In his eyes, you have them only as long as the Government suffers you to have them, and they can be retrospectively taken away if he sees fit.
Sir Malcolm Rifkind says there only needs to be “a small number” who rebel, and “it seems likely the numbers are there”.
They’re an easy target for criticism, but SpAds make all the difference to the Government’s performance and the Party’s prospects.
From the blog of the University of Liverpool academic: his detailed breakdown of the contest.
Many will hope that Gove and Hunt duke it out in a constructive way for the right to take on the man who is the clear winner from the week’s events.
What’s that you say? That what really matters is the Huawei decision itself? Quite so. And on that, we have an uncomfortable feeling that he’s right.
He is perfectly entitled to crack down on leaks. But it’s worth bearing in mind that this one was scarcely unprecedented.
Hers or Letwins? That’s what the choice is narrowing down to. From the point of view of trust in politics, how MPs vote will now make little difference – if any.
The cohort of future Conservative leadership candidates would do well to start thinking about the structure of the Number 10 they want to build.
It is rarely Brexit that people raise on the doorstep. It is concerns about the NHS; their local school; the difficulties faced by social care, or the rise in violent crime.
A new report by the Society of Conservative Lawyers argues that prior Parliamentary approval for military action is a dangerous game and has no constitutional law basis.
If the United Kingdom’s negotiating position appears incoherent, much of the blame rests with those who put the legislature in charge.
The object of the exercise is to absorb within a stable democratic practice a new element which, if unabsorbed, may have fatal effects.
Remainers and Brexiteers alike must recognise the politicians are stuck in an ever-decreasing circle of fervour, hyperbole and hysteria.
What is needed is professional, third party review and analysis of expenditure, department by department, cutting out duplication and waste.