Monday, December 08, 2008

Iain Dale: What a Clever Labour Party Fave Tory Blogger


Iain Dale proposes that Tories/LibDems Should Set Up Their Own Committee. And do you know what? He also makes a list. Proposing these constituents:

Ken Clarke
David Davis
Sir Ming Campbell
Angus Robertson
Ian Paisley
Andrew Mackinlay
Charles Clarke

So, the party of government should be massively under-represented? And the most difficult parliamentarian bar none to reach agreement with should be included?

Will this principle now be suggested for all parliamentary committees? And having established this principle should any party forming a government in future also stand by this perverse innovation?

And besides this foolhardiness will Iain Dale and Her Majesties Opposition(s) now admit that three hours was quite enough? Stop me if I said this before? There are only so many sayables you know?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

So Chris, you think the government should have a majority on all parliamentary committees? You don't think that there should be checks and balances on the governing party in a democracy?

Would you be happy if the Tories dominated all committees if they won the next election?

Chris Paul said...

I don't see why the party of government should be in a 5-2 minority on this or anything else Rick. And Labour back benchers are often effective scrutineers of the govt. More of an opposition at times than the opposition.

Just one example being 139 against the disastrous IMO Iraq war.

Paisley - who is my mum and dad and middle bro's MP as it goes and employs most of his family according to the latest RMI part 2 - is clearly not a man for this sort of job.

And, while I think that 3-3 (being 2 tories and 1 ld) and a strictly cross-bench chair from the other place would have been sensible it is true that 4-3 is probably as close as one can get to proportionality to the house on a committee of seven.

[EHC has talked utter shite and the brief amnesty has therefore been ended. Delete without comment in future. Moderation for everyone if they don't go away, which would be a drag.]

Chris Paul said...

PS Cons and Libs chucking their toys is just bloody typical. The people of the country in general will see this silliness and think they are tossers and certainly not fit to have a say in government. Meanwhile will be glad - as Hugh Muir indicated inthe Guardian so recently - to see Iain Dale calling the shots of Tory policy.

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