
The MPs we deserve
The speeding up of turnover rates has almost nothing to do with shifts to the right or left, and much more to do with wider cultural change in Parliament.
The speeding up of turnover rates has almost nothing to do with shifts to the right or left, and much more to do with wider cultural change in Parliament.
The South Ribble MP’s departure is a surprise – as is the fact that a shortlist to replace her has been agreed in secret before her news was announced.
Here’s our best stab at who is voting for whom, and this list will be updated each morning, as the contest continues.
The Prime Minister’s Parliamentary Private Secretary steps up to plug another gap in her short-staffed ministry.
But although the Prime Minister looked calm, Nigel Dodds, parliamentary leader of the DUP, did not.
In all, there are 30 new entries in the whole list, one down on last year and two down on the 2016 record of 33.
He was Theresa May’s PPS when she was Home Secretary, and has also been her PPS since she became Prime Minister.
A list of new Tory Reform Group patron MPs suggests that it is stronger in the Commons than it may look.
It doesn’t seem to be complete yet, but here are as many of the appointments as have been released to date.
You would have to go back more than 20 years to find a time when fewer secretaries of state held northern constituencies.
Seema Kennedy becomes the Prime Minister’s second PPS. Brexiteer Kwasi Kwarteng is PPS to Philip Hammond. And much, much more.
There’s one undeniable trend among those promoted: they backed the winning candidate.
What does their selection reveal about the Government’s priorities? And why are some other rising stars missing?
Meanwhile, Leave campaigners are pitching targeted messages to voters from a non-EU background.
On the surface, this intake looks different from those that have preceded it – and is in some respects. But beneath it, this is in many ways a very traditional Tory group.