Last night I posted the results of the Conservative Select Committee elections. Interestingly, five committees have effectively had their members nominated – the candidates all stood unopposed. The full list of those selected in this way is enclosed below.
Again, some quick observations:
- The process of nominating committee members, rather than holding competitive elections, can be seen as another subtle form of patronage. I don’t think anyone will be under the illusion that people like Philip Davies are suddenly going to become lapdogs of the Government, so it isn’t as powerful a tool as the payroll, but taken with the decision to allow PPSs to stand in the committee elections it’s an interesting development.
- An even higher proportion of these MPs are from the new intake – 14 of the 24, to be precise (Hollinrake, Robinson, Chris Davies, Pow, Sunak, Chalk, Costa, Prentis, Foster, Trevelyan, Borwick, Green, Mathias and Warman).
- The Justice Select Committee is shaping up to be particularly interesting. Arch-eurosceptic Philip Davies has moved there from his previous seat on the Culture, Media and Sport committee, and is a fierce opponent of the Human Rights Act and the ECHR. Alex Chalk is a barrister. Alberto Costa is a solicitor, and has represented the Ministry of Justice in the past. Until late last year, Prentis ran the justice team at the Treasury Solicitor’s Department. Between them there’s a mix of specialism and strong opinion – plus perhaps a good chunk of inside knowledge as to how the department runs (or doesn’t run).
Communities and Local Government
Bob Blackman, Kevin Hollinrake, Mark Prisk, Mary Robinson
Environment and Rural Affairs
Chris Davies, Simon Hart, Rebecca Pow, Rishi Sunak
Justice
Alex Chalk, Alberto Costa, Philip Davies, John Howell, Victoria Prentis
Public Accounts
Richard Bacon, Kevin Foster, Stewart Jackson, Nigel Mills, David Mowat, Stephen Phillips, Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Science and Technology
Victoria Borwick, Chris Green, Dr Tania Mathias, Matt Warman