcolepsy as wonky Miliband opens up
Superwonk Ed was back today. For the third week running he tried to nobble Cameron at PMQs by taxing him on some miniscule detail of policy. ‘Of the 163 statutory… Continue reading
33 CommentsA reshuffle of the whips office?
It is tempting to treat the whole circus animal affair in the Commons this week as just a big joke, the Palace of Westminster turned into the Palace of Varieties.… Continue reading
13 CommentsPritchard lays into Cameron’s lack of backbone
Mark Pritchard, the MP who tabled the animal welfare bill that has just been passed with ease, gave this speech earlier today. It’s an explosive insight into Downing Street’s often… Continue reading
40 CommentsEven Ed knew he’d lost
Cameron made history today. He gave the Speaker a genuine reason to call PMQs to a halt. Usually Mr Bercow pops up two or three times to shout down shouters… Continue reading
27 CommentsClegg’s ermine troubles
Turkeys don’t vote for Christmas, that much we know. But thanks to the wonders of modern science, we can now poll them on it. Today’s Times carries a survey of… Continue reading
15 CommentsChoppers add to the Libyan fog of war
There was much ado about choppers in Westminster earlier today. Yesterday, French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet told reporters that Britain and France were to deploy attack helicopters to Libya; and… Continue reading
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