By Jonathan Isaby This afternoon in the Commons, Cabinet Office minister Mark Harper was summoned to the Dispatch Box to answer an Urgent Question on the decision to grant the right to vote to prisoners. Quite why Nick Clegg could not have done so, given that his is the only of the main parties to […]
Fascinating blog from Paul Waugh over at the London Evening Standard. Paul tells how the Speaker rebuked Theresa Villiers for questioning Labour's links to Unite, during an emergency state on the British Airways strike. Worse, though, was his seemingly contradictory approach to questions from a Labour and a Tory MP. He permitted a question from […]
Mark Pritchard has been MP for The Wrekin since 2005 and is a member of the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission. Since the 1996 Arbitration Act, government ministers have allowed Islamic tribunals around Britain to rule on a range of financial disputes, provided both parties agree to accept the court's decision. But in recent years, […]
MP for The Wrekin Mark Pritchard had an interesting suggestion at questions to the Solicitor-General yesterday: "But is it not the case that for every crime committed, all of society suffers? In particular, there is the huge cost of feeding, housing and guarding criminals. Will the Solicitor-General consider extending or perhaps reviewing existing legislation to ensure […]
Here are some interesting answers from the latest edition of Hansard. Shadow Innovation, Universities and Skills Secretary David Willetts asked a question that couldn't be answered: "Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many EU citizens working in the UK paid sufficient national insurance contributions to earn a potential […]
Thursday saw oral questions on Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Rochford & Southend East MP James Duddridge (right) asked about the cost to taxpayers of assuming liability for the Royal Mail pension scheme: "The Minister for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs (Mr. Pat McFadden): We estimate that the Government will assume total liabilities of £29.5 billion […]
It was Welsh questions yesterday. Congleton’s Ann Winterton asked about manufacturing: "Ann Winterton (Congleton) (Con): What recent assessment he has made of the state of the manufacturing sector in Wales. [261324] The Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Paul Murphy): The manufacturing industry is, of course, very important to Wales. According to the latest available […]
Questions were put to ministers from the Department for Children, Schools and Families department yesterday. The very last question of the session was from John Bercow, Buckingham MP, and addressed the loathsome phenomenon of bullying: "Given that approximately 6,000 children a year exclude themselves from school after suffering extreme bullying, approximately 50 per cent. of […]
Tomorrow in Westminster Hall there will be a debate on UK relations with America. It has been tabled by Mark Pritchard, MP for The Wrekin. The 90 minute debate will begin at 11am. Mr Pritchard’s office says that it is the first time in nearly a decade that there has been a dedicated debate on […]
It was time for Welsh questions in the Commons yesterday. Monmouth MP David Davies was concerned about onerous rules on the use of Welsh: "Does the Minister agree that enacting legislation that will require all companies, or at least private companies, to use the Welsh language in all forms of business could prove very detrimental […]
Mark Pritchard has brought a Bill before the House of Commons. It seeks to ban the breeding, selling, purchasing and keeping of primates as pets in the UK. He assured members: "The Bill is about serious monkey business. It is estimated that up to 3,000 primates are currently being kept as pets in the United […]
Mark Pritchard MP leads a Westminster Hall debate on Belarus, where he visited recently and which has elections in September. "I should first like to condemn the recent spate of bomb attacks in Minsk. Whether they were motivated by extreme hooliganism, terrorism or other factors, they are to be condemned, and our thoughts and prayers […]
Mark Pritchard, MP for The Wrekin, asks questions about Lord Goldsmith’s plans to introduce citizenship ceremonies for all young adults coming of age. The humble British penny provides a revealing insight into why Labour’s plans for swearing an Oath of Alligence to Her Majesty the Queen as a national ‘rite of passage’ for teenagers graduating […]
Mark Pritchard is Member of Parliament for The Wrekin and Secretary of the 1922 Committee. Whether MPs across the parties like it or not, on May 7th the United Kingdom’s political and discerning electorate voted for a new type of politics – coalition politics. Why outright victory eluded the Conservatives, the most successful political party […]