It is a very large olive branch indeed for the Right of the Party – which he needs to keep onside for his EU renegotiation plans.
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter Michael Crick tweeted earlier this evening: "Four MPs at 1922 Committee critical of Andrew Mitchell – Andrew Percy, James Duddridge, Ann Main, Sarah Wollaston. 12-15 backed him." I am told that the difference of view was more 50-50 than three or four to one. (Memories don't always tally, as […]
By Joseph Willits Follow Joseph on Twitter Phillip Hammond, the Defence Secretary has said in the Commons yesterday that "all submariner roles will be open to women" in response to questions from Tory MPs Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) and Harriet Baldwin (West Worcestershire). Hammond was asked by the MPs what the role of women would be on submarines, including on […]
By Joseph Willits Follow Joseph on Twitter Yesterday was Phillip Hammond's first opportunity to answer defence questions. Hammond's address to Parliament also followed a recent, first trip to Afghanistan, where the Defence Secretary marked Armistice Day with 3,000 British troops at Camp Bastion. Whilst in Afghanistan, Hammond said: ''British troops are making significant progress in Helmand to […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. In a statement to the House on North Africa and the Middle East this afternoon, William Hague announced the government's intention to abstain on the United Nations vote on Palestinian statehood. The Foreign Secretary said: "Mr Speaker, the events in the Arab Spring and mounting concern over Iran's nuclear programme do […]
By Joseph Willits Follow Joseph on Twitter In an over-subscribed Urgent Question debate in the Commons yesterday, on the Palestinian statehood bid, foreign office minister Alistair Burt (standing in for Hague who was in Libya) refused to be drawn on whether the government would officially support a Palestinian bid for UN membership. On Tuesday, ConservativeHome reported that […]
By Joseph Willits Follow Joseph on Twitter Nicholas Soames and Sir Peter Bottomley are the only Tory MPs who have signed an Early Day Motion supporting Palestinian membership of the United Nations. The EDM, tabled by Labour MP Ann Clywd on 5th September, has gained 79 signatures, mostly from within the Labour Party. The premise of the […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Redoubtable Labour Member Chris Bryant managed to secure an emergency debate in the Commons yesterday, following Prime Minister's Questions and a statement by the Prime Minister on the situation in Afghanistan, to discuss the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. Although the debate was abused by some Members (Labour's […]
By Jonathan Isaby During yesterday's Budget debate, senior Tory backbencher Nicholas Soames (left) called for Lord Young of Graffham (right) to be reinstated as the Government's adviser on the operation of health and safety laws: "I believe that greater authority and impetus should be given to the war on unnecessary, debilitating and grinding red tape, […]
Nicholas Soames is the Conservative MP for Mid Sussex. Diversification is the key to economic success. A diverse national economy provides more sustainable growth and is less vulnerable to the vagaries of the global economy. Balanced economies are more resistant to exaggerated boom-and-bust cycles (though I certainly wouldn’t go so far as to claim that […]