By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. On yesterday's Today programme, Justin Webb, introducing a section on the Lords, said "MPs are still on holiday but the House of Lords is sitting…" Although he was later happy to acknowledge MPs are not, in fact, "on holiday", Webb set off a series of tweets from Tory MPs […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Tory MP Gavin Barwell discovered that metal thieves had stripped a memorial from his father's grave. His reaction on his Twitter account was retweeted across the internet: The Sun has made Mr Barwelll their "hero of the week" for his instinctive response: "Politicians who speak their mind are a rare […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter The 301 group is perhaps the most active and important group of backbench Tory MPs. Tim Montgomerie reported last week that three MPs - Charlie Elphicke, George Hollingbery and Priti Patel – want to organise a candidate to be elected to the 1922 Committee's executive who will give the '22 a focus […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Of the Parliamentary groupings founded by MPs after the 2010 general election, the 2020 group is perhaps the least understood. Channel 4's Michael Crick and the FT (£) covered its launch during conference last year. Those two reports implied the 2020 group was a centre-left grouping pre-occupied with "countering the […]
Gavin Barwell, Conservative MP for Croydon Central, is this week's ConservativeHome Diarist. Follow Gavin on Twitter. House of Lords reform Much of my week has been spent on the contentious issue of House of Lords reform. Back in July, I was appointed to a Joint Committee of both Houses of Parliament that was tasked with scrutinising […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter Last year, the Prime Minister flew to Brussels amidst rumour of a leadership challenge if he didn't achieve at least a token repatriation of power. Today, he faced the Commons not only with no such repatriation realised but with his veto – so rapturously greeted at the time by […]
By Joseph Willits Follow Joseph on Twitter To commemorate Holcaust Memorial Day this coming Friday, yesterday evening the Holocaust Educational Trust hosted its annual Lord Merlyn-Rees Memorial Lecture at Portcullis House. Whilst the keynote address was given by historian Sir Ian Kershaw, its guest speaker was Francis Maude. Maude praised the work done by the Holocaust Educational […]
By Joseph Willits Follow Joseph on Twitter Perhaps because the time for reading his Christmas Carol is approaching, yesterday's education Topical Questions was full of references to Charles Dickens. Gavin Barwell MP (Croydon Central) began by asking for more. He congratulated Michael Gove's pledge of £8million for additional school places in Croydon, but asked whether "there will […]
By Joseph Willits Follow Joseph on Twitter Social networking, flashbacks to the G20 riots, the role of CCTV, restorative justice, and the power of the police in their approach, seemed to be some of the themes covered. Tracey Crouch (Chatham & Aylesford) highlighted the role social networking had played in the disruption, but also how it countered […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter The company Key Business Insight's "Commons Performance Cockpit" ranks MPs by their total cost – that is, staffing costs, travel expenses, office costs, salary, and so on. The majority of the 50 "most efficient" MPs, in terms of total cost, are Conservatives. The top 50 "most efficient" MPs between […]
By Jonathan Isaby Yesterday the Commons used the time allocated by the Backbench Business Committee to debate the issue of immigration. Here is a selection of excerpts from the contributions of Conservative backbenchers… Chris Skidmore set out why it was important to discuss the issue of immigration: "People have been afraid to discuss this crucial […]
Here is the latest in our series of Twenty Questions with members of the Class of 2010… Gavin Barwell was elected MP for Croydon Central with a majority of 2,969. 1. What is your earliest political memory? Doing my homework under candlelight during the Winter of Discontent. 2. Complete the sentence: “I’m a Conservative because… […]
Below is a final quintet of excerpts from maiden speeches delivered during Wednesday’s debate on the Queen’s Speech. Charlotte Leslie, who gained Bristol North West, described education as “the single most effective way of closing that gap between the haves and the have-nots”: “Breaking down the terrible and invisible barriers that divide the haves from […]
Gavin Barwell is the MP for Croydon Central Croydon, the place I have lived all my life and now represent as a Member of Parliament, is one of the most diverse parts of the country. In just over 10 years’ time, it is predicted that less than half the population will be white British. So […]