By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter I don't seek to trivialise the debate, or the subject of debate that Parliament was recalled for today. However, as well as the content of today's debate, there was an important procedural/sartorial development. Rob Flello, the Labour Member for Stoke-on-Trent South, was allowed to speak in the Chamber without […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, which was set up as the regulator for expenses following the Parliamentary expenses scandal, has often been criticised by MPs for being too bureaucratic, remote from those it seeks to regulate, and for enforcing seemingly illogical rules. IPSA's popularity amongst MPs has, however, not […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell has attacked his fellow Lib Dem and Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander. Today's Times (£) has the news that Sir Menzies accused Alexander of political interference in Defence matters, in order to help his popularity in his own constituency: "Sir […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter The blogger Guido Fawkes has launched a campaign to bring back the death penalty, in light of the government's proposed "e-petition" scheme. "E-petitions" mean members of the public can post petitions on a dedicated government website, and petitions attracting 100,000 electronic signatories will be "eligible for debate in the House […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Will Hutton's column in the Observer today must be a collector's item: it's the first time I've seen someone praise the European project so much in months: "A curious thing happened last week. European governments rose to the occasion. The euro, confidently predicted by almost every British analyst and […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Earlier this week, after a speech Ed Miliband gave about News International, he was asked: Would you count the BBC as part of the establishment – do they have too much power? Miliband replied: I think the BBC is in a different category and I think we, you know, […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Lord Strathclyde, the Leader of the House of Lords, was asked yesterday how many representations from the public on the House of Lords reform White Paper had been received. He was first asked by Labour peer Lord Grocott – Lord Strathclyde answered in a dry tone, and managed to suppress laughter when […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Yesterday afternoon, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Caroline Spelman, announced her Department's plans to control the badger population, through culling, in two pilot areas in the South West next summer, following a public consultation. The Secretary of State explained why the plan is necessary: "Nearly 25,000 […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Crossbench peer Baroness (Frances) D'Souza has been elected to be the new Speaker of the House of Lords, succeeding Labour peer Baroness (Helene) Hayman. Baroness D'Souza, a scientist and human rights campaigner who became a peer in 2004, was previously the Convenor of the Crossbench Peers. Baroness D'Souza beat Conservative peer […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter A variation of the segment of the above video, in which Speaker John Bercow tells a noisy chamber that "the public doesn't like it", is a regular occurrence at Prime Minister's Questions.
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter It seems there will be another PMQs this year, as David Cameron has just said, during a press conference in South Africa, that it: "may be right for Parliament to meet on Wednesday so I can answer questions" The Prime Minister will also be making a statement on Wednesday.
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Simon Hughes, the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, and a distinguished fellow of the Yellow B**tards League, made an interesting appearance on Sky News this morning – interesting because Hughes refused to blame Cameron for meeting Andy Coulson at Chequers: "I have to say, I think if you […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter The Daily Mail reports today how the Labour whip, Lyn Brown, attacked blind talkSPORT journalist Sean Dilley: "A Labour whip unleashed a four-letter tirade at a blind man for getting in her way during a fraught exchange in the Houses of Parliament. Lyn Brown, the burly MP for West Ham, barged […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter One of the moments of excitement from today's Prime Minister's Questions was a clash between John Bercow and Childrens Minister Tim Loughton, which appears to be a further installment in an ongoing series of exchanges between the two . As can be seen from the video above, an angry […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter A statement by the Prime Minister on the inquiry into the phone-hacking scandal immediately followed a heated Prime Minister's Questions. Much of the atmosphere of the exchange between Ed Miliband and the Prime Minister at PMQs was gone and the House was more settled. The Prime Minister started off […]