by Paul Goodman The combination of an Early Day Motion signed by almost 250 MPs and a Commons debate – courtesy of the new Backbench Business Committee – leaves a government with little alternative but to give way. It's thus worth reading carefully the motion which the House passed yesterday in relation to the Common […]
by Paul Goodman Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) and Julian Lewis (New Forest East) entered the Commons together as New Forest neighbours in 1997. Both were on the right of the Party; both were rumbustious Parliamentarians; both were greeted with werewolf howls from Labour backbenchers; both served on the Conservative front bench. But their ways […]
By Tim Montgomerie Highlights from yesterday's Commons debate on the Localism Bill. Rory Stewart summarised why localism works: "This is a strange time and place because all hon. Members believe in that decentralisation, whether we call it localism, hyper-localism or double hyper-localism, but we are obstructed by our anxieties about power, knowledge and legitimacy. Let […]
By Paul Goodman Oral questions in the Commons is changing its tone and nature, at least as far as Communities and Local Government is concerned. The last section of each departmental oral question session is headed "Topical Questions" – a series of open questions to Ministers. It begins with a brief statement by the Secretary […]
Here is the latest in our series of Twenty Questions with members of the Class of 2010… Zac Goldsmith was elected MP for Richmond Park with a majority of 4,091. 1. What is your earliest political memory? Being confused when a staff member at my school celebrated the Tory’s win over the Conservatives. 2. Complete […]
In his maiden speech, Zac Goldsmith, the new MP for Richmond Park, argued that conservatism has always been green: "The environment is the defining challenge of our era. It goes without saying—I hope—that without a healthy environment, we have no economy or future. It is the defining, underlying issue, and the basic maths tell us […]